Que Mango


Les Baxter
"Que Mango"
(Scamp 9718)
"Composer Les Baxter, who died in January 1996, was the archetypal virtual tourist. From the '50s onwards, his records offered baby boomer suburbanites the chance to explore taboo regions of illicit sex and exotic ritual, all from the comfort of their polyvinyl loungers."
- David Toop, The Wire 		Along with Martin Denny, Les Baxter is credited as having created the exotica music movement - a tropical audio world reached only via the home stereo system. His composition "Quiet Village" is regarded as the quintessential exotica anthem.

But by the mid-'60s, Baxter's style was becoming less in vogue with the fickle record buying public. So when the album offers dried up, Les signed on to score a seemingly non-stop series of American International drive-in, biker, sci-fi, horror, dragster beach-blanket flicks - basically anything they could throw Vincent Price in.
Then in the early '70s Les Baxter was offered a chance to record in England with "the world's largest recording orchestra" - the 101 Strings. From those London sessions emerged Que Mango! - Les Baxter's last great album - an exciting polyester-exotica artifact from the go-go world of the jet set.

Que Mango! is "up-up-and-away" music of the Laugh-In and Love American Style "sock-it-to-me" era. Here are tunes for grabbing your safari suits and polyester slacks for a non-stop tropical adventure to the swingingest Latin America haunts and hot spots of the jet set! - a jewel from the era of The Sound Gallery.
Perhaps the original liner notes described it best:

"QUE MANGO represents a series of new Les Baxter compositions, ranging from hauntingly simple melodies to excitingly complex orchestral works - a masterful blend of European sophistication, African sensuality, South American festivity and neo-anglo contemporary."


Re-mastered with the usual loving care you have come to expect from Scamp and including liner notes from Baxter confidant Skip Heller, Que Mango represents a series of new Les Baxter compositions, ranging from hauntingly simple melodies to excitingly complex orchestral works. All are superbly orchestrated in Les' unique style - a masterful blend of European sophistication, African sensuality, South American festivity and neo-anglo contemporary.



The full capabilities of the magnificent 101 STRINGS was elicited by Baxter's sensitive conducting and the resulting performance reflects the ultimate in the transformance of music from the mind of the composer to the ear of the listener.
Recorded in London, January 1970

Que Mango ... Tropicando ... On A Warm Night ... Flight In The Andes ... Felicia, My Love ... Affair In Aruba ... Jungle Montuno ... Soolaimon ... Boca Chica ... Come Back To Paradise ... Night In Buenos Aires ... Morning On The Meadow


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