Although a certain campiness clings to tiki lounges and “exotica,” the musical genre associated with fruity tropical drinks and thatch-covered bars, 1950s exotica band leaders such as Martin Denny were talented musicians with a multi-cultural vision. The Waitiki 7 pick up the branch where it fell in the ’60s, combining cool jazz woodwinds and Latin percussion with breezy Pacific Rim melodies. Many of the songs on New Sounds of Exotica actually date from the genre’s original era, yet the arrangements are fresh, sometimes infused with the feel of contemporary jazz.
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