FRINGE PRODUCT:
Is there any doubt by now that the unburied
musical treasure of the year is Juan
Garcia Esquivel? Not
likely. Now in his 70s, the virtuoso of not-so-background background
music and the king of “space-age bachelor pad music” of the ‘50s and early
‘60s, is suddenly in the vortex of acclaim—and for good reason.
It wasn't
long ago that Esquivel lurked in the slag heap of lost musical goods, his
records relegated to thrift-store vinyl bins. You won't find much
of that vinyl these days (if you do, please send it promptly to this columnist
c/o The Independent, for immediate reimbursement). But you
will find plenty of material repackaged for CD releases. This last year
has seen the release the release of several great compilations—Music
from a Sparkling Planet- (Bar/None), More of Other Worlds (Reprise),
and now the profoundly and beautiful Cabaret Manana (RCA), which
includes a zanily inspired “Night and Day” with lap-steel whizzing, stereo
panning experiment, unruly brass ejaculations, sneaky ‘n’ suave vocal shards:
vintage Esquivel. The highly inventive arranger, called Mexico's
Duke Ellington, turned conventions on their ear, even on the most standard
tunes. For further investigation, check out RCA's three-CD History of Space
Age Pop, a survey of Esquivel and his music-tweaking contemporaries.
Of course,
Esquivel’s assent is proof of the truism that, in the crazy, loop-de-loop
world of culture, yesterday's cheese is today's gold dust.
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