Les Baxter

Orchestra leader Les Baxter has been called the father of exotica and, more generally, of mood music. His music was a tremendous influence on his fellow Hollywood music-makers as well as countless others who enjoyed an otherworldliness streaming from their speaker(s). A good-natured Texan who travelled the world and cultivated percussion, particularly Brasilian, Baxter led everything from small combos to full orchestras with chorus.

A graduate of the Detroit Conservatory of Music, Baxter earned a scholarship to Pepperdine and from there started out as an arranger. Also he performed on saxophone, piano, and woodwinds (as well as a singer, at least later).

His first albums revived use of the theremin for the modern recording era and made a profound impression on "space" musician Sun Ra. Le Sacre du Sauvage (Ritual of the Savage), the first popular "exotica" album, stands as his most important work. In addition to the early albums (released as 78 sets, EPs, and LPs) were countless odd singles such as "My Name is God," "Flute Salad," and "The Left Arm of Buddha." In addition he did standard popular, commercial, production, and support work for vocalists.

Ritual of the Savage is quintessentially Les Baxter and the definitive "exotica" album of all time. A beautiful "tone poem," or concept album, it established a new musical idiom and Baxter as its chief creator and exponent. The evocative, imaginative, affecting Ritual provided both "the book" of classic exotica tunes and the greatest "hit" of exotica, "Quiet Village." Unlike every other masterpiece of exotica, "Quiet Village" is not Latin but based on a classic Brasilian rhythm. (Edmundo Ros recorded a very similar samba about the same time or slightly earlier.)

Subsequent albums focused on various parts of the world and met with varying degrees of success. The experiments with smaller units and original music (African Jazz and Skins) are far more interesting than the ubiquitous orchestral albums of arranged standards. Through his extensive work backing Hollywood films and various singers, he left his mark eventually on everything from biker rock to folk. Throughout his career he returned to exotica in one way or another, and late in his career he even returned to the theremin and space music (Dunwich Horror and Neil Norman albums).

Baxter liked sensationalism but had an uneasy relationship with rock. And he has been accused of orchestral overkill (too many strings). But his talent for composition and love of Brasilian percussion were singular. After writing the first, most important charts in pop exotica, he charted new territory in soundtracks and albums of his own. A musical "great white hunter" and cog lost sadly in the Hollywood machine, Les Baxter's legacy is that of a true master of popular music.

Buying: The soundtrack, space, exotica, percussion, and mod albums are the most desirable. Most of the rest is easy-listening mush. The Sounds of Adventure compilation is worthwhile for its gatefold biography.