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(photo courtesy Brother Cleve)
"Who'd have thought that out of a genre
as debased as 'easy listening' would come something so mind-curdlingly bizarre
and beautiful. With a genius like Esquivel you have to come up with new
adjectives. A friend, Byron Werner, played some Esquivel for me when I first
arrived in L.A. in 1977 -- and I couldn't stand it. Byron told me, 'I guarantee
you're gonna come to love this.' And he was right. I'm a huge fan."
Matt Groening, Creator of The Simpsons
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A Note from El Maestro
Our friend Bro. Cleve, touring member of Combustible Edison, returned
recently from a visit with Esquivel in Mexico City. He brought back this
short note which Esquivel asked us to share with the visitors to SABPM:
At the Chicago Sun-Times, there was a very influential columnist named
Sig Sakowitz. He wrote the entertainment column, where he would critique
everyone playing in town. Before we opened [at the Empire Room in the Parkman
House Hotel] he wrote in his column "Esquivel!....Why?" He came
to the show, and I showed him why. He came almost every night. The next
week in his column he wrote "Esquivel is so good he deserves 2 exclamation
points."
Juan Esquivel, July 1995
Note: An AIFF sound playing application is needed to play the
downloadable samples below. And each sound sample may take as long as four
to five minutes to download.
Esquivel's music is like
no other space age pop. While most other orchestral pop arranger/composers
of the late 1950s were broadening their classical, big band, and ballroom
roots for the age of high fidelity and stereo, Esquivel seemed to spring
full formed into the genre. Indeed, his roots were far from the ballroom,
having perfected his style writing soundtracks for a popular Mexican radio
comedian. He had more in common with Carl Stalling than Glenn Miller, and
his influences ranged from Alvino Rey and Stan Kenton to Yma Sumac and Billy
May.
Who but Esquivel could bring the entire orchestra to full stop to spotlight
a single measure of Alvino Rey's gwa gwa slide guitar. And not just for
a final climax -- that would be just the beginning. Whole songs are puncuated
repeatedly with a variety of guitar slides, layered brass arpeggios, piano
romps, shifting tempos, and vocal nonsense. If orchestral pop music were
painting, Esquivel was its Van Gogh (a comparison he made himself). He was
fearless, he was shameless.
Esquivel perfected the kitchen sink school of arranging:
why settle for just one sound where ten would do? In just a few bars a veritable
rain of instruments showered down on the listener, often instruments that
had never been heard before on the same song. Yet unlike the hoarde of arrangers
who rushed to add ondiolines, harpischords, and theremins to the same old
big band sound, Esquivel's arrangements were all of a piece, fresh and never
gimmicky. Download this 30-second sound
sample (313k) from Esquivel's cover of "All of Me," from his
1959 LP "Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi." It shows how Esquivel
could showcase more instruments in the opening bars than most arrangers
dared feature in an entire tune: piano, slide guitar, vibes, brass, percussion.
Once you've absorbed that introduction, listen to what Esquivel does in
the middle of the same tune. Having introduced the familiar and rather tepid
melody in a traditional 2/4 tempo -- tinkling along like a true cocktail
number -- Esquivel marks time with his trademark "zu-zu-zu" non-lyrics.
(Sample some "boings"
and a "Sorry!" from "Who's Sorry Now?" -- 330k)
Then, as this 30-second sample
(235k) shows, he suddenly shifts gears and slams into a mambo beat that
does wonders for the staid old tune. He makes the song his own.
Esquivel preferred recording and performing arrangements of already-familiar
tunes. "Often I deliberately chose songs that were well-known so the
audience could appreciate the arrangements," he said recently. "It's
like taking a doll and dressing it any way you want: in different costumes,
or drawing on her a mustache, or making her smoke a cigar, or presenting
her in the nude. It's something familiar, suddenly being presented in a
way that's very different and exciting."
In his own compositions, Esquivel proved that he could write a killer hook.
Listen to this sample
(275k) from Watchamacallit, another tune from the lp "Exploring New
Sounds in Hi-Fi." A blast from a nine-piece brass section ends in a
classic hilarious Esquivel anticlimax from the ondioline -- not once, but
twice!
After listening to Esquivel, other composers seem positively timid.
--J.O.H.
(Esquivel quotes above from the liner notes to Music from
a Sparkling Planet and Incredibly Strange Music Vol. II. See Bibliography,
below.)
"Esquivel is to pop music approximately what Aaron Copeland is
to serious music or what a John Coltrane is to jazz. He achieves a strange
new sound dissonance, unusual juxtapositions of instrument or vocal sounds,
and rapid switches in tempi, volume and mood."
Variety
Juan Garcia Esquivel was born in Mexico in 1918, After
mastering the piano, he taught himself composition and arranging when he
was fourteen and headed a 30-piece orchestra by age 17.
Esquivel honed his talents with a 24-piece orchestra at Mexico City's popular
radio station, XEW. In addition to writing jingles, he composed an original
soundtrack every day for Panseco, a popular radio comedian. "The entire
orchestra would arrive at ten o'clock in the morning," he recalled
recently, "the comedian would give me the script for the day, and the
boy who set up the music stands would give each musician a pencil, an eraser,
and blank music paper." By the time the comedian's show aired at 8:00
p.m., Esquivel had composed and arranged the score and rehearsed the orchestra.
When he first arrived in Hollywood in January 1958 to record "Other
Worlds, Other Sounds" for RCA, the record company gave him just five
hours of studio time to record the twelve tunes. Esquivel had rehearsed
the orchestra so well that he finished in three and a half. He used the
remaining hour and a half to rehease and record an entire second album's
worth of material with a smaller combo, released as "Four Corners of
the World."
Later albums became more elaborate -- and more expensive to record.
1962's "Latin-Esque" required stereo separation so total that
the orchestra was split into two parts and placed in two entirely separate
studios a block apart, linked by closed-circuit TV and headphones. Esquivel
conducted both orchestras simulaneously, recording the album in the new
4-channel method. As with all his recordings, there was no overdubbing.
Each tune was recorded live, though Esquivel was such a perfectionist that
many takes were usually required.
Esquivel wrote, arranged, and performed incessantly, working for 32-hour
stretches and then sleeping for eight. His live show, "The Sights and
Sounds of Esquivel," had a 12-year gig at the Stardust Hotel in Las
Vegas, and toured other cities, and Esquivel also found time to compose
and record for dozens of television series (including Markham, The Tall
Man, The Bob Cummings Show, Kojak, Charlie's Angels, Simon and Simon, and
Magnum PI, among many others), and record several more lps for a total of
eleven domestic releases. When his orchestra broke up in 1974, he returned
to Mexico where he continued to record for film and television; an album
tied to a children's TV series sold more than a million copies in 1978.
Esquivel's lasting influence can be felt especially on TV soundtracks. He
not only provided music for many series, but his style can be readily discerned
in many others of the same period. The percussion and brass arrangements
in the theme to "I Dream of Genie," for instance, fairly drips
with Esquivel style.
These days a back injury keeps the 77-year-old Esquivel confined to a wheelchair
or bed. But just last year he told Spin magazine that he was "sketching
some ideas for a new recording." We can only hope...
--J.O.H.
Esquivel was a genius arranger who created a beautiful pop mutation.
John Zorn
The two cuts on this early single
(the flip side is "Nocturnal") are from the album "To Love
Again," which Esquivel recorded for RCA Mexicana in 1957. When executives
at RCA in New York heard the tapes, they released it in the US.
"Amor" and "Nocturnal" are relatively crudely produced
by the standards of later Esquivel work, but his trademark slide guitar,
brass, and "Pow!" vocal styles are all evident in abundance. Download
the 30-second sample
(320k) for a taste.
(Courtesy Holy Cow Records,
Brooklyn, NY)
Esquivel was way ahead of his time and should be heard now to give arrangers
and producers some lessons. When so much production nowadays sounds like
mush coming out of speakers, it's great to hear recordings with dynamics
coming at you in true stereo.
Fred Schneider of the B-52s
Bibliography
- A lengthy and recent interview with Esquivel appears in the book "Incredibly
Strange Music," Vol. II, edited by V. Vale and Andrea Juno. RE/Search
Publications, 1994. Highly recommended.
- Irwin Chusid's liner notes to the two Bar/None releases are a terrific
introduction to the man and his music. In the second disc, Chusid and associates
interview Esquivel and many of the people who worked with him in the 50s
and 60s. Both CDs are a must-have.
- Lengthy article on Esquivel in the October 13, 1995, issue of Goldmine,
the Record Collector magazine (the Jackson 5 is on the cover).
- Rolling Stone, October 19, 1995, page 30, devotes a full page
to a hilarious interview with Juan, flirting with the interviewer.
- Spin magazine, June 1994; full page on Esquivel.
- Teen Looch Magazine, issue number 8 (27 Hill Street, Hudson,
PA 18705) has an Esquivel interview.
- Newsweek, August 22, 1994; two-page article on the revival of
lounge music contains a short Esquivel discussion.
Drop me email with other
sources.
Complete Esquivel LP & CD Discography
Researched and compiled by Brother Cleve.
Also check out the Esquivel
12" LPs (out of print unless noted otherwise)
Las Tandas de Juan Garcia Esquivel 1957 RCA MKL-2001 (monaural)*
Cabaret Tragico (soundtrack) 1957 RCA MKL-1088 (monaural)*
Pedro Vargas Sings (conducts 2 tracks) 1957 RCA LPM-1182 (monaural)
Tony Camargo (arranged two tracks) RCA Mexicana MKL 1359 To Love
Again 1957 LPM-1345 (monaural)**
Other Worlds, Other Sounds October 1958 RCA LSP-1753**
Four Corners of the World 1958 RCA LSP-1749
Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi 1959 RCA LPM-1978 (monaural)
Exploring New Sounds in Stereo June 1959 RCA LSP-1978**
Strings Aflame Sept. 1959 RCA LSP-1988
The Merriest of Christmas Pops (six tracks, Ray Martin doing the
rest) Nov. 1959
Christmas Programming from RCA Victor (1 track) Dec 1959 RCA SP-33-64
The Dancing Beat of the Latin Bands (2 tracks) Jan 1960 RCA LSP-2087
Hello Amigos - The Ames Brothers; Feb 1960 RCA LSP-2100
Infinity in Sound Sept 1960 RCA LSP-2225**
Infinity in Sound, Vol. 2 May 1961 RCA LSP-2296**
Latin-esque March 1962 RCA LSA-2418**
In a Mellow Mood - The Living Strings; June 1962 CAMS-709
More of Other Worlds and Other Sounds August 1962 Reprise RS-6046**
The Best of Esquivel 1966 RCA LSP-3502
The Genius of Esquivel (in Mexico: Esquivel! Actuel!) Jan 1967 RCA
LSP-3697**
Esquivel! 1968! 1968 RCA MKS-1777*
Nulvos Exitos (Combination of "Genius" and "1968")
June 1969 CAMS-394*
Solo Para Bailer (reissue of MKL-2001 minus 2 tracks) 1980 OTR-36*
Juan Garcia Esquivel y su Orchestra Sonorama (reissue of 1345 minus
2 tracks) 1982 OTR-70*
Burbujas 1978 Discos America*
Odisea Burbujas 1979 Discos America 534*
Burbujas: Vamos al Circo 1981 Discos America 598*
15 Internacionale Exitos de Juan Garcia Esquivel 1986 RCA MKS-??*
La Bamba, La Rasapa (reissue of Latinesque) 1986 BMG CD
* Mexico Only
** Also released in Mexico under different catalog number
Singles and EPs
Amor, b/w Nocturnal, 7" single, 1957 RCA 47-6008.
From the album "To Love Again" ("Record Prevue"). No
PS. See a picture of the label.
Latin-esque, 7" 6-song EP - Stereo Action. RCA LSA-2418. Same
cover as the Latin-esque LP. Includes Latin-esque, La Paloma, Cachito, Jungle
Drums, Carioca, and Estrellita. (In the collection of Randy Ferguson.)
In Current Release
Space Age Bachelor Pad Music 1994 CD (1958-1967) Bar/None AHAON
043
Music from a Sparkling Planet 1995 CD (1958-1967) Bar/None AHAON
056
(Both titles were simultaneously released on 12" vinyl, now sold out
and discontinued.)
Cabaret Manana 1995 CD RCA/BMG
WFMU's online Catalog
of Curiousities
offers both
of the Bar/None CDs.
Drop me email
with additional information.
Esquivel at the Grammys
(Info courtesy of Jack Diamond
and Brother Cleve..)
While Esquivel never won a Grammy, he was nominated
several times:
1958
Other Worlds Other Sounds nominated for Best Orchestra. Winner was
Billy May's "Big Fat Brass" over Mancini's "Peter Gunn,"
Johnny Mandel's "I Want To Live," and others.
Other
Worlds Other Sounds nominated for Best Engineered Nonclassical Record.
Winner was "The Chipmunk Song."
1959
Strings Aflame nominated for Best Orchestra. Winner was David Rose
and his Orchestra with Andre Previn, "Like Young."
Strings Aflame nominated for Best Arrangement. Winner was Billy May
for Frank Sinatra's "Come Dance With Me."
1960
Infinity In Sound nominated for Best Orchestra. Winner was Henry
Mancini for "Mr. Lucky."
Infinity In Sound nominated for Best Engineering. Beating out Esquivel,
Terry Snyder's All Stars, "Persuassive Percussion Vol. 2," and
Dick Schory's "Wild Percussion & Horns A' Plenty," was Ella
Fitzgerald's "Ella sings the George & Ira Gershwin Songbook."
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cover art used with permission BMG Music Corp. NY, NY. Sound samples posted
with permission BMG Music Corp. NY, NY. No compensation or fees are received
in connection with these Space Age Bachelor Pad Music pages.
"Space Age Bachelor Pad Music on the World Wide Web" was compiled
and maintained by Joseph Holmes/The StreetNine Group. Copyright © 1995,
1996 Joseph O. Holmes. Graphical elements copyright © 1995, 1996 Chris
Holmes. Contact:
72241.731@compuserve.com