Home » Search Center » Results: Les Baxter

Results for "Les Baxter"

Advanced search options

Results for pages tagged "Les Baxter"...

Musician

Les Baxter

Born:

I was privileged to have known Les Baxter, and honored that he thought of me as a close friend. He was a completely unique musical mind, and in every way a singular man. I had never met anyone like him, and have not since. His death in January 1996 robbed music of a one-of-kind composer, and robbed me of an irreplaceable friend whose spirit and memory have stayed with me, as have the musical lessons he was so generous to teach.

The picture of the Complete Les Baxter begins, for me, with a Hagspiel baby grand piano. To see Les play this instrument was to see him at his most regal.It was there he would sight-read the piano music of Maurice Ravel, play bits of his own compositions, or — on a very lucky day — improvise thematically on an old standard song such as “Stardust” or “Darn That Dream.” His Palm Springs house did not look it, but it was a place of music. Les would sit out by the pool, his dog Blondie at his feet, recalling all sorts of musical memories — memories of Louis Armstrong, of making exotica, of going to Brazil and hearing the carnival drummers.

10

Article: Album Review

Astrocolor: Moonlighting--Astrojazz Vol. 1

Read "Moonlighting--Astrojazz Vol. 1" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Considering the title of the recording, Moonlighting--Astro Jazz Vol. 1, and its futuristic cover art, the Canadian ensemble Astrocolor brings to mind the mid-1950s/early-1960s music that claimed the tag “Space Age Jazz," an offshoot of exotica or lounge music. It was a music considered by some at the time as schlocky, lacking a serious intent. It ...

43

Article: Building a Jazz Library

Yusef Lateef: An Alternative Top Ten Albums Blowing Cultural Nationalism Out Of The Water

Read "Yusef Lateef: An Alternative Top Ten Albums Blowing Cultural Nationalism Out Of The Water" reviewed by Chris May


A pioneer of global and modal jazz, the multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef is only beginning to have his importance in the history of the music properly acknowledged. After languishing off-catalogue for decades, much of his output is being made available once more. A treasure trove of great jazz is out there waiting to be rediscovered. ...

36

Article: Interview

Jon Hassell: Words with the Shaman

Read "Jon Hassell: Words with the Shaman" reviewed by Chris May


Jon Hassell is best known as the creator of Fourth World music, an acoustic-electronic blend of jazz, minimalism, drone, ambient, traditional African and Asian instruments and harmolodic signatures. Hassell has defined Fourth World as “serious music with transcultural appeal and a smile." He unveiled the concept on his debut album, Vernal Equinox (Lovely Records), in 1977. ...

3

Article: Album Review

Various Artists: Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights

Read "Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard


Close your eyes and dream for a moment. There are beaches and palm trees. Long drinks are served with parasols and consumed while relaxing in hammocks to the distant sound of bird calls and bongo drums. There is no stress and the only adventure is the kind you seek for yourself when you go out into ...

1

News: Recording

Escape To The Alluring Sounds Of Vintage Exotica On "Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights" On May 25

Escape To The Alluring Sounds Of Vintage Exotica On "Technicolor Paradise:  Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights" On May 25

In the late ’50s to the mid-’60s, somewhere between Elvis’ last Ed Sullivan Show appearance and the Beatles’ U.S. invasion, a strange musical movement surfaced in America seemingly from some fantasy island in the South Pacific. Known as Exotica, the music blended together wildly disparate musical styles—easy listening and lounge; jazz and surf—to concoct a fizzy ...

1

News: Interview

Interview: Ginny Mancini

Interview: Ginny Mancini

Some of Artie Shaw and Mel Torme's finest recordings came in 1946, when both were signed to the Musicraft label in jny: Los Angeles. Torme at the time fronted a vocal quartet known as the Mel-Tones. What set the Mel-Tones apart was their hip spin on the band vocal groups popular at the time. Torme wrote ...

Album

Sincerely / The Beautiful Ballads

Label: Capitol Records
Released: 1996
Track listing: Sincerely; Sweethearts On Parade ; You Are Mine ; Let Me Tell You, Babe ; No Other Heart ; Because You Love Me ; Cappuccina ; Let True Love Begin ; Baby Blue ; Silver Bird ; Nothing In The World ; Take A Fool's Advice ; The Beautiful Ballads; Felicia ; Miss Me ; Marnie ; Here's To My Lady ; Fool Was I ; Bend A Little My Way ; You'll See ; If I Knew ; Back In My Arms ; When It's Summer; I'll Always Be Remembering ("Things");

Album

Cocktail Capers

Label: Capitol Records
Released: 1996
Track listing: Roller Coaster; Hey! Bellboy!; This Could Be The Start Of Something; The Pink Panther Theme; Like Young; Underwater Chase; Binga Banga Bongo / Percolator; Call Me; Mountain Greenery; Charade; Shooting Star / Jungalero; Honorable Hong Kong Rock; Odd Job Man / I Wanna Be A James Bond Girl; Heap Big Chief; Blue Danube Rock; Pussy Cat; Teach Me Tiger; Lolita Ya Ya; You Go To My Head;

Album

Saxophobia

Label: Not On Label
Released: 1996
Track listing: I Dig; Street Scene; All Or Nothing At All; Bernie's Tune; Watermelon Man; Volare (Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu); Tanya; Samba De Orfeu; Peter Gunn Twist / Tequila With A Twist; Goldfinger; Caravan; Speakeasy Blues; One Mint Julep; Ebb Tide; The Big Twist; Harlem Nocturne; The Misfits; Bongo Bash / Sax Con Ritmo; A Handful Of Stars;


Engage

Contest Giveaways
Enter our latest contest giveaway sponsored by Calligram Records
Polls & Surveys
Vote for your favorite musicians and participate in our brief surveys.
Publisher's Desk
How To Follow Staff Writers
Read on...

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.