''Primitiva'' (LRP-3087/LST-7023) was the fourth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Martin Denny. Released in August 1958, it was recorded at Liberty Studios in Hollywood and released on

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

. In October 1958, it reached No. 27 on the national Cashbox chart. In a review on AllMusic.com, Richie Unterberger gave the album four stars and praised it for the variety of instruments used: "Say what you will about the cheesiness of this pseudo-world music, Denny deserves some sort of credit for bringing instruments like the m'bira, Burmese gongs, koto, Buddhist prayer bowls, and 'primitive log from New Guinea' into the mainstream." Upon the album's release, Austin Faricy wrote in the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'': "It is no more primitive than a Salvador Dali painting, but it is persuasive, and we warrant that if you play it in the privacy of your boudoir, you will find yourself dancing your own secret idea of the exotic."

Track listing

Side A

1. "Burma Train" (Martin Denny, Hal Johnson) – 2:59
2. "Kalua" (

Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...

) – 2:35
3. "M'Gambo Mambo" (Jerry D. Williams) – 2:05
4. "Buddhist Bells" (Martin Denny, Hal Johnson) – 3:00
5. "M'Bira" (Martin Denny) – 2:50
6. " Flamingo" (Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya) – 2:40

Side B

1. "Llama Serenade (Peruvian Llama Song)" (Charles Wolcott) – 2:15
2. "Akaka Falls" (Helen Parker) – 2:50
3. "Bangkok Cockfight" (Les Baxter) – 2:15
4. " Dites Moi" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

) – 2:37
5. "

Jamaica Farewell "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafonte ...

" ( Lord Burgess) – 2:15

Personnel

Musicians and singers

* Martin Denny – piano,

celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

, arranger, composer *

Augie Colon August "Augie" Borero Colon (August 27, 1927 ‒ June 4, 2004) was an American musician known for his work as a percussionist in the exotica genre. He came to national fame as a member of Martin Denny's band in the 1950s and was the voice behind ...

– bongos, congas, percussion, bird calls *

Julius Wechter Julius Wechter (May 10, 1935 – February 1, 1999) was an American musician and composer who played the marimba and vibraphone. He also played various percussion instruments. He composed the song "Spanish Flea" for Herb Alpert and was leader of The ...

– vibes,

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

s, percussion * Harvey Ragsdale – string bass, marimbula * Roy Hart - percussion *

Tak Shindo Takeshi "Tak" Shindo (November 11, 1922 – April 17, 2002) was an American musician, composer and arranger. He was one of the prominent artists in the exotica music genre during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Shindo also founded a dance band in ...

- koto * Jerry Williams - mallets, percussion

Other contributors

Si Waronker Simon Waronker (March 4, 1915 – June 7, 2005) was an American violinist and record producer from Los Angeles, California, best known for co-founding Liberty Records. Biography Graduating from high school at 13 years old, he won a scholarship ...

– producer * Garrett-Howard – cover design * Ted Keep – engineer * Sandy Warner – cover model, "the Exotica girl" * Les Baxter – liner notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primitiva 1958 albums Exotica Martin Denny albums Liberty Records albums Albums arranged by Martin Denny