egroj world: Arthur Lyman • The Exotic Sounds Of ... Arthur Lyman At The Crescendo

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Arthur Lyman • The Exotic Sounds Of ... Arthur Lyman At The Crescendo


During the 1950's and early 60's, "exotica" carved out a significant niche in the genre we think of now as lounge music. Characterized by dark and moody melodies, unusual instrumentation, and a fascination with all things Polynesian, exotica was dominated by the troika of Martin Denny, Les Baxter, and Arthur Lyman. Among those three, only Lyman recorded a Christmas album. Called Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas), the record was released in 1963 on a little label called Hi Fi under their "Life" imprint, and it's exactly what one would hope for and expect. Lyman deploys his trademark vibes and marimba, plus Hawaiian axes (ukulele, steel guitar) and (in a later version) colorful sound effects (shrieking macaws, rolling surf), in creating a genuinely exotic album - one that sensuously evokes Christmas in America's lovely 50th state.
Of course, this was a reality that existed only in Lyman's head (and, perhaps, in the Trader Vic's restaurants that sprung up during the exotica craze). But, that's the beauty of exotica. Through this ephemeral music, swingers all over the globe experienced things they might never witness first-hand - savage tribal dances, snowy peaks in the Andes, the moon over Bali. In the case of Mele Kalikimaka, Lyman imports reindeer, evergreens, and jolly old elves into a lush tropical paradise, and somehow made it all make sense.
Arthur Lyman An Hawaiian native, Arthur Lyman got his first big break when Martin Denny hired him in 1951. On his own, Lyman released dozens of LP's (see Varese's Very Best of Arthur Lyman for highlights), first succeeding with Taboo (1959) and peaking on Yellow Bird (1961). When Mele Kalikimaka was released a couple of years later, the popularity of exotica was waning, and Lyman was covering familiar turf, musically speaking. He interprets well-known holiday standards in his now-familiar style, but that doesn't mean the album isn't a delight. Among the highlights: Arthur and his band recreating "Winter Wonderland" in full-on exotic mode, or giving "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" the Latin treatment. And, their quirky "Sleigh Ride" resembles space-age pop icon Esquivel, minus his notoriously extreme dynamics. In general, Mele Kalikimaka adheres to the standard to which all Christmas albums should aspire - it's an excellent example of the artist (Lyman) and the genre (exotica), in addition to being a wonderful celebration of the season.
Not surprisingly, though, the highest points on Mele Kalikimaka occur during the two least traditional numbers. The first is Lyman's quiet, faithful rendition of calypso singer Harry Belafonte's 1956 holiday hit, "Mary's Boy Child" - truly, a match made in heaven. Then, on the title cut, Lyman combines his patented sound with his wry sense of humor, segueing from a lush, exotic introduction into a bouncy vocal arrangement of "the Hawaiian Christmas song" before concluding with a frenzied, mallet-driven workout. "Mele Kalikimaka," it's worth noting, is hardly a traditional island song. Rather, it's a modern composition by Hawaiian-born R. Alex Anderson, first recorded (to the best of my knowledge) by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters in 1950. That makes it the perfect Lyman vehicle - exotic a
Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) was first reissued on CD as With A Christmas Vibe (Rykodisc, 1996) during the height of the lounge music revival. Though brilliantly mastered, the album was remixed, including some kitschy tropical sound effects - fun, but not very faithful to Lyman's vision. Featuring a sexy model on the cover, the package was generously annotated with Hawaiian history and pictures - even recipes - but barely a scrap of information about Lyman or the original album.
Ten years later, Empire Musicwerks released a more faithful version, including restored cover art (sans the original LP's shiny, foil-wrapped paperboard). Amazingly, the CD seems to have been mastered from vinyl - surface noise, pops, and clicks are clearly audible. No explanation is given, though the liner notes take pains to mention the legendary quality of Lyman's stereo LP's. To my ears, however, the Rykodisc remix (With A Christmas Vibe) sounds better. This time, at least, Empire includes a gushing essay about Lyman and his legacy, but still nary a word about Mele Kalikimaka itself. Odd.  http://www.hipchristmas.com/artists/l/lyman.php

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Traducción Automática:
Durante la década de 1950 y principios de la década de los 60, "exótica" hizo un nicho importante en el género que ahora consideramos música de salón. Caracterizada por melodías oscuras y caprichosas, una instrumentación inusual y una fascinación por todo lo polinesio, la exótica estaba dominada por la troika de Martin Denny, Les Baxter y Arthur Lyman. Entre esos tres, solo Lyman grabó un álbum navideño. Llamada Mele Kalikimaka (Feliz Navidad), el disco fue lanzado en 1963 en una pequeña etiqueta llamada Hi Fi bajo su sello "Life", y es exactamente lo que uno esperaría y esperaría. Lyman despliega su vibra y marimba de marca registrada, además de hachas hawaianas (ukelele, guitarra de acero) y (en una versión posterior) efectos de sonido coloridos (chillidos de guacamayos, balanceo del surf), en la creación de un álbum genuinamente exótico, uno que evoca sensualmente la Navidad en el encantador país. 50º estado.
Por supuesto, esta era una realidad que solo existía en la cabeza de Lyman (y, quizás, en los restaurantes del Trader Vic que surgieron durante la locura exótica). Pero, esa es la belleza de lo exótico. A través de esta música efímera, los swingers de todo el mundo experimentaron cosas que nunca podrían presenciar de primera mano: danzas tribales salvajes, picos nevados en los Andes, la luna sobre Bali. En el caso de Mele Kalikimaka, Lyman importa renos, árboles de hoja perenne y viejos duendes a un exuberante paraíso tropical, y de alguna manera hizo que todo tuviera sentido.
Arthur Lyman Arthur Lyman, nativo de Hawai, obtuvo su primera gran oportunidad cuando Martin Denny lo contrató en 1951. Lyman lanzó decenas de LPs (ver "Lo Mejor de Arthur Lyman de Varese para detalles destacados), primero con Taboo (1959) y Pico en Yellow Bird (1961). Cuando Mele Kalikimaka fue liberada un par de años después, la popularidad de la exótica estaba disminuyendo, y Lyman estaba cubriendo el terreno familiar, musicalmente hablando. Interpreta los estándares navideños conocidos en su estilo ahora familiar, pero eso no significa que el álbum no sea una delicia. Entre los aspectos más destacados, Arthur y su banda recrean "Winter Wonderland" en modo exótico, o le dan a "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" el tratamiento latino. Y, su peculiar "Paseo en trineo" se asemeja al ícono del pop de la era espacial Esquivel, menos su dinámica notoriamente extrema. En general, Mele Kalikimaka se adhiere al estándar al que deben aspirar todos los álbumes de Navidad: es un excelente ejemplo del artista (Lyman) y el género (exótico), además de ser una maravillosa celebración de la temporada.
Sin embargo, no es sorprendente que los puntos más altos en Mele Kalikimaka ocurran durante los dos números menos tradicionales. La primera es la interpretación tranquila y fiel de Lyman del éxito navideño de 1956 del cantante de calypso Harry Belafonte, "Mary's Boy Child": verdaderamente, un partido hecho en el cielo. Luego, en el corte del título, Lyman combina su sonido patentado con su irónico sentido del humor, pasando de una exuberante y exótica introducción a un arreglo vocal animoso de "la canción de la Navidad de Hawai" antes de concluir con un frenético entrenamiento dirigido por un mazo. "Mele Kalikimaka", vale la pena señalar, no es una canción tradicional de la isla. Más bien, es una composición moderna de R. Alex Anderson, nacido en Hawai, grabada por primera vez (por lo que sé) por Bing Crosby y las Hermanas Andrew en 1950. Eso lo convierte en el vehículo perfecto de Lyman.
Mele Kalikimaka (Feliz Navidad) se reeditó por primera vez en un CD con With A Christmas Vibe (Rykodisc, 1996) durante el apogeo del renacimiento de la música lounge. Aunque fue brillantemente dominado, el álbum fue remezclado, incluyendo algunos efectos de sonido tropical kitsch - divertido, pero no muy fiel a la visión de Lyman. Con un modelo sexy en la portada, el paquete fue anotado generosamente con historia y fotos hawaianas, incluso recetas, pero apenas un fragmento de información sobre Lyman o el álbum original.
Diez años más tarde, Empire Musicwerks lanzó una versión más fiel, incluida la portada restaurada (sin el brillante cartón envuelto en papel de aluminio del LP original). Sorprendentemente, el CD parece haberse masterizado a partir de vinilo: el ruido de la superficie, los chasquidos y los clics son claramente audibles. No se da ninguna explicación, aunque las notas del liner se toman la molestia de mencionar la calidad legendaria de los LP estéreo de Lyman. Para mis oídos, sin embargo, el remix de Rykodisc (With A Christmas Vibe) suena mejor. Esta vez, al menos, el Imperio incluye un ensayo efusivo sobre Lyman y su legado, pero aún así ni una palabra acerca de Mele Kalikimaka. Impar.   http://www.hipchristmas.com/artists/l/lyman.php


Tracklist:
A1 - Similau - 3:37
A2 - Days Of Wine And Roses - 2:30
A3 - Te Manu Pakarua (Fishing Chant From M-G-M Film "Mutiny On The Bounty") - 2:00
A4 - Waltz Latino - 2:36
A5 - China Nights - 2:18
A6 - Night Train - 1:58
B1 - Pu Pu Hino Hino - 2:14
B2 - Crickets Of Karachi - 1:25
B3 - Cindy Oh Cindy - 2:19
B4 - Cast Your Fate To The Winds - 2:10
B5 - Song Of Delilah (From The Paramount Film "Samson And Delilah") - 2:18
B6 - Slaughter On Tenth Avenue - 7:53

Credits
Bass, Flute, Guitar, Ukulele, Clarinet, Percussion – John Kramer
Engineer [Supervision] – Thorne E. Nogar
Liner Notes – Gene Norman
Percussion, Bass, Instruments [A Battery Of Exotic Instruments] – Harold Chang
Piano, Guitar, Glockenspiel, Marimba – Alan Soares
Vibraphone, Marimba, Congas, Bongos, Guitar, Instruments [Almost Every Other Instrument Used In The Group] – Arthur Lyman

Notes
Live recording at the Crescendo, Sunset Strip, Hollywood (the applause was later deleted to preserve the exotic mood).
A custom built 16 position three channel mixing console was employed having separate equilization controls for each channel and also switching facilities to change any microphone position to any channel at any moment to achieve various placement effects.
Recorded At – Crescendo Club, Hollywood
Model 251 Telefunkens, U47 Telefunkens and C-37A Sony's microphones were used to record the various musical sounds and echo effects.
The master tape was trasferred to a variable pitch Scully lathe using a Westrex 3C cutter.

Label: GNP Crescendo ‎– GNP 605, GNP Crescendo ‎– GNP #605, GNP Crescendo ‎– GNP-605S
Released: 1963
Genre: Jazz, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Easy Listening, Smooth Jazz, Pacific




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