Product Code: WET30281161
Original price was: $27.00.$16.20Current price is: $16.20.Esquivels Other Worlds, Other Sounds is a classic slice of late-50s space age pop, lounge-meets-orchestra music thats as much about stereo spectacle as it is about melody. Led by pianist/arranger Juan Garca Esquivel and his orchestra, the 1958 release takes familiar standards and transforms them with big band colours, Latin rhythms, quirky vocal punctuations and judicious use of stereo spread that was still new at the time. Its fun, playful and lush the kind of record that feels both retro and futuristic at once, and one of the go-to titles people recommend for sound-in-sound exploration on good systems.
Musically it balances tongue-in-cheek arrangements with genuinely inventive orchestration; the piano and brass are front and centre but the colours and textures keep shifting, giving it a cinematic quality that rewards repeat spins. While its often talked about as mood or easy-listening music, reviewers who dig deeper point out that theres real craft in how Esquivel reshapes these tunes and in the way the stereo image is used to animate the performances.
Reviews
Esquivel leads a 26-piece orchestra and voices through a set that puts your stereo to the test, infusing easy listening with Latin rhythms and inventive stereo movement. All About Jazz review of the album reissue (C. Andrew Hovan)
Other Worlds Other Sounds feels like a sonic adventure echo, ambient spread and playful arrangements make the music as much about texture as melody. OnTheRecord review of the album
A1 Granada
A2 Begin The Beguine
A3 Night And Day
A4 Poinciana
A5 Playfully
A6 Adios
B1 That Old Black Magic
B2 Nature Boy
B3 Magic Is The Moonlight
B4 Speak Low
B5 Ballerina
B6 It Had To Be You
B7 I Only Have Eyes For You