Category Archives: Jazz Obscura

Discos Corona/Crown Records: A mambo, Latin jazz and exotica-ish sampler

Posted on 2017/05/29 by Little Danny

Hi all, I put together a homemade compilation of Afro-Latin, Latin jazz and exotic-ish Latin selections on the fascinating Los Angeles budget record labels Discos Corona and Crown Records.  I can be downloaded here: http://officenaps.com/discoscorona_crown_sampler.zip Note that this a ZIP … Continue reading →

Posted on 2017/05/29 by Little Danny | Posted in Exotica/Space-Age, Jazz Obscura, Latin, Mixes | Leave a comment

Lotus Land: The curious legacy of jazz exotica

Posted on 2014/06/05 by Little Danny

This is an essay I wrote back in January for Melbourne, Australia’s mighty PBS 106.7fm.  Many thanks to Richie1250 for having me aboard, and for keeping the torch ablaze for progressive radio. 1958's Forbidden Island, one of Martin Denny's definitive … Continue reading →

Posted on 2014/06/05 by Little Danny | Posted in Exotica/Space-Age, Jazz Obscura | Leave a comment

Jazz Dramatique

Posted on 2013/05/21 by Little Danny

Over at the Lonely Beat I discussed the Naked City, the version of the modern American city in the post–War popular imagination.  And how a singular form of American commercial music, in time referred to by collectors as “crime jazz,” … Continue reading →

Posted on 2013/05/21 by Little Danny | Posted in Jazz Obscura, The Lonely Beat | Leave a comment

Bright Lights

Posted on 2013/01/15 by Little Danny

Like AM Radio Dust, its companion volume, Bright Lights is just as much an exploration of lost spaces and places as it is of sound. I hope you enjoy it. Bright Lights  (single MP3 file) Susan Rafey, “The Big Hurt” … Continue reading →

Posted on 2013/01/15 by Little Danny | Posted in Blues, Country, Exotica/Space-Age, Garage Bands, Girl-Groups, Gospel, Instrumentals/Surf, Jazz Obscura, Mixes, Now Sound, R&B/Vocal Groups, Rock 'n' roll, Soul | Leave a comment

Jeri Simpson

Posted on 2012/12/10 by Little Danny

I first posted Jeri Simpson’s “In My Black Lace” back in 2006.  It has been one of the great mysteries around here, a marvelous, truly one-of-a-kind recording whose story I’d long given up hopes of ever learning.  But I’m happy … Continue reading →

Posted on 2012/12/10 by Little Danny | Posted in Exotica/Space-Age, Jazz Obscura, Updates | Leave a comment

Nature Boy

Posted on 2012/11/19 by Little Danny

I can think of at least a few reasons for the continued appeal of the song “Nature Boy.” There’s its philosophical, pseudo-mystical message for one. It was heady, if not radical, stuff for 1948, at least as far as pop … Continue reading →

Posted on 2012/11/19 by Little Danny | Posted in Exotica/Space-Age, Jazz Obscura, Rock 'n' roll | Leave a comment

Black night

Posted on 2012/07/30 by Little Danny

This is one of those weeks where three records get posted alongside each other not because they share some very specific theme or belong, musically- or culturally-speaking, in the same sub-sub-genre.  (Jazz, early rock ‘n’ roll, pop, R&B and country … Continue reading →

Posted on 2012/07/30 by Little Danny | Posted in Country, Jazz Obscura, Latin, R&B/Vocal Groups | Leave a comment

Jazz Exotique

Posted on 2012/06/04 by Little Danny

A broader, more inclusive idea of exotica – exotica less as genre and more as creative style – is basically the central motive behind the Exotica Project, and a case I’m constantly building around here as well. What has in … Continue reading →

Posted on 2012/06/04 by Little Danny | Posted in Exotica/Space-Age, Jazz Obscura, Latin, The Exotica Project | Leave a comment