Kenyon Hopkins/Esquire Magazine: Sound Tour: Hawaii

 

TOUR: HAWAII – IMPRESSIONS IN SOUND OF AN AMERICAN ON TOUR. Verve V/V6-50003 (issued May 1962)

Rarity Level: ****

Cover Kitsch Level: ****

Music Kitsch Level: ****

Overall Score: *****

Acquired:  Last Chance Thrift, Decatur GA

Price: $1.01

What do you get when you take an established high-end record label like Verve, add a composer/arranger who is known for his Jazz-influenced movie soundtracks, and then add some top-of-the-line Jazz musicians to the mix?  Wait.  How about throwing in a flautist who would later go on to form the Supergroup The Brass Ring?  You want more?  How about “real” sound effects like pounding ocean surf, chirping birds, ebullient tourist chatter, and cruise ship steam whistles?  What?  You want more? How about a die-cut, fold out album jacket with a TRAVEL GUIDE affixed to the inside?  More?  How about having this whole “concept” in Hi-Fi be a partnership with Verve and our Nation’s first and most respected “men’s” magazine, none other than Esquire?  Finally, how about the album being the only one of the whole series that is set in, you guessed it, HAWAII!!  

A post-modern, thrift-store-record-buying bachelor gets a rare and quintessential piece of mid-60s audio nirvana; that’s what he gets! 

This reviewer had already encountered Kenyon Hopkins when he found himself getting sucked in to a TCM showing of Mr. Buddwing, a strange, 1966 B&W flick featuring a very young James Garner and a VERY beautiful Suzanne Pleshette.  It was filmed on location in NYC, and Hopkins did a masterful job with the soundtrack, making his Jazzy take on the story really “fill out” what, without the music, could have been  much less of a film.  The IP gave the flick 4 stars, with two of them going to Hopkins. Thankfully, Verve corralled KH for four albums in a “concept” series entitled “Sound Tour.”  The three other tours, also featuring the KH touch, were in France, Italy, and Spain.  The IP found the Hawaii LP in a local thrift store, and he knew right away that it would be good.  It’s more than good, actually. 

The recording quality, the arrangements, the performances, and the added “sounds” of Hawaii make this LP a sort of Exotica-Light, a blend of kitsch with a strong Jazz sensibility.  The latter is made obviously apparent by the alto sax of Phil Woods and the trumpet of Joe Wilder.  And playing exceptionally on flute is Phil Bodner, a hard-working musician and producer of one of the greatest Sleazy Listening groups of all time: The Brass Ring!

 

Then there is the album itself, with beautiful cover photos and a die-cut, gate-fold design complete with a little “Guide” to the highlights of America’s 50^th State; at least as they were in the mid-60s. 

Not reissued on CD, so you have to be lucky at the thrifts or pay $20+ on the intrawebs. 

Details: 

SOUND TOUR: HAWAII New York City: February 16, 1962Joe Wilder (tp solo); unknown (tb); Phil Woods (as solo); Jerome Richardson, Phil Bodner (f solo); unknown (acc); unknown (g); unknown (steel g); unknown (ukelele); unknown (b); unknown (d); unknown (perc); unknown (harp); Keene Crockett (sound effects); Kenyon Hopkins (arr, cond). a. (62VK358) Pagan Love Song (A. Freed/N. H. Brown) – 1:58b. (62VK359)

Hawaiian War Chant (Freed/Noble/Leleiohaku) – 1:49c. (62VK360) Sweet Leilani (Owens) – 1:51d. (62VK361)

Nani Pua (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:18e. (62VK362)

Outer Island (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:27f. (62VK363)

On The Beach At Waikiki (Stover/Kailimai) – 1:37g. (62VK364)

Siva Siva (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:18h. (62VK365)

Catamaran (Kenyon Hopkins) – 1:45i. (62VK366) Hula

Shuffle (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:24j. (62VK367)

Kooki Muus (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:45k. (62VK368)

Song Of The Islands (C. E. King) – 2:20l. (62VK369)

Luau (Kenyon Hopkins) – 2:05m. (62VK370)

Aloha (traditional) – 1:40 

Note: Complete title is VERVE RECORDS AND ESQUIRE MAGAZINE – SOUND TOUR: HAWAII – IMPRESSIONS IN SOUND OF AN AMERICAN ON TOUR. 

Issues: a-m on Verve V/V6-50003 (issued May 1962), MGM Premium PM 23/9. Samplers: b, c & d also on Verve V6-DJ3 titled VERVE/ESQUIRE “TRAVEL SAMPLER”.Producer: Creed TaylorEngineer: Bob SimpsonNotes: Richard Joseph