Exotica

Jazz music community with review and forums

Exotica can range from silly campy novelty records for 'swingin bachelor pads' to more serious experimental blends of jazz, Latin rhythms, studio technology and modern orchestration. The JMA exotica genre excludes the former but welcomes the latter. Good examples of the more artistic practitioners of the Exotica genre include Martin Denny and Les Baxter. Both Denny and Baxter were accomplished jazz musicians who also drew on a wealth of other musical influences including French impressionistic composers, Afro-Cuban jazz and Polynesian percussion to create highly original and creative musical landscapes.

Other jazz influenced artists that might be found in the Exotica genre include: artists who record creative versions of well known pop songs, artists who juxtapose in-congruent styles in an ironic fashion, artists who have an anachronistic presentation and musical style, and artists who create unique recordings that do not fit easily into any standard genre. A final common element of many exotica artists is a sense of ironic kitsch, this element is easily recognized by fans of the genre, but may be too subtle for outsiders to recognize.

Although the age of tiki lounges has long passed, artists who can be labeled as exotica still exist. Many of today's exotica practitioners create colorful and often psychedelic instrumental tracks similar in length to a pop song. The use of analog synthesizers, vintage keyboards and effects are often common as well. Many of today's exotica artists came up through the trip-hop scene. Recent exotica artists include ROOT and Julian Julien.

exotica top albums

Showing only albums and live's | Based on members ratings & JMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

FRANKIE LAINE Hell Bent For Leather Album Cover

Hell Bent For Leather
FRANKIE LAINE
4.91 | 4 ratings

Exotica
MARTIN DENNY
4.82 | 5 ratings

ANANDA SHANKAR Ananda Shankar Album Cover

Ananda Shankar
ANANDA SHANKAR
4.79 | 5 ratings

HERB ALPERT Whipped Cream & Other Delights Album Cover

Whipped Cream & Other Delights
HERB ALPERT
4.75 | 3 ratings

Tamboo!
LES BAXTER
4.50 | 4 ratings

JOHN ZORN The Concealed: Esoteric Secrets and Hidden Traditions of the East Album Cover

The Concealed: Esoteric Secrets and Hidden Traditions of the East
JOHN ZORN
4.50 | 3 ratings

Primitiva
MARTIN DENNY
4.50 | 2 ratings

JULIE LONDON Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Album Cover

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy
JULIE LONDON
4.50 | 2 ratings

MARTIN DENNY Another Taste of Honey Album Cover

Another Taste of Honey
MARTIN DENNY
4.50 | 2 ratings

More Sorcery
GABOR SZABO
4.50 | 2 ratings

BILL FRISELL Guitar in the Space Age! Album Cover

Guitar in the Space Age!
BILL FRISELL
4.30 | 5 ratings

Gypsy '66
GABOR SZABO
4.33 | 3 ratings

This list is in progress since the site is new. We invite all logged in members to use the "quick rating" widget (stars bellow album covers) or post full reviews to increase the weight of your rating in the global average value (see FAQ for more details). Enjoy JMA!

exotica online videos

The Secret of Love
EDEN AHBEZ
js

Theme For A Last Home Movie - Congo Bongo
CONGO BONGO
js

Congo Bongo - Theme For A Last Home Movie
CONGO BONGO
js

See all exotica videos

exotica New Releases

Ed Neumeister Quartet + 3 : Covers
Album
ED NEUMEISTER

Pink Elephants On Parade
Live album
SUN RA

What Eludes Us
Album
DE BEREN GIEREN

Orchestras
Live album
BILL FRISELL

exotica Music Reviews

DAVID AXELROD Songs Of Innocence

Album · 1968 · Exotica

FunkFreak75

A very unusual album for its fully orchestrated presentation, David Axelrod's funky, jazzy compositions take on a lively fullness that is rarely experienced outside the concert hall or Broadway/West End music hall. Way ahead of its time! And employing a cast of sessions musicians that make up a virtual Who's Who in music history--including a cast of The Wrecking Crew as well as orchestra members who would all go on to become very accomplished and known in the orchestral world.

Line-up / Musicians: - David Axelrod / vocals, composer, arranger - Carol Kaye (THE WRECKING CREW) / bass - Earl Palmer (THE WRECKING CREW) / drums - Gary Coleman (THE WRECKING CREW) / vocals - Don Randi (THE WRECKING CREW) / keyboards, conductor - Howard Roberts (THE WRECKING CREW) / guitars - Al Casey (THE WRECKING CREW) / guitars - Ollie Mitchell (THE WRECKING CREW) / trumpet - Tony Terran (THE WRECKING CREW) / trumpet - Gene Estes (WESTFALL) / percussion, vibraphone

ORCHESTRA STRINGS: Alvin Dinkin [viola], Anne Goodman [cello], Arnold Belnick [violin], Benjamin Barrett ([violin] FRANK ZAPPA; well known for his session work on 1970's funk, soul, and disco releases]), Bobby Bruce [violin], Douglas Davis [cello], Gareth Nuttycombe [violin, viola], Harry Bluestone [violin], Harry Hyams [violin], Harry Roth [violin], Jack Shulman [violin], Leonard Malarsky [violin], Marshall Sosson [violin], Myron Sander [violin, viola], Nathan Ross [violin], Raphael Kramer [cello], Sidney Sharp [violin], Tibor Zelig [violin].

ORCHESTRA HORNS: Allen Di Rienzo [trumpet], Art Maebe [French horn], Freddie Hill [trumpet], Harry Sigismonti [French horn], Lewis McCreary [trombone], Richard Leith [trombone], Vincent DeRosa [horn], Bill Hinshaw [horn].

1. "Urizen" (4:01) an awesomely jazzed-up orchestral funk composition that seems way ahead of its time (but for its similarity to contemporary sound developments both on Broadway and at Motown Records). Melodic and dence-provoking. Nice lead guitar work in the second half of the second minute followed by some stunningly awesome bass and drum work from legendary Wrecking Crew members Carol Kaye and Earl Palmer, respectively. (9.25/10)

2. "Holy Thursday" (5:32) more great orchestra-presented funky jazz musical fare that could've come off of an album coming out of Motown or from Burt Bacharach as likely as a 1970s Black Sexploitation film soundtrack. Is that future Westfall and 1970s soundtrack session drummer Gene Estes on vibraphone? and Howard Roberts shredding on the electric guitar? Great stuff! Carol Kaye is so amazing! (9.5/10)

3. "The Smile" (3:26) sadly, a variation of the previous song with the exact same drumming and orchestration but harpsichord/electric piano and electric guitar given more solo spotlight. Bassist Carol Kaye has some funky chops! And David's orchestral arrangements and Don Randi's orchestra are awesome! (8.875/10)

4. "A Dream" (2:30) bass and harpsichord open this one before gentle support drums and some low end orchestral support appear. At 1:23 the orchestra takes over. Beautiful! The bass and Harpsichord play are rather simple. (8.875/10)

5. "Song of Innocence" (4:33) another great, surprisingly funky orchestral composition blended supremely well between the strings, horns, and the bass and drums. Gene Estes and Carol Kaye provide such an awesome rhythmic foundation and Howard Roberts' Eric Gale-like electric guitar (even volume pedaled) is awesome, but the strings/orchestra steal the show on this one. I also like the addition of Don Randi's supportive organ work. Who knew jazz-rock fusion could/would ever look like this! (10/10)

6. "Merlin's Prophecy" (2:44) this cinematic song feels more like the orchestral rendering of a famous pop radio hit or main theme song from a spy movie: crossing over a little too much into the realm of elevator music. Still, it has great sound, melody, and funk! (8.875/10)

7. "The Mental Traveler" (4:02) starting with a long orchestral opening, Carol Kaye's bass is the first instrument to lead the shift to jazzy-rock funk motif that follows. Electric guitar and the presence of vibes gives this song a slightly different feel though it does end up feeling as if it's all coming from the same funky movie soundtrack. (9/10)

Total time 26:48

It's been such a joy and delight to have discovered this album--one of the surprise/delights of the year! I had no idea how much funk existed before the 1970s! Despite being so short, this is definitely one of my favorite albums from the year 1968.

A-/five stars; a masterpiece of jazz-rock fusion--one of the finest blends of orchestra with jazz-rock musicians that you will ever hear!

40 days ago
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Report #573328

KAZUTOKI UMEZU 梅津和時 Umezu Kazutoki ・ Chiba Brass ‎: KabuOngyoku

Album · 2015 · Exotica

snobb

Kazutoki Umezu is a reed player and a significant figure on the Japanese jazz scene. He started his career in the late 1970s, playing with some of the country's most renowned avant-garde jazz artists, but soon switched to a more quirky crossover between free jazz, folk, electronics, and avant-rock. At the peak of his career, in the mid-90s, he recorded one of the most significant Japanese albums of "new eclectic fusion" - "Eclecticism" (with guitarist Mark Ribot and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes on board among others).

Umezu continued his experimental recordings collaborating with such different artists such as the Japanese brutal avant-rock band, Acid Mothers Temple, and Russian (and Russia-based) unorthodox bassist Vladimir Volkov as well as running his own KIKI Band. "KabuOngyoku", released in 2015, is one of Kazutoki's more left-field albums. He runs a reeds-only quartet here playing a quirky mix of avant-garde jazz and folk from all around the world. As a result, it often sounds like a wedding and funeral band from a parallel world.

The opener "KabuOngyoku", is a drunk klezmer with a touch of Japanese folk. "Tohoku" recalls a Finnish folk song and contains Japanese vocals. "Ridge of Miranda" sounds like a tune from a movie from the 70s, cinematic and theatrically melancholic. "Geyser" is an angular hyperbolized waltz, fitting well for imaginary ballet. Another waltz-like piece, "Flotage", sounds a bit like a minimalist version of Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra song from the 70s. On "Station" the quartet combines a waltz-like rhythm with the drunk band's free brass arrangements and klezmer spirit.

"Fey O" starts as a funeral march but continues in a funny danceable manner. "Western Picaro" is a tune from a Western movie. As the title says, "Waltzing Matilda" is a waltz, with a childish-like Japanese vocal (in moments it recalls Soviet-times pioneer songs from Russian cartoons). The closer "Tohoku March" is a true march, just swinging a bit.

In all, not an unexpected album for Umezu, it can be recommended for his musical die-hard fans only.

2 months ago
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Report #573190

THE "SLEEPWALK" GUITARS OF DAN & DALE / THE SENSATIONAL GUITARS OF DAN & DALE Batman And Robin

Album · 1966 · Exotica

siLLy puPPy

Now here’s a little oddity from the 60s in celebration of the life of the great Adam West who played the first BATMAN on the 60s campy tongue-in-cheek TV series. Due to the popularity of the series it seems that everyone was trying to make a buck off of it and this relic from 1966 was brought to life by a New Jersey toy company trying to get in on the action. After all everyone was getting a piece of this pie by latching on to that catchy theme song riff and and that famous na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na sing-along theme track. Amongst those copping a feel were Neal Hefti, The Who, The Kinks, Jan and Dean, Link Wray, Nelson Riddle, The Marketts, The Ventures, Bruce & The Robin Rockers, The “V” Rangers, The Revengers, Bob Kuban & The In-Men, Al Caiola & His Orchestra, The Standells and Sun Ra. Wait a minute? Whaaaat? SUN RA?

Yes! Sun Ra but only under the guise of THE SENSATIONAL GUITARS OF DAN & DALE which included Sun Ra himself along with members of his Arkestra. Together they teamed up Al Kooper’s Blues Project and created this album marketed towards children with catchy surf guitar rhythms based around themes on the BATMAN TV series and the album title being BATMAN AND ROBIN. Although anonymous on the album it is known that Sun Ra performed on the organ, along with his Arkestra mates John Gilmore and Marshall Allen on saxes, Jimmy Owens on trumpet and Tom McIntosh on trombone. From the Blues Project Steve Katz and Danny Kalb played guitars.

Since this was a money grab of sorts, the Tifton label taylor made for this project decided in order to keep licensing fees as well as royalties to a minimum, all the tracks except for the “Batman Theme” itself were based on whatever was in the public domain therefore everything from Chopin’s “Polaise Op. 53,” Tchaikovsky’s “Fifth Symphony” and the love theme from Romeo and Juliet were pirated and arranged into generic rock ’n roll and surf guitar riffs that sometimes sounded suspiciously too close to contemporary popular music icons like The Beatles (“The Riddler’s Retreat” comes a little too close to “She Loves You’s” signature melodic touches.) While most of the tracks are instrumental rock ’n roll jams, there are a couple tracks including the “Batman Theme” that have an uncredited vocalist who hits all the right notes so gracefully that i wish she were included on more of the tracks!

The whole incarnation known as DAN & DALE is a little murky as they released a whole slew of substandard releases and it’s unknown but rather dubious that either Sun Ra or Blues Project had anything to do with them. Don’t in anyway expect anything close to the extraterrestrial space jazz that Sun Ra & His Arkestra were churning out by the minute in the same time period of the 60s. This album was designed for kids and is nothing more than kitschy garage rock mixed with surf rock and space age pop albeit with some jazzy touches but what a fun little collection of numbers they churned out as the band takes bland and seemingly uninspired titles such as “Batman and Robin Over The Roofs” and add life to them with a tasteful masterful musicianship that adds a zest to the simple songs like only true professionals can.

While i wouldn’t call this a long lost masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, i can recommend this if you want to feel like you’ve fallen into an Austin Powers movie that simulates the era and in the midst of the groovy light shows in a smoked filled nightclub setting you can imagine this groovy music playing in the background while wild stoned-out hippie chicks are dancing the Watusi, the Hully Gully or just free floating across the dance floor! For a kids’ based album this one is real treat to listen to and one that has all the sweeter taste having the great Sun Ra & his Arkestra members involved.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #264900

KAI WINDING Soul Surfin (aka !!! More !!! (Theme From Mondo Cane))

Album · 1963 · Exotica

Kai Winding was one of the best be-bop trombonists of the 1940s and 50s, playing with top notch bands like Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton, and cutting some highly acclaimed trombone duets with J.J. Johnson. Flash forward to the late 50s and bop wasn’t paying the bills anymore so Kai started turning more to pop offerings to make ends meet. In 1963 Kai released “Soul Surfin”, a fairly successful pop/rock-n-roll record that spawned a major hit with “More” from the movie “Mondo Cane”. You could call this a ‘rock’ record, but its orchestrated rock, more in line with pop big bands like Quincy Jones and Henry Mancicni, not the harder street sounds of Link Wray or Dick Dale. Needless to say, to modern ears this is not so much a rock record as it fits much more with what has been dubbed exotica or lounge music. It’s the sound of the swingin 60s in a suburbia styleee. The album title implies that Kai is mixing surf music and soul jazz on here, and that’s partially true, but that blend is somewhat filtered through an orchestrated easy listening format. Some of the tunes rock, but its not a teenager’s rock, instead, its rock for the double martini business lunch crowd and Las Vegas lounge sharks.

Kai is not the only big jazz star on here, the great Kenny Burrell is also on hand supplying all the requisite surf guitar licks and doing his best to channel Duane Eddy, and maybe its no big surprise that Kenny is great at this sort of thing. One of the biggest pluses on here is the production, the early 60s was the glory days of “hi-fidelity”, and this album still sounds great. Just the right amount of reverb makes everything sound massive, especially the trombone section. The best cuts on here include the one’s where they get creative with the orchestrations, sometimes adding a Ondoline to the mix. The Ondoline, much like the Ondes Martenot, is a French pre-synthesizer keyboard that sounds a bit like a theremin. Exotica collectors will want to check out, “China Nights”, “Surf Bird”, “Spinner” and “Hearse Ride”, all of which include creative orchestrations. The downside of this album are some songs that have been recorded way too many times, including; “Pipeline”, “Sukiyaki” and “More”. As is typical with these albums, the one ‘almost jazz’ cut comes at the end when they play a somewhat surf version of Herbie Mann’s “Comin Home Baby”, with short solos for both Kai and Kenny. Jazz fans and admirers of Winding’s bop skills will want to stay clear of this record, but the fans of the space-age bachelor pad vibe will find a lot to like on “Soul Surfin”.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #251947

LEO DIAMOND Subliminal Sounds

Album · 1960 · Exotica

Anyone interested in bizarre music needs to know about Leo Diamond’s “Subliminal Sounds”, there is no other record like this weird mix of incongruous elements. Leo Diamond was a virtuoso on an unlikely instrument, the harmonica. Despite his choice of ‘axxe’, Diamond made a good living as one of the top harmonica players of his day. He also worked in writing and arranging and had a huge easy listening hit with “Off Shore”. Diamond’s taste in music leaned towards banal, and even tacky pop, but this was leavened by an unlikely interest in expanded musical forms and studio electronics. In 1956 he released “Skin Diver Suite”, a bizarre third stream concoction that alternated between extreme Hollywood schmaltz and creepy ‘watery’ sound effects. At times overly sentimental, and at other times just plain disturbing, this one needs to be heard to be believed.

After “Skin Diver Suite”, Diamond released a few pop albums and then came the album in question here, “Subliminal Sounds”. The title already sounds creepy and Diamond doesn’t disappoint as he presents twelve mostly corny arrangements of pop standards that are cloaked in ‘subliminal’ electronic sound effects. For the first couple of minutes, this album is absolutely fascinating as you hear Diamond’s weird and subtle effects, but then you realize many of these tunes are almost unbearable, thus the Diamond dichotomy. Easily the tunes on here that work the best are the one’s that lean in a more exotica direction, that would include “Jungle Drums”, “Dream Train” and “House of Dreams”, meanwhile some of the more sentimental fare gets tiresome right quick.

Despite a couple of really good exotica tracks, this album doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention from the weird music collectors, that’s why you can still find it for cheap occasionally at thrift stores. People who appreciate David Lynch’s idea of wholesome ‘normalcy’ gone berserk may also appreciate Leo’s musical vision.