Monday, June 26, 2006

Arthur Lyman


A Brick Lane find I think from afew years back - this 1966 recording by Arthur Lyman on the Vocalion label is essential listening , I would have thought , for fans of "exotica" and Hawaiian cocktail lounge jazz. The sleeeve notes tell us the record was made in the " acoustically near perfect Aluminum Dome on the beautiful grounds of Conrad Hilton's fabulous Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, where the Arthur Lyman Group were appearing in the Shell Bar."

"Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 - February 24, 2002) popularized a jazzy style of Hawaiian music during the 1950s, and gathered a following as a purveyor of so-called exotic music or Exotica. As a child, Lyman moved to the large Hawaiian city of Honolulu, where he became interested in the music of Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton. He learned to play along with their records on a toy marimba. At the age of 14, he joined a jazz group and by his early 20s was performing with "mood music" king Martin Denny.
Known for his vibraphone stylings, bird songs and bells, Lyman helped turn exotic music into a national trend in the 1950s and 1960s, producing more than 30 albums and almost 400 singles and earning three gold albums.
In 1957, Lyman recorded "Yellow Bird," a Haitian folk song. The song made the Billboard magazine charts, peaking at #4 in 1961.
Lyman's last charting album in 1963 was I Wish You Love, but his music enjoyed a new burst of popularity in the 1990s with the easy listening revival. He died from throat cancer in February 2002."

Discover more about Arthur Lyman HERE.

Arthur Lyman - The (Jungle) Cat

Arthur Lyman - The Boy From Laupahoehoe

Arthur Lyman - Waimea Cowboy

Arthur Lyman - Bird Train


These SendSpace files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

4 comments:

  1. what a brilliant blog! thanks for the sounds - Send Space seems much better than Yousendit for sure ;)

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  2. Thanks for feedback lupin - nice to know that the switch to SendSpace has your approval.

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  3. ...not my place to approve but SS links do seem to last longer....

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  4. Approval is probably the wrong word but thanks anyway. I just tested some old links and they still work fine so you are right! SendSpace is definately better than YouSendIt and I will continue using it ( for the forseeable future at least)

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