Exotica Volume II

Exotica Volume II
Studio album by Martin Denny
Released July 1958
Recorded June 1957
Genre Exotica
Length 29:49
Label Liberty Records
Producer Si Waronker
Martin Denny chronology
Exotica Exotica Volume II Forbidden Island
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Exotica Volume II was the second album by Martin Denny, released in 1958.[2]

The album opens with a gorgeous take of Les Baxter’s Jungle River Boat. Baxter’s orchestra string-fueled compositions do not necessarily keep all of their magic during their Jazz quartet-friendly transformation process, but what they lose in density and Space-Age vigor, they gain in exoticism. Martin Denny’s rendition is a delight, much gentler and somehow closer to the depicted scenery. Right from the get-go, the polyphony of the bandleader’s piano and Julius Wechter’s glistening vibraphone evoke an aqueous riverbed whose adjacent shrubbery is epitomized by Augie Colón’s birdcalls and bongos. Frizzling maracas and Wechter’s use of the xylophone during the lead melody boost the tropical dimension. A Bossa Nova or Cha Cha Cha at its core due to the archetypically creaking guiro, Denny’s arrangement remains wonderfully focused. The birdcalls might be enormously varied, but the instrumental pool does not grow out of proportion. It is all about the synergy and simultaneity of the instruments. The result is enormously genteel and poetic. The jungle river leads to a harbor at night: Gordon & Jimmy Kennedy‘s and Hugh Williams’ Harbor Lights opens with a wonderful field recording of dabbling water. The duality of distantly Far Eastern tone sequences and a nightly mystique only lasts for a moment. The following mood range is much more gentle, with glitzy glockenspiels, slow piano spirals and the reoccurring sound of a ship’s signal altogether painting an ambience that is ever-soothing. Harvey Ragsdale’s droning double bass feels like a quiet breeze. A fleeting visit that feels much longer than its actual duration suggests.

Track listing

[3]

  1. "Soshu Night Serenade" (Ryōichi Hattori) – 2:08
  2. "Island of Dreams" (Laine, Denny) – 2:53
  3. "Japanese Farewell Song (Sayonara)" (Yoshda, Morgan) – 2:21
  4. "Singing Bamboos" (Madeline Lamb) – 2:07
  5. "The Queen Chant (E Lili U E)" (John Kaladana) – 2:46
  6. "Wedding Song" (Ke Kali Ne Au) (Charles E. King) – 2:44
  7. "Escales" (Jacques Ibert) – 2:39
  8. "When First I Love" (Denny) – 2:22
  9. "August Bells" (Gil Baumgart, Denny) – 2:14
  10. "Bacoa" (Les Baxter) – 1:59
  11. "Ebb Tide" (Robert Maxwell) – 3:11
  12. "Rush Hour in Hong Kong" (Abram Chasins) – 1:58

Personnel

[4]

References

  1. Unterberger, Richie. Exotica Volume II at AllMusic
  2. "The Exciting Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotica/Exotica, Vol. 2". http://www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 February 2013. External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. "The Exciting Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotica/Exotica, Vol. 2". http://www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 February 2013. External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. "The Exciting Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotica/Exotica, Vol. 2". http://www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 February 2013. External link in |publisher= (help)


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