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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZDENNY, Martin(b 10 April '11, NYC; d 2 March 2005, Hawaii) Piano, composer. He toured with swing bands before WWII; settled in Hawaii late '50s; formed group with Arthur Lyman (b '34, Kauai, Hawaii; d 24 Feb. 2002) on vibes and marimba, replaced by Julius Wechter (who later started the Baja Marimba Band), August Colon (bongos etc), Harvey Ragsdale (bass, marimbula). Denny said that he was playing with a combo in Hawaii when the bullfrogs began making a lot of noise, and the sidemen joiuned in with phony birdcalls: the customers liked it and his 'exotica' style was born, turning restaurants into tame jungles. The pleasant, tasteful stuff sold records on Liberty: Exotica '59 was a no. 1 LP; the version of Les Baxter tune 'Quiet Village' a no. 4 single that year. Other albums included Martinique, The Enchanted Sea '59, A Taste Of Honey '62. Lyman and Ragsdale left to form a similar group with John Kramer on bass and hit with the album Taboo '58 on the aptly named HiFi label, the title track making the Hot 100 '59, 'Yellow Bird' no. 4 '61; other Lyman LPs were Yellow Bird '61, I Wish You Love '63. The success of the genre helped by excellent recorded sound and the new stereo format, and the widening availability at the time of good record-playing equipment. Lyman later also recorded for GNP Crescendo; his compilations were on DCC Compact Classics. Denny's Exotica 1 And 2 were combined on one Scamp CD; Bachelor In Paradise on Pair also combined two LPs; Exotica on Rhino and Quiet Village on Curb/WB were compilations. |