After New York-born pianist Martin Denny relocated to Honolulu, he became so enamored with the local sounds that he cooked up a new hybrid of laid-back jazz and Polynesian music that is now credited as a cornerstone influence of so-called “Tiki Culture”. The origins and execution of Denny’s music funk it up with a strong whiff of kitsch. He let percussionist August Colon loose to babble a wacky stream of birdcalls over the tunes. The covers of his albums pose white model Sandy Warner in tableaux and wigs intended to sell her as Polynesian or Asian. Song titles such as “Jungle Madness”, “Sake Rock”, and “Pagan Love Song”, as well as Denny’s signature term “exotica,” are sure to give modern audiences pause. Any song with a title referencing China or Japan inevitably begins with the bang of a gong. Yet, the beauty, innovation, and magnetic retro-appeal of Denny’s music are undeniable and on full display in a new vinyl reissue series from Jackpot Records.
Denny and his ensemble were arguably at their coolest when they remained conscious of their jazz roots and rooted in the Polynesian culture in which Denny actually immersed himself. His 1957 debut album, Exotica, showcases the group at their most elemental. Denny’s piano and John Kramer’s bass lay the jazz foundation. Colon, Arthur Lyman, and Harold Chang top them with the cavernous congas, breezy vibes, guiros, and other assorted percussion that give the music its specific local flavor. Without a trace of jazz’s improvisation, virtuosity, or epic lengths, this stuff just breathes. It is concise and it is lovely even when Colon is impersonating a peafowl after too many martinis. Denny’s signature tune “Quiet Village” first appeared on Exotica, but it made an appearance on and provided the title for a 1959 platter that expanded the sounds of Exotica in interesting ways. The jazz foundation comes more to the fore on tracks such as “Hawaiian War Chant” and “Laura”. Latin influences are more prominent, “Sake Rock” uses a light Rock & Roll shuffle, the percussionists get to cut loose a lot more than they did on Exotica, and Colon adds a coyote howl to his repertoire of animal noises. It’s a gas.
With the exception of “American in Bali”, Hypnotique loses almost all traces of jazz, and as its cover image implies, Chinese influences push the Polynesian ones aside. The most striking developments are the employments of lush orchestrations and the eerie vocalizations of the Jack Halloran Singers. Since it ain’t got that swing, Hypnotique is not quite as groovy as Exotica or Quiet Village, and things like “Chinese Lullaby” and “Japanese Sandman” are too kitsch by a country mile. Yet it also shows off the versatility of Denny and his group as they stretch into something closer to a soundtrack score in search of a travelogue.
Jackpot’s reissues all arrive on colored vinyl (red for Exotica, green for Quiet Village, blue for Hypnotique). They all sound fab with deep bass and percussion, most vibrantly in Exotica’s mono mix.
