Chaino - Afro Cha Cha b/w Congo Serenade (circa 1959)

'Afro-Exotica' percussionist/vocalist Chaino
(pronounced “Cha-EE-no”) was born Leon Johnson in Chicago, Illinois in 1927.

As a bongo-playing nightclub performer in the 1950s, he encountered record producer Kirby Allan, who sought to make records capturing the feel of traditional African rhythms he'd heard while visiting Kenya.

- Follow link to Space Age Pop.Com for a Chaino bio page.




- Follow link to the liner notes from Chaino's 'Jungle Echoes' LP
for some of the 'Tarzan in Reverse' version of his bio that was presented to the press.






Beginning in 1958, Chaino and Allan recorded a series of albums that were released in rapid succession by different labels.

The tracks on the 45 posted here appeared on the '59 'Africana' LP, but it looks like they were left off of Chaino CD reissues.






Listen to:
Chaino - Afro Cha Cha
(Terra Records 45, circa 1959)
(click for audio)














Listen to:
Chaino - Congo Serenade
(Terra Records 45, circa 1959)
(click for audio)














See also:
- Bio, discography and more at Kirby Allan's Exotica & Beyond.

- Chaino listed at AllMusic.Com

- Stills and audio from Chaino's appearance in the 1961
horror film 'Night Tide', at Dwrayger Dungeon's Music From
The Monster Movies site.

- As of this writing, music from Chaino's
'New Sounds in Rock & Roll' is available at Xtabays World.

- More music from Chaino can be found at Last.fm.

Tommy Morgan - Tropicale (1958)

With Warren Barker's arrangements and orchestra behind him, Tommy Morgan achieved a lushness with his harmonica on this classic instrumental exotica record that eluded many other players.

- Click here to view the liner notes to this LP in a new window.

You've heard Tommy Morgan's harmonica, as has most everyone else on the planet at one time or another.

As of this writing, after 50+ years in the business he remains one of the top harmonica session men in Hollywood, and can be heard on countless recordings and on film and television.

In the 1970's, it was his harmonica on The Carpenters'
'Rainy Days And Mondays', while on TV it was his distinctive playing in the themes to 'The Rockford Files' and 'Sanford and Son'.

Back in the '60's, he was on The Hollies' hit 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', and if you remember that amazing deep harmonica sound in composer Vic Mizzy's incidental background music on 'Green Acres' - - guess what...?

- Click over to Tommy Morgan's website for more info.


From Tommy Morgan's
'Tropicale' LP,
with orchestra conducted by Warren Barker,
(Warner Bros. Records, 1958), Listen to:

Baia
Bali Ha'i
Poinciana
Ebb Tide
Moon of Manakoora
Misirlou
Beyond The Reef
Ruby
The Beach
The High and The Mighty
Off Shore
Taboo

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 12 monophonic tracks in one 15.7 Mb zipfile.

Yma Sumac and Moises Vivanco magazine photo, 1950

Inca Princess/Peruvian Diva/Queen of Exotica
Yma Sumac gained international acclaim in 1950 with the release of her first album on Capitol Records, 'Voice of the Xtabay', showcasing her other-worldly multi-octave vocal range.

⬅ This small promo photo appeared in the November, 1950 issue of Capitol News.
(click to ENLARGE)

Sumac married composer/bandleader
Moises Vivanco in 1942, divorced him and remarried him in 1957, and divorced him again in 1965.

They performed and recorded in South America for several years with Compañía Peruana de Arte, Vivanco's music and dance ensemble, before moving to New York City in 1946.

In New York they formed the Inca Taky Trio with Yma's cousin, Cholita Rivero.

After signing with Capitol, Sumac was busy throughout the 1950's with live appearances and touring.

Several classic Exotica albums followed 'Xtabay' (My personal favorite is still the 'Mambo' LP from '54).

In 1951 she appeared in the Broadway musical Flahooley, which ran for a month at Manhattan's Broadhurst Theatre.

There were a few film appearances as well - - Notably, 'Omar Khayyam' in 1957, and 1954's
'Secret of the Incas' (starring Charlton Heston as the prototype for Indiana Jones), which included the performance of 'Tumpa' shown below via the YouTube clip...



For more of all things Yma, see also:

- Other Yma Sumac clips available at YouTube.

- The Official
Yma Sumac Website

- Click here to read 'Yma Sumac...the Voice of the Incas', from the Nov./Dec. 1951 issue of FATE Magazine.
(Via Java's Bachelor Pad)

- Yma Sumac on MySpace, where you can also hear some of her music.

- Yma Sumac's entry at allmusic.Com.

Les Baxter 'Le Sacre Du Savage' photo-spread, 1951

(Click on image to ENLARGE to readable dimensions on a new page!)











































Released on Capitol Records in 1951,
Les Baxter's 'Ritual of the Savage' LP would become one of the most significant albums of Baxter's long and varied career.

With its hit song, 'Quiet Village', it would also remain a landmark of essential listening in the world of 'exotica' music.

Around the time of its release, the little 'centerfold' fumetti-esque photo-spread shown above appeared in the November, 1951 issue of 'Capitol News', the label's own small, promotional monthly industry magazine.

In addition to tid-bits of information about their roster of artist's new records, 'Capitol News' would feature a smattering of publicity fluff photos, and occasional flights of silliness like this one.

Baxter himself portrays jungle hunter 'Serge Drek'.
'Griselde', the steel wool heiress, was played by Dottie O'Brien, a vocalist who had performed with the orchestras of Harry James and Red Nichols.

Singer / Actress Gisele MacKenzie portrayed the 'White Goddess'.

She'd had a Canadian radio show for a few years prior to her move to L.A. in '51.

Within the next few years MacKenzie became very popular via her hit records, nightclub gigs, and guest TV appearances on the
Jack Benny and Ed Sullivan shows and as a regular on
'Your Hit Parade'.

Follow this link to a YouTube clip from a 1955 episode of 'Your Hit Parade'. MacKenzie mimics ballet and sings a version of the R&B hit, 'Dance with Me Henry'...

See also:
The Exotic World of Les Baxter

More Les Baxter links at Weirdomusic.com

Orchids of Hawaii Bartenders' Guide / Catalog (1981)

'Orchids of Hawaii' (based in New York) was a tiki bar supply wholesaler.

This handy guide comes to us from the Collection of Rev. E. M. Camarena.

He was generous enough to send it along, and has the following to say - -

"In the spirit of learning to share, I present the attached.
It is a small tiki drink guide from the mid 1980s.

"The company was a marvelous source for all things exotic.

"They went under many years ago, but they sold many swell items like cocktail monkeys (which, contrary to common opinion, do not dangle from a cocktail by the tail – they sit on the rim and their arms hold a cherry or olive) and the delightfully named 'Skewer of Many Uses', among other items."

Mahalo, Rev! Hipahipa!

LOVE the drink descriptions. Makes me wish I drank...