Exotica depends on one's geographic or cultural disposition; a good rule of thumb for North Americans is "places with palm trees." But the musical idiom exotica, a narrow slice of popular music or mood jazz, means very specifically tropical ersatz: the non-native, inauthentic experience of Oceania (Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Southeast Asia). Chief exponents tended to be Hawaiian, probably because of the remove from mainland music. While the South Seas forms the core region, exotica reflects the "musical impressions" of every place from standard travel destinations to the mythical "shangri-las" imagined by armchair safari-ers.

Ravel's "Bolero" paved the way for popular exotica as early as 1929, although classical music had long been influenced by Turkish marches and suchlike. In the jazz of subsequent years, particularly early Afro-Cuban jazz, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie practically exhausted exoticism years before pop exotica. Indeed, all of the major standards of exotica are Afro-Cuban except "Quiet Village," which is Brasilian and closely related, and "Misirlou" (Greek/Middle Eastern). Credit for exotica belongs absolutely to the most influential Latin composers: stars such as the Lecuonas, the Machito organization, and Noro Morales. Also, vocalists such as Duke Ellington veteran Herb Jeffries specialized in exotica.

Xavier Cugat and other dance-band giants routinely deployed flute and jungle sounds on 78rpm singles of the 1940s, usually to intensify the odd rumba with a "voodoo" theme. Paul Page had the very first Polynesian television show in 1949, coincident with surging new interest in [50th State] Hawaii. The breakthrough for pop exotica came in the early 1950s, when albums established cohesively the evocative sounds, rhythms, and languor of the tropics. Les Baxter's seminal Le Sacre du Sauvage 10" LP, billed as a "tone poem," became the definitive book of jungle melodies. Baxter and Cugat both helped establish sensational vocalist Yma Sumac, incidentally.

Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman reduced Baxter's overblown orchestra and arrangements to groups of cocktail-bar size. In this warmer, more intimate style, a battery of unusual percussion instruments became the trademark of exotica. Lyman discovered the effectiveness of bird calls early on, and vibes became mandatory. This magic formula initially sold millions of records and pleased hordes of tourists thronging to Hawaii in the 1950s. But the novelty wore thin, and exotica soon joined Hawaiian shirts and tiki statues as the province of the backyard "luau" set. Bird calls made easy targets for Spike Jones and Michel Magne. The latter's Tropical Fantasy --one of the holy grails of exotica, a sophisticated melange with tape manipulation, ocarina, and more-- aces most of its predecessors, however.

Pop exotica's success did not escape the attention of the jazz world; Cal Tjader and others experimented further with unusual percussion. Two of the most significant albums of jazz exotica were the work of the enigmatic Sabu Martinez. Exoticism permeates all types of music, however, and thousands of authentic, ethnic records have "exotic" tunes. Indeed, the same delights (even bird calls) can be found in records from Hawaii, Tahiti, Japan, the Middle East, the West Indies, etc. Animal and jungle themes abound in esoteric records for children, comedy, lounge acts, etc. Exotica is where you find it.

Exotica relies on percussion: conga, bongos, vibes, gongs, boo bams (bamboo sticks), Tahitian log, Chinese bell tree, etc.. Bird cries, big-cat roars, and even primate shrieks invoke the dangers of the jungle. Except for a handful of singers and standards with lyrics, singing is rare. Abstract, sirenish ululations, fierce chants, or guttural growls are common, however. Intros of crashing surf and a conch-shell trumpet signal the coming of royalty. Familiar Hawaiian instruments used exotically include the steel guitar, ukulele, and kaekeeke haole, or "white man's bamboo organ" (vibraharp). Even the Americas contribute eerie instruments, such as the Peruvian quena, a flute made from a llama legbone. Or perhaps a distant cousin of the clarinet will whirl the mind's eye toward Mecca or an Indian bazaar.

Exotica fills a niche curiously left open by Afro-Cuban, Hawaiian, and other related music. It is the mood music of place, but no place familiar. Listening to the indelible melodies of such standards as "Quiet Village," "Caravan," "Taboo," "Nightingale," "Poinciana," and "Flamingo," one conjures a torrential rain in the tropics, a jungle safari, or the desert at night. And that is precisely the stuff of exotica: an odd combination of the soothing and stimulating, like nature itself.

1. Xavier Cugat: "Jungle Flute"
2. Sabu Martinez: "Sorcery"
3. Michel Magne: "Sahara"
4. Rex Kona & his Mandarins: "Bird Train"
5. Paul Page & the Island-Aires: "Chicken Kona Kaai"
6. Tito Puente: "Dance of the Headhunters"
7. Carl Stevens: "Tiana Tche--The Jungle Roars"
8. Les Baxter: "Peking Tiger"
9. Arthur Lyman: "Bwana À"
10. Paul Conrad: "Sa Libis Ng Nayon"
11. Martin Denny: "Hypnotique"
12. Frank Hunter: "Strange Echoes"
13. Mike Simpson: "Elephant Drums"