Les Baxter
Les Baxter is a pianist who composed and arranged for the top swing bands of the '40s and '50s, but he is better known as the founder of exotica, a variation of easy listening that glorified the sounds and styles of Polynesia, Africa, and South America, even as it retained the traditional string-and-horn arrangements of instrumental pop. Exotica became a massively popular trend in the '50s, with thousands of record buyers listening to Baxter, Martin Denny, and their imitators. Baxter also pioneered the use of the electronic instrument the theremin, which has a haunting, howling sound.
Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory and Pepperdine College in Los Angeles. After he completed school, he abandoned the piano and became a vocalist. When he was 23, he joined Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones. The group sang on Artie Shaw records, including the hit "What Is This Thing Called Love."
In 1950, he became an arranger and conductor for Capitol Records, working on hits by Nat King Cole, including "Mona Lisa." Around the same time, Baxter began recording his own albums. In 1948, he released a triple-78 album called Music out of the Moon, which ushered in space-age pop with its use of the theremin. Four years later, he began recording exotica albums with Le Sacre du Sauvage.
On his early-'50s singles Baxter was relatively straightforward, performing versions of standards like the number one hits "Unchained Melody" and "The Poor People of Paris," but on his albums he experimented with all sorts of world musics, adapting them for his orchestra. As he was recording his exotica albums, Baxter was also the musical director for the radio show Halls of Ivy, plus Abbott & Costello radio shows; he also composed over 100 film scores, concentrating on horror movies and teenage musicals and comedies, though he also did dramas like Giant.
Baxter's heyday was in the '50s and '60s. Although he continued to compose and record in the '70s, his output was sporadic. Nevertheless, a cult following formed around his exotica recordings that persisted into the '90s.
© TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
The Passions (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 24.10.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sound of the Cinema (Remastered)
Lounge - Erschienen bei Master Tape Records am 03.10.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Space Age Collection; Exotica, Volume 9 (Stereo)
Lounge - Erschienen bei PROFOUND am 07.02.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Primitive And The Passionate (Remaster)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei RevOla am 04.01.2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Jewels of the Sea (Stereo Version)
Pop - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hang Your Wishes On The Tree / Santa Claus' Party
Weihnachtsmusik - Erschienen bei CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) am 01.01.1952
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ports of Pleasure
World Music - Erschienen bei TP4 Music am 06.01.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voodoo Dreams (Jazz and Blues Experience)
Pop - Erschienen bei Beverly Records am 18.07.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of
Jazz - Erschienen bei Classic Music International am 22.06.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Muisc From Salad Days (Original London Cast 1954)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Mile End am 05.05.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
South Pacific (Remastered 2017)
Pop - Erschienen bei Powerbank Records am 04.08.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Selections From Rodgers And Hammerstein's South Pacific (Remastered)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei RevOla am 20.02.2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Exotic Worlds Of...Les Baxter! Vol. 1 (Remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei RevOla am 13.12.2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tamboo! (Mono Version)
Pop - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
-
Jazz Collection (Original Recordings)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz Dog Records am 17.04.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchids in the Moonlight
Les Baxter, Arthur Murray Orchestra
Pop - Erschienen bei Resona Music am 01.10.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Passions + Arthur Murray's Favorites Modern Waltzes
Jazz - Erschienen bei Sauvage Recordings am 02.09.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voices in Rhythm (Bonus Track Version)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Sauvage Recordings am 01.04.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo