The Word: Mexican master of "space-age bachelor-pad music," Juan Garcia Esquivel received lots of new attention, revival efforts, and respect in the 1990s. His records stand as timeless, extravagant wonders--really an idiom of their own.
We recommend the first U.S. release, recorded in Mexico and not in stereo. As a mono record it was skipped in reissue compilations, thus remains overly obscure and unknown, but it ranks as his best. Also, be sure to catch more of that great Esquivel sound in the records of Alvino Rey (listed elsewhere, with guitar).
Further below: Esquivel 45s
Links: are to subpages or artists bio/discog pages in the Hyp Records guide:
Images: accurately represent items but are not always the exact copy listed/purchased
Discount: ALWAYS try to buy more than one item at a time
Juan Garcia Esquivel y su Orquesta: Las Tandas de Juan Garcia Esquivel; RCA Victor [Mexicana] MKL-2001; 1956; E-/E- $100 -- super rare first LP recorded and issued only in Mexico, and it's basically a collection of studio radio broadcasts but gives a great indication of things to come (he's hip to rock in 1956); Collar de Perlas, Potpourri Curiel, Medley, Goya Universidad Rock & Roll, Una y Otra Vez, Sketch de Glenn Miller, Tren Nocturno, Nereidas, No Seas Asi, Capullito de Alheli, Bailando Sobre El Tejado, Politecnico Rock & Roll
Esquivel & his Orchestra: To Love Again; RCA Victor LPM-1345; 1957; 1st press N-/N- $75 (or E+/E+ $50, specify) -- wordless chorus/Latinate pop; what a prize!; easily his best mono LP and you'd have to compile the best things from all of his later stereo LPs to rival it for sheer mastery; everything you'll ever get from the slicker later LPs is here (ok, except two-channel sound), but this is when he's fresh, young, hungry, and so far a sensation only in Mexico--not yet in the US (which is why it's so rare, too!); snap it up!!!; To Love Again, Port-Au-Prince, Amor, Moonlight Enchantment, Nightingale, Nocturnal, Jungle Drums, Vereda Tropical, Hornblowers Serenade, Besame Mucho, Siboney, Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You
Esquivel, his Piano & Group: Four Corners of the World; RCA Victor LSP-1749; 1958; 1st press V+/E+ S $25 (or mono LPM E-/E+ $15, specify) -- Latin piano with bongos; on the heels of the wildly expensive, fairly successful (a best-seller for Esquivel, anyway) "Others Sounds, Other Worlds" this far rarer outing features Esquivel in a sparer (which is to say, typical) setting highlighting his playing, which means tons of bongos and a flute here and there rather than the ample strings and effects of his other work; Dark Eyes, Blue Danube, Domino, Oye Negra, My Silent Love, Hungarian Rhapsody #2, Tico Tico, April in Portugal, In a Persian Market, Torna a Sorrento, El Carro del Sol, Cielito Lindo
Esquivel & his Orchestra: Exploring New Sounds in Stereo; RCA Victor LSP-1978; 1959; E/E+ S $25 (or E-/E S $20, specify) -- wordless chorus/odd pop; one of his rarest and most sought-after for several reasons: 1) different arrangements than the mono counterpart! (in other words, Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi is a different record altogether--YOU NEED BOTH!!!), 2) some of his strongest tunes, 3) more than his usual quota for far-out instruments and exotic touches, such as theremin and mouth harp; My Blue Heaven, Bella Mora, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Lazy Bones, Spellbound (theremin!), All of Me, Esquivel, Whatchamacallit (new version, previously only on mono 45!--which we may also have available), La Ronde, My Number One Love, The Third Man Theme
Esquivel: Infinity in Sound; RCA Victor LSP-2225; 1960; deep groove N-/N- S $30 (or mono LPM-2225 E/E- $15, specify) -- instrumental/wordless chorus; "For Hi-Fanatics"; the Mexican maestro's two "Infinity" volumes epitomize the sensationally inventive, "Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music" (SABPM) pop sound as well represent his own peak of making VERY expensively produced US LPs (his Mexican recordings tend to be a little different); if you've heard a couple of cuts on compilations be assured the rest of the tunes are just as worthy and you definitely need vinyl for the total SABPM experience!; Softly as in a Morning Sunrise ("Quedo"), Music Makers, My Reverie, Johnson Rag, Harlem Nocturne, Take the "A" Train, Macarena (La Virgen de la Macarena), Autumn Leaves, Frenesi, Marie, Let's Dance, So Rare
Esquivel: More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds; Reprise R-6046; 1961; deep groove N-/E $50 -- instrumental/wordless chorus; one of his greatest and scarcest (traditionally this one fetched more than any of his US LPs, but times have changed); on the newly formed Sinatra label, no less; GREAT SOUND!!!; The Breeze & I, Chant of the Night, Canadian Sunset, Street Scene, I Get a Kick Out of You, Primavera, Street of Dreams, La Mantilla, One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), Dancing in the Dark, Snowfall, Travelin'
Esquivel: Latin-Esque; RCA Victor Stereo Action LSA-2418; 1962; non-die-cut reissue/repress E/E+ S $25 -- instrumental/wordless chorus/whistling; awesome!; pride of the "Stereo Action" series (scored for channel separation and totally kick-ass about it), it cost a fortune to record in two separate studios with two whole orchestras going at once; the arrangements, creativity, and sound are superb (Esquivel at his peak); finally, you have many of his best hits: La Raspa, Adios Mariquita Linda, Jesusita en Chihuahua, Cachito, Latin-Esque, La Paloma, Estrellia, Cachita, Jungle Drums, Mucha Muchacha, You Belong to My Heart, Carioca
Esquivel: The Genius of Esquivel; RCA Victor LPM-3697; 1967/1966; E+/N- $25 -- instrumental/wordless chorus; "A Masterpiece in Sound by Esquivel"; his last and rarest --particularly in mono-- US Victor LP (other than the very first one, recorded in Mexico) has a spare, swinging mod sound and fantastically futuristic jacket art (painted in 1964 Mexico, no less); altogether an extraordinary marvel no Esquivel fan or Space-Age-Bachelor-Pad-Music buff can do without; St. Louis Blues, Agua de Beber, Question Mark, Temptation (3 parts), Amor Amor, Flower Girl from Bordeaux, La Bikina, Surfboard, Malaguena Salerosa, Besame Mucho (in 2 parts)
Esquivel: The Genius of Esquivel; RCA Victor LSP-3697; 1967/1966; 1s/first E/N- S $40 (or 1s/first E-/V+ $20, specify) -- instrumental/wordless chorus; "A Masterpiece in Sound by Esquivel"; his last and rarest US Victor LP (other than the very first one, recorded in Mexico) has a spare, swinging mod sound and fantastically futuristic jacket art (painted in 1964 Mexico, no less); altogether an extraordinary marvel no Esquivel fan or Space-Age-Bachelor-Pad-Music buff can do without; St. Louis Blues, Agua de Beber, Question Mark, Temptation (3 parts), Amor Amor, Flower Girl from Bordeaux, La Bikina, Surfboard, Malaguena Salerosa, Besame Mucho (in 2 parts); NOTE: the $20 copy is graded lower for the first cut only, N- otherwise
Esquivel: Esquivel 1968; RCA Victor Mexicana MKS-1777; 1968; 1st (only?) press V+/E S $80 -- a top score in Esquivel LPs/rarities!; not an easy find, by any means, and with great tunes (done at a very exciting time!) you don't find on comps and elsewhere; on back there's a nice jacket photo of Esquivel and his group at the time; YOU NEED THIS!!!; Todavia, Speak Low, Guantanamera, Lamento Borincano, Melancholy Baby, Yeyo, Mini Skirt, Esta Tarde vi Llover, El Cable, Walking Happy, Guanacoa, Tengo
Esquivel/Various: The Merriest of Christmas Pops; RCA Victor LPM-2032; 1959; 1st press E/V+ $20 -- Christmas; one of his two rarest and most desired US Victor LPs, it's half Esquivel (White Christmas, Frosty the Snow Man, Blue Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) and Esquivel with vocals by the Skip-Jacks (The Christmas Song, Here Comes Santa Claus); the rest is Ray Martin--with and without childlike singer Mimi Hines (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Winter Wonderland, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I'll Be Home for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas, Santa Baby); even if you're not after an Esquivel prize, it's a rare great Christmas LP in general
Esquivel/Various: The Merriest of Christmas Pops; RCA Victor LSP-2032; 1959; German pressing V-/V+ S $35 -- Christmas; one of his two rarest and most desired US Victor LPs, it's half Esquivel (White Christmas, Frosty the Snow Man, Blue Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) and Esquivel with vocals by the Skip-Jacks (The Christmas Song, Here Comes Santa Claus); the rest is Ray Martin--with and without childlike singer Mimi Hines (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Winter Wonderland, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I'll Be Home for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas, Santa Baby); even if you're not after an Esquivel prize, it's a rare great Christmas LP in general
Alvino Rey ... see [Steel] Guitar
Juan Garcia Esquivel & his Orchestra: Besame Mucho EP; RCA Victor EPA-706; 1957/1956; E-/E- $50 -- impossibly rare!; equivalent to Esquivel y su Orquesta Sonorama's Besame Mucho EP released in Mexico (RCA Mexicana MKE-89), it's some of the great To Love Again LP; very few Esquivel fans have ever seen this!; Besame Mucho, Amor, Vereda Tropical, Nocturnal
Esquivel & his Orchestra: To Love Again/Port-Au-Prince; RCA Victor 47-6154; 1957/1956; E- $15 -- recorded in Mexico for the fantastic and rare first U.S. LP To Love Again LP--superior to his later stereo/US LP works
Esquivel & his Sonorama Orchestra: Amor/Nocturnal; RCA Victor 47-6008 (Record Prevue P-499-7); 1957/1956; white-label promo E+ $20 -- recorded in Mexico for the fantastic and rare first U.S. LP To Love Again LP--superior to his later stereo/US LP works; that's right, "Sonorama"--something you won't find anywhere on his LPs (or later 45s)!
Esquivel: Whatchamacallit/I Feel Merely Marvelous; --7" 45--; RCA Victor 47-7462; N $40 (or E $30, specify) (or E- $20, specify) -- wordless chorus; prized for both the A-side, which became one of his top 2 or 3 greatest hits only when later redone in stereo (and with a different arrangement!) for an album, as well as the non-LP B-side (it's all so gloriously zu-zu-zu rare!)
Esquivel: Latin-Esque EP (Compact 33 rpm); RCA Victor VLP-2418; 1962 (Latin-Esque, Cachito, La Paloma, Jungle Drums, Estrellita, Carioca) in Pepsi picture sleeve E+ S $60 -- very rare!; sensational record on obscure format in an equally scarce Pepsi "Music for Those Who Think Young" sleeve (why not offer both together?); intense Stereo Action for the jukebox of the gods!
We're always interested in rare Esquivel trades, imports.
© Hip Wax
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