Spongy Bark

Dutz is a percussionist, specializing in mallet and hand-played percussion, so it’s especially interesting to hear his treatment of woodwinds and strings on this album. On “Spongy Bark,” the pizzicato he introduces in the cello carries over to staccato in the oboe and clarinet, and you can faintly hear clacking keys as the woodwinds run through the piece’s chromatic passages. Including Dutz’s marimba playing, every sound on this track has a light, plucky feel that helps keep the music aloft as it speeds along.

—DA