MARTIN DENNY - LATIN VILLAGE

MARTIN DENNY - é inevitável a comparação: sempre que se ouve incursões de pianistas
americanos pelos ritmos afro-cubanos ou pela bossa-nova o parâmetro é GEORGE SHEARING. E quando entra na história um vibrafone a gente pensa logo em CAL TJADER. Portanto, MARTIN DENNY não vai escapar da comparação nem sair ileso. Embora fosse um músico competente e de razoável sucesso nos USA, tocando em clubes e gravando um estilo de música que foi classificado como EXÓTICO (seja lá isso o que for), MARTIN DENNY não chega a atingir o nível de excelência e preciosismo dos citados Shearing e Tjader. E o tal "exotismo" está explicado no texto lá embaixo.

(*) No final do texto tem uma historinha envolvendo o coaxar de rãs. Pois bem: na próxima postagem dos novos álbuns de DONATO eu vou contar um episódio envolvendo o nosso JD e um SAPO, acontecida em Petrópolis, na casa do pianista Roberto Ebert. Mera coincidência? Sei lá...o Donato foi contemporâneo do Martin Denny em Los Angeles e vai ver que esse negócio com sapos e rãs é contagioso. (Isso sem falar no Hermeto que foi mais longe, com porcos e galinhas...)
(CB)
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MARTIN DENNY
Martin Denny (April 10, 1911–March 2, 2005) was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and original songs that celebrated Tiki culture. Denny was born in New York, and raised in Los Angeles, California. He studied classical piano and at a young age toured South America for four-and-a-half years with the Don Dean Orchestra. This tour began Denny's fascination with Latin rhythms. Denny collected a large number of ethnic instruments from all over the world, which he used to spice up his stage performances. In January 1954, Don the Beachcomber brought Denny to Honolulu, Hawaii for a two-week engagement. He stayed to form his own combo in 1955, performing under contract at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village on Oahu and soon signing to Liberty Records. The original combo consisted of Augie Colon on percussion and birdcalls, Arthur Lyman on vibes, John Kramer on string bass, and Denny on piano. Lyman soon left to form his own group and future Herb Alpert sideman and Baja
Marimba Band founder Julius Wechter replaced him. Harvey Ragsdale later replaced Kramer Denny described the music his combo plays as "window dressing, a background". It is the perfect complement to the exotic setting of Hawaii. "A lot of what I'm doing", he stated "is just window dressing familiar tunes. I can take a tune like "Flamingo" and give it a tropical feel, in my style. In my arrangement of a Japanese farewell song, "Sayonara" I include a Japanese three-stringed instrument, the shamisen. We distinguished each song by a different ethnic instrument, usually on top of a semi-jazz or Latin beat." Denny built a collection of strange and exotic instruments with the help of several airline friends. During an engagement at the Shell Bar, Denny discovered what would become his trademark and the birth of "exotica." The bar had a very exotic setting: a little pool of water right outside the bandstand, rocks and palm trees growing around, very quiet and relaxed. As the group played at night, Denny became aware of bullfrogs croaking. The croaking blended with the music and when the band stopped, so did the frogs. Denny thought this to be a coincidence, but when he tried the tune again later, the same thing happened. This time, his bandmates began doing all sorts of tropical bird calls as a gag. The band thought it nothing more than a joke. The next day, though, someone approached Denny and asked if he would do the arrangement with the birds and
frogs. The more Denny thought about it, the more it made sense. At rehearsal, he had
the band do "Quiet Village" with each doing a bird call spaced apart. Denny did the
frog part on a grooved cylinder and the whole thing became incorporated into the arrangement of "Quiet Village". He died in his home in Hawai'i Kai, Honolulu, on March 2, 2005, at age 93.
(Source: Wikipedia, edited by CB)
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ALBUM RELEASE (ORIGINAL)
This is Denny's first album comprised of solely Latin material. And choose wisely
he does. There's a few tunes by Jobim and a Denny original as well. Still exotic by
standards of the day it's a nice listen. And you just can't pass up that wonderful
front cover photo. So toss this one on the turntable the next time the gang is over
for some margaritas and sunshine.
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MINHA OPINIÃO - o repertório é bom, embora óbvio. Naquela época, os músicos americanos que se aventuravam pelo "latin-jazz" e "bossa-nova" repetiam quase sempre as mesmas músicas e, inevitávelmente, as insuportáveis MALAGUEÑA e MANHÃ DE CARNAVAL entravam na lista. Mas MARTIN DENNY era um músico "da noite", experimentado, e dá conta do recado. Vale o registro.
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MARTIN DENNY - LATIN VILLAGE
Label: Liberty Records LST-7378
Year : 1964

PERSONNEL
Martin Denny - piano, leader
Augie Colon - percussion and birdcalls
Arthur Lyman - vibes
John Kramer - string bass

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1.Angelito
2.On Green Dolphin Street
3.Corcovado
4.Without You
5.Ho-Ba-La-La
6.Something Latin
7.Manha De Carnival
8.Latin Village
9.The Girl From Ipanema
10.Malaguena
11.Sugar Cane
12.Flying Down to Rio

DOWNLOAD: AQUI