How many parents buy their children the Fisher-Price Xylophone with hopes they will one day become a musician, performing on stages like The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. or Joe’s Pub in New York City?
In Avi Wisnia’s case, his family handed down the 1964 Pull-A-Tune Model, an instrument he plays to this day.
“It was passed down through my family, and I used to play it when I was two years old,”
Wisnia said. “When I was recording my album ‘Something New’ I rediscovered the toy in my parents’ basement, so I took it out and used it to record the song ‘Sink.’ I have since taken it on the road with me and play a mean xylophone solo with it during my live shows.”
After hearing the song, ‘The Girl from Ipanema,’ Wisnia and fell down the Rabbit Hole into the world of Bossa Nova.
“This song was my gateway drug into the world of bossa nova and Brazilian music,” Wisnia said. Despite the song being one of the most popular in the world, Wisnia had never heard anything like it before that day. “I was immediately attracted to the sound, and just felt a kinship with the music.”
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