{"title":"Les Baxter","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLes Baxter was an American composer and conductor, born on March 14, 1922 in Mexia, Texas. He is renowned for his extensive contribution to the world of music, having written over 150 film soundtracks throughout his career. His talent and creativity were not limited to the big screen; he also achieved great success with his hit song \"The Poor People of Paris\" in 1956, which reached number one on the charts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBaxter's unique style and innovative approach to music have made him a highly influential figure in the industry. His compositions often incorporated elements from various genres, including exotica and lounge music. As a result, he has been recognized as one of the pioneers of these musical styles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome artists who share similar musical sensibilities with Les Baxter include *Tak Shindo*, *Martin Denny*, *Leroy Holmes*, *Terry Snyder*, *Arthur Lyman*, and many others. Their works showcase a fusion of different cultural influences that create captivating melodies and rhythms.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"ritual-of-the-savage","title":"Ritual Of The Savage","description":"\u003cp\u003eA classic album by the late American composer and arranger and king of easy listening genres and countless B movie soundtracks. \u003ci\u003eRitual of the Savage\u003c\/i\u003e is often recognized as one of the most important exotica albums of all time. Featuring lush orchestral arrangements along with African rhythms, it delivered such popular and well-known compositions as \"Quiet Village\", \"Jungle River Boat\", \"Love Dance\", and \"Stone God.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing a long multi-faceted career as a tenor sax player, composer and arranger for swing bands (incl. Artie Shaw), and a populist music singer (he was a member of Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones), he went on to develop his own style of easy listening music (later labelled as lounge and exotica), much of which composed and arrange for film soundtracks.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Waxtime","offers":[{"title":"Yellow | LP","offer_id":50417374462283,"sku":"1117555","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8fa2a8d5-f626-49ac-9a1c-dbe69fb1de26_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726727799"},{"product_id":"space-escapade","title":"Space Escapade","description":"\u003cp\u003e180g high-definition premium vinyl pressing for super fidelity, the complete original album + 2 bonus tracks. Presented here is one of his most iconic albums, and the most sought after among collectors: Space Escapade is the holy grail to Baxterites and students of the Exotica genre. It showcases all the eclecticism and sensual orchestral effects that are Baxter's remarkable trademarks.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts artwork is also considered a classic Space Age Pop cover; a colourful and humorous shot of astronauts and space women enjoying friendly banter at a lively space cocktail party! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis reissue is supplemented with four bonus tracks corresponding to a selection of Les Baxter's hit singles that charted on the Billboard Top 10, including two of his best-selling number one hits: \"The Poor People of Paris\" and \"Unchained Melody\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Waxtime","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50427411726667,"sku":"2184910","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_1abe3a9b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726824862"},{"product_id":"exotica-absolute","title":"Exotica Absolute","description":"\u003cp\u003eFour complete albums from the \u003cstrong\u003eGodfather of exotica\u003c\/strong\u003e. The inspiration for \u003cstrong\u003eMartin Denny\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eArthur Lyman\u003c\/strong\u003e and a million tiki bar enthusiasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eClassic exotica, easy listening and bachelor pad music from the man who brought you four-octave Peruvian songstress \u003cem\u003eYma Sumac\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eNat King Cole\u003c\/em\u003e's best-selling recording ‘\u003cem\u003eNature Boy\u003c\/em\u003e’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding escapist gems ‘\u003cem\u003eRitual Of the Savage\u003c\/em\u003e’, ‘\u003cem\u003eThe Passions with Bas Sheva\u003c\/em\u003e’, ‘\u003cem\u003eTamboo!\u003c\/em\u003e’ and ‘\u003cem\u003eCaribbean Moonlight\u003c\/em\u003e’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSixth in the series of remastered exotica albums. As Dug By Lux And Ivy. With sleeve notes by \u003cem\u003eMojo\u003c\/em\u003e magazine’s \u003cstrong\u003eDave Henderson\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Righteous","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50434832466251,"sku":"2052842","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Absolute-ex-scaled_a721b8c1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726895607"},{"product_id":"jewels-of-the-sea","title":"Jewels Of The Sea","description":"\u003cp\u003efor as long as man beheld the ocean's splendour, inspiration has come with the tides and stayed to work its magic on the imagination. to a composer the sea offers wondrous motion, a shimmering surface of flowing mystery. les baxter gratefully accepted these things, and distilled them into exotic miniatures of dream-like beauty - sparkling, opalescent gems. dreamy, sensual, iridescent, abstracted, this is quintessential les baxter. baxter invented exotica and created the definitive works of the genre, among them ritual of the savage, tamboo!, ports of pleasure, the sacred idol and jewels of the sea. baxter imposed his passion for stravinsky and debussy on escapist travelogue themes to create a unique form of popular music that was far from 'easy listening' in the conventional sense. the depth of baxter's artistry was acknowledged by sun ra, who considered him to be the most adventurous and enlightened post-war composer. his wild inventiveness has made baxter a hero to modern artists as diverse as jello biafra and beck.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50438074106187,"sku":"350165","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/39391e67-7707-4a0f-a7f7-7bff9c15f753_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726937852"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/les-baxter.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}