Perez Prado & Shorty Rogers - Voodoo Suite (1955)

Well, it's been a long time, but I noticed that I reached 10,000 hits in my absence, so I felt it was a good time to return to reviewing. Thank you for continuing to read!

Let's start with a rather strange and ambitious piece of afro-cuban/latin jazz/exotica by Perez Prado, the mambo king. The titular Voodoo Suite is a side long, kaleidoscopic trip through the various jazz styles of the ages. If that sounds like a crazy idea, it is, especially for 1955.

The record starts out slow and ominous with very primitive, tribal drums. They are almost arhythmic, and presumably meant to conjure up images of cavemen pounding away somewhere in Africa at the dawn of civilization. Gradually, low key chanting fades in adding an air of mysticism to the proceedings. After a few minutes this breaks off suddenly for some of Prado's trademark shouting at his band members.

When he's done, the full band comes back in, this time adopting a more traditional Latin sound, and for a while it becomes almost danceable. This builds in intensity, developing themes and adding instruments until it finally bursts into a sudden explosion of bebop, with Shorty Rogers wailing away on his trumpet, totally in his element. It doesn't sound anything like what you'd expect from a guy like Prado, but it works.

After that, things slow down and the piece starts to live up to its title, rocking back and forth to swampy and sinister grooves. Then it's back to classic Prado style mambo for a while before transforming into a driving drum circle pattern with alternating solos. Themes are revisited and more styles are explored until it gets tough to keep track of them. The whole thing is a masterpiece of arrangement, whatever you think of the composition, and it's clearly something Prado put a lot of love into.

he second side is filled with Latin big band covers of jazz standards, exquisitely arranged and performed, but ultimately overshadowed by the jungle themed tour de force that precedes them. All in all, the Voodoo Suite is a daring, at times abrasive, at times beautiful achievement. Those curious about the more eccentric side of Latin jazz would do well to check it out.

Martin Denny - Exotica (1957) / Exotica II (1958)

Judge me if you must, but I make no secret of the fact that I love Exotica. In fact I can't get enough of it. It is a genre lost in time, existing for about a decade and then vanishing entirely forever (Okay, there was a brief revival in the 90's led by the band Combustible Edison, but honestly who remembers Combustible Edison?)

Martin Denny didn't invent Exotica. - that honor belongs to the great Les Baxter - but he gave it a name and brought it into its own as a full fledged style. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this style, it basically consists of incorporating world music motifs and instruments into Hollywood style lounge music in the shallowest way possible. Anyone interested in actual world music traditions should turn back now, because that's not what you're getting here. However, as offensive as this concept is to most music aficionados, it's hard to deny that the result has a charm all of its own and that has not been often duplicated.

The first of Denny's Exotica albums was born after some members of his band discovered they could imitate bird calls while playing their instruments (it should here be noted that the most prolific of these bird callers was Arthur Lyman, who would later go on to great success as an Exotica performer in his own right.) There's hardly a track here that doesn't feature some inventive whistling and chirping. Add to that the gentle rhythms and atmospheric percussion and you've got a bona fide lounge classic.

Denny's focus is generally on sounds from the South Pacific and Asia, but throughout his career he would also incorporate idioms from Africa, South America and pretty much anywhere else American audiences would find "Exotic." The CD reissue collects his first two albums onto one disc. It's nice to have the extra material, but there's no apparent change in style or direction across the two records. If you enjoy one, you will certainly enjoy the other. And if you enjoy relaxing with a tropical drink, it's hard to imagine a better soundtrack.

Yma Sumac - Voice of the Xtabay (1950) / Inca Taqui (1953)

Yma Sumac possesses one of the finest and most unusual voices of the 20th century. Its range spans somewhere between four and five octaves, depending on who you believe, and rivals that of any opera singer for power and clarity. All this is made more incredible by the fact that she never took a single voice lesson.

Supposedly the descendant of Incan kings, Yma Sumac was discovered by arranger and future husband Moises Vivanco in Peru and was promptly brought to New York to start making records. The result was so amazing that rumors started flying, the most notorious of which is that Sumac was actually a simple housewife from Brooklyn named Amy Camus. None of these allegations has ever been proven, however, and general consensus is that she is the real deal.

This two-fer collects her first two ten inch LPs onto one disc. Exotica king Les Baxter handles most of the arrangements and there is a bit of fifties kitsch combined with traditional Peruvian melodies that makes for quite a unique sound, especially in today's music scene when much of this style of music has been forgotten.

Of course, Yma's vocal acrobatics dominate the proceedings, leaping about in the stratosphere as well as growling deep, guttural bass notes. On one track, Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) I was astonished as what I was sure could only be a flute turned out to be Yma's voice. You really have to hear it to believe it. On the other hand, Tumpa (Earthquake) displays her lower register, evoking the track's title with aplomb.

Albums like this one are few and far between, a rare treat that literally sounds like nothing else in popular music. Much of Sumac's later work would become overly kitschy and watered down, but here she is in her element, and it shows.

Note: Yma Sumac died late last year at the ripe old age of 84. I hope her music will continue to be enjoyed and appreciated for many years to come.