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

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist, composer, and arranger. Known as the "father of exotica," he was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of percussion instruments. In a long career that saw him per ...

. 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 Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

. 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

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

s, 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 Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

" (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 theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

) – 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 Belafont ...

" ( Lord Burgess) – 2:15

Personnel

Musicians and singers

* Martin Denny – piano, celeste, arranger, composer *

Augie Colon August "Augie" Borero Colón (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 Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs (often simply ''birdsong'') are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizatio ...

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 t ...

– 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 mari ...

s, percussion * Harvey Ragsdale –

string bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, 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 ...

- koto * Jerry Williams - mallets, percussion

Other contributors

* Si Waronker – producer * Garrett-Howard – cover design * Ted Keep – engineer * Sandy Warner –

cover model A cover model is a male or female whose photograph appears on the front cover of a magazine. The cover model is generally a fashion model, celebrity, or contest winner. Generally, cover models are depicted solitarily; however, on occasion magazines ...

, "the Exotica girl" *

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, and musician. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica and s ...

– liner notes

References

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