Vibraphone is one of the most evocative musical instruments in the world. Hawaiian music icon Martin Denny had a great vibraphone player called Arthur Lyman and the instrument added the right exotic touch to Denny’s Hawaiian music sound. You can hear that same exotica sound by Texas-based composer and vibraphone master Carolyn Trowbridge on her 2025 album Found Memories. The album is filled with a diversity of sound that transcends Denny’s retro-tinged Island music and ventures into jazz, soundtrack, funk and even low-key touches of New Age and progressive fusion.

At the center of Found Memories is the vibraphone sound of Ms. Trowbridge who is joined by a fine band including Alex Coke (flute), Bryan Sunderman (guitar), Mario Castellanos (bass) and Nick Tozzo (drums/percussion). The interplay between the band is signaled by the fine flute of Alex Coke and the nimble guitar playing of Bryan Sunderman. The rhythm section and timing of the rhythm section keeps the ensemble on their toes. Several guest artists on sax, harp and cameo voice adds further coloration.

Filled with an abundance of musical styles, Found Memories is quite flawless and its diversity of sounds is equally impressive. For example, the album single, “Duchess Of Sheba” is the kind of track Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman would love to play on the beach at Waikiki. The last three tracks “The Old Woman Who Never Grew Older”, “Physalia’s Journey” and “Onward” are the perfect trio to show the depth and sophistication of her exotic sounding jazz compositions and performance. For instrumental music fans looking to spend 43 minutes in jazz heaven, Found Memories is a good place to start.

 

RMR speaks to Carolyn Trowbridge

 

RMR: I was thinking your new album sounds influenced by Hawaiian music masters Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. You can hear that especially on “The Lonely Frost Flower”, which has definite touches of what we used to call exotica. Is your vibraphone sound bringing that to light?

Carolyn Trowbridge: When I recorded the album, I wasn’t committed to any particular genre, but I can definitely hear the exotica influence in the finished product. When TJ Masters first approached me about recording and producing my album, he described my music as “neo-exotica,” a modern-day Arthur Lyman.

As contrasting as my writing-inspiration playlist is, from Eastern European folk to indie pop, jazz/R&B fusion to Japanese ambient, I have a deep love for exotica music and artists such as Les Baxter, Yma Sumac, and Esquivel. I think my writing approach, along with the instrumentation on this album, lends itself nicely to the exotica genre. The use of vocals is also very much influenced by the kinds of vocals you would hear in classic exotica music.

 

RMR: Where did you grow up? You also lived in Czechoslovakia? Do you ever travel back to Czechoslovakia?

Carolyn Trowbridge: I am U.S. born, but my dad worked for the State Department, so my formative childhood years were spent overseas in Gabon, the Czech Republic, and Norway. We moved to Prague when I was six years old, just after the fall of the Iron Curtain. It was a hauntingly magical city for a young child with a wild imagination. At the time, there was little Western influence, and the only music I knew was that of Eastern European composers such as Dvořák, Smetana, Tchaikovsky, and Mozart, to name a few.

I was immersed in classical music—my parents often took my sister and me to the symphony, opera, and ballet, and I began taking piano lessons. It wasn’t until we moved back to the States when I was ten that I discovered an entire world of music outside of Eastern European composers. Prague was a magical city that inspired my imagination to run wild.

The track “The Old Woman Who Never Grew Older” is based on a painting my parents bought from a Czech artist. The painting depicts an elderly woman sitting ominously under a watchtower with a ghostly angel watching over her shoulder. The repeating chorale in the piece pays homage to the cathedrals towering over the city of Prague, while the quick groove in the percussion represents the civilization bustling beneath them.

 

RMR: Is Found Memories your first solo album as a leader and what other albums or artists have you recorded on and with? Tell us something about writing and recording Found Memories in Austin and what do you think about the Texas music scene? You must be one of the only jazz artists recording this kind of music in Texas today and you certainly must be the only female artist making this kind of music in the whole country right?

Carolyn Trowbridge: Found Memories is my first solo album as a leader. I’ve had the great honor of recording and performing with so many incredible projects, including local favorites—Grammy-nominated Black Pumas, Adrian Quesada, Conspirare, and Graham Reynolds—as well as with artists who come to Austin to work with some of the most respected producers in the industry. I’m always thrilled when I get a call to track some vibes on the latest album by an L.A. soul singer or a Nashville country star!

As much as I enjoy performing and recording with such diverse projects, I felt a growing need to write and create on my own. I’m grateful for all the remarkable musicians I’ve connected with over the years—musicians who have believed in me and trusted me to bring my musical ideas to life. The Austin music scene is both genuine and wonderfully eclectic, and the players on Found Memories are a true reflection of that spirit. With backgrounds ranging from rock bands, Latin cumbia, and Ethio-jazz to country twang and symphony orchestra, Found Memories is a beautiful result of this diversity.

As for being one of the only jazz artists making this type of music—I'm not sure! There are so many subgenres within jazz, and the music I write tends to be accessible and embraced both by people who love the broad spectrum of “jazz” and by those who claim not to like "jazz” at all. My goal as a writer and performer is always to bring joy to my listeners and connect deeply with my audience.

 

RMR: Tell us how you got into playing the Vibes and how different is playing the Vibraphone compare to say playing keyboards? Isn't the Vibraphone related to the piano keyboards? Do you play other instruments as well?

Carolyn Trowbridge: The first time I played vibraphone was in 9th grade. We had just moved back to the States from Norway, and I decided to join my high school marching band. Because I had a background in piano, I was placed in the front ensemble and given the vibraphone part for our Gloria Estefan show.

I remember thinking how awkward the vibraphone felt—the layout is the same as a piano, but both the naturals and accidentals lie flat on one plane. There’s also a pedal, similar to a piano pedal, but your foot has to stay glued to it as you move and navigate around the instrument. And then there are the mallets.

On a piano, and most other instruments, you have direct tactile control over the notes you play, but with mallet instruments, you’re holding nearly foot-long sticks with a ball at the end and just hoping to strike the note you intend to!

Over the years, I gravitated toward marimba and fell in love with its warm sound and feel. I wanted to be a concert marimbaist. I studied concert percussion through grad school with a focus on marimba. Soon after, I stepped away from the concert percussion world and started playing with the neo-soul band KP & the Boom Boom. I found that vibraphone was a great fit for the group, and its versatility made it an in-demand addition to many bands in Austin.

Along with vibraphone and marimba, I also play steel pan and various Latin and Afro percussion instruments for numerous bands in the Austin music scene. I still get the occasional opportunity to play concert percussion instruments such as timpani and snare drum as well.

 

RMR: What Vibes players, now and in the past were among your big influences and how about Vibes-based albums that made a big impact on you? The late, great Buzzy Linhart played Vibraphone for Fred Neil and he also played Vibes on the last studio album by Jimi Hendrix on his song “Drifting”. An instrumental vibes-based version of “Drifting” would be a great fit on your next album.

Carolyn Trowbridge: Two of my all-time favorite vibraphone albums are Gary Burton’s Virtuosi with pianist Makoto Ozone—I love the classical/jazz hybrid on this record, and I’ve arranged a few classical tunes for my combo inspired by it—and Bobby Hutcherson’s Linger Lane, which I adore for its soundscapes, grooves, instrumentation, and use of vocals.

Jimi Hendrix’s “Drifting” is a great suggestion! Lately, I’ve enjoyed writing arrangements of popular songs by artists like David Bowie, Bill Withers, and Bruno Mars. I could definitely add some Jimi Hendrix into the mix!

 

RMR: How did you assemble the band on Found Memories and who helped you with the production and getting the CD completed and released? Also can you say something about cool album art and what does the title of the album signify? Did you lose these memories only to be found?

Carolyn Trowbridge: The band began as a quartet with myself, Bryan Sunderman (guitar), Mario Castellanos (bass), and Nick Tozzo (drums)—all musicians I had played with in other projects. I believe it was during our second or third show that my friend and producer, TJ Masters, approached me about recording and producing my album.

TJ and I discussed what instrumentation would complement the neo-exotica sound, so we brought in musicians from other projects I play in: Alex Coke (flute), Elaine Barber (harp), Jason Frey (tenor sax), and Caitlin Palmer (vocals). We recorded at Estuary Studio in Austin with sound engineer Gary Calhoun James, who was excited to take on this project. Overdubs—such as additional percussion, organ, and vocals—were done at bass player Mario Castellanos’ studio in Austin.

When it came time to design the album artwork, I knew my friend Fumihito Sugawara, an Austin-based Japanese artist, would be the perfect collaborator. I had seen his work on show posters around town and on album covers for other local bands, and I love everything he creates. The concept was to have the “found memories” serve as the focal point—vibrantly colored, with some escaping and becoming faint outlines, as if the memories are fading. I was excited to see the music represented visually.

The artwork features references to several tracks, including “Thank You for the Memories, Thank You for the Laughs”, dedicated to my longtime feline companion, “Grackle vs. Tacotarian”, inspired by Austin’s notorious birds, “Turtle Heart, Tookey’s Engine”, inspired by my daughter’s favorite DUPLO Lego train set, and “Physalia’s Journey”—represented by the jellyfish.

The title “Found Memories” was inspired by one of my favorite composers, Jun Miyake, and his Lost Memory Theater series. The idea of entering a listening theater where music and dance help you rediscover forgotten memories resonated deeply with me. I love that music can bring memories back—whether they’re significant childhood moments or small, everyday ones. Many of the tunes on Found Memories did exactly that while I was writing them. After I wrote “Grackle vs. Tacotarian”, for example, it immediately brought back the memory of being attacked by a grackle while eating my taco!

 

RMR: What plans do you have for 2026? Are you writing more music and doing any live shows to promote the album? What kind of album would you like to do next?

Carolyn Trowbridge: I am very much looking forward to writing and recording new music! Since recording Found Memories, I’ve written nearly an entire album’s worth of new material that I’m eager to share. I’m excited to explore new sounds and experiment with different instrumentation.

Because this is my first self-released album, the biggest hurdle for me has been the post-recording process. I’ve been so grateful for the guidance of fellow bandmates and my producer, who helped me navigate each step. It has been a huge learning experience, and after going through it once, releasing future albums will definitely come more easily.