Instrumental easy-listening jazz-pop from the 60s - s&d?

One of the, uh, more questionable aspects of my musical taste is a rather guilty fondness for easy-listening slush from the 60s; instrumental pop by the likes of Herb Alpert, Al Hirt and, yes, even a little Lawrence Welk.

I expect a skewering, but I'm curious to know if anyone else out there shares my dark, twisted secret and, if so, what else would you recommend? I'm looking for stuff like the above; smooth, almost-jazz, instrumental covers of standards, even ranging into kitsch Hawaiian influences and other exotica.

Not sixties, probably not what you want but still good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx4gi5_AV2U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ym30uPPjh8

thanks dog latin, I only said 60s because that's where virtually all of what I've been listening to in this style originated; other decades are very welcome too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0zHS3jX9xc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtEXWP5JHEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSsiS-v6_6M

is this the kind of stuff you mean or have i got it wrong?

No one is going to skewer you for that here.

Welcome, friend.

Oh man I love this stuff! I recently have discovered these records that I think you'll like.
Frank Hunter - White Goddess (Wordless vocals with exotic/jungle rhythms, like an undiscovered Les Baxter Grail, the song Jungle Drums is one the finest examples of easy listening/out thereness I have ever heard)
Elizabeth Waldo anything of her's, Realm of the Incas is a great place to start. Otherworldly/old world sounds, a unique listening expedience!
Les Baxter - Caribbean Moonlight (One of Les Baxter well liked records due to it's not really exotica, more tropical bachelor pad easy listening, lush immersive strings, with lite latin drums. )

That was suppose to read One of Les Baxter's not liked well records.

dog latin: perfect! I'm already familiar with "Theme from A Summer Place" which is lovely. The other stuff I haven't heard and is just what I'm looking for!

cheers Hurting, good to know I'm among friends.

xposts

and thanks Jacob! I'll check those out.

a couple of the compositions I've listened to in the past few months which helped me fall in love with this genre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwQmKwCYWUo

This is saccharine as hell, but it tugs at my heartstrings for some inexplicable reason. I imagine a housewife daydreaming to this c. 1969.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGA89QK2Spo

First heard this on a Tijuana Brass compilation LP I got from the charity shop. I've always found Herb's voice to be strangely evocative and I think this a wonderful Nilsson cover which served as a friendly presence during the many, many low moods of 2013. On the vinyl, the difference between his vox and the orchestral flourishes was wayyy too dynamic...but this a nice, more balanced mix which is easier on the ears.

Always enjoyed this medley of Baby Elephant Dance / Java - especially Java, skip to the 2 minute mark if you wanna hear that bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG8VJWC6Hm8

Danny & Dena Guglielmi's Adventure In Sound is from the 50's, but one of my desert island records, haunting and playful space age midnight cocktail jazz. You can find in the blog world.

more on the exotica side than the jazz-pop side: "orinoco" (from 1959, i believe) by robert drasnin, who i had the great pleasure of studying with in los angeles last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSPjxLnpYog

huge hit in 1968, a cover of a eurovision entry apparently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIKpko4Ln90

cheers Hurting, good to know I'm among friends.

I mean, people on ILM will give you a lot of shit for a lot of things, but one thing they will rarely give you shit for his enjoying a much maligned genre of music. Sometimes I think the more maligned, the better.

Going through my records, these are a few more favorites.
The Torch With The Blue Flame - Jackie Gleason (Capital '57)
Jackie Gleason Presents Aphrodisia - Jackie Gleason (Capital '60)
Far Across The Sea - Gene Rains (Decca 61)
Rains In The Tropics - Gene Rains (Decca '62)
La Dolce Henke - Mel Henke (Warner '62)
Music Of Desire - Warren Barker And His Orchestra (Warner '60)
A Musical Touch Of Far Away Places - Warren Barker (Warner '59)
Brass and Bamboo - Tak Shindo (Capital '59)
Polynesian Paradise - Phil Moore (Strand '59)
Tropicale - Tommy Morgan (Warner '58)
Jet Flight - Norrie Paramor (Capital '59)
Love Tide - Nelson Riddle (Capital '61)
Macanudo - Ahmad Jamal (Argo '63)
Around The World In Percussion - Irv Cottler (Somerset '61)
On A Magic Carpet - The Three Suns (RCA '60)
Movin' 'N' Groovin' - The Three Suns (RCA '62)
Twilight Memories - The Three Suns (RCA '60)
Dick Hyman & Mary Mayo - Moon Gas (MGM '63)

Also there's a book about this sort of music that's worth reading, Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong by Joseph Lanza. I haven't read it in years, but it was fun and gave an interesting context for easy listening and lots of recommendations too.

2013 i really went large on the whole easy/lounge groove thing.
its addictive stuff.
once i randomly picked a KPM compilation 'by accident' and that was it game over, hooked.

other stuff i enjoy :

liz damon's orient express : 70s cheese with vocals.
all you need is keith mansfield : late 60s/early 70s funky instrumentals
hotel easy : la scandale discotheque, playmates penthouse, pacos poolside bar - KPM library grooves
birds 'n' brass : soundsations sort of soul - more KPM style
the larry page orchestra : john paul george ringo - covers of solo beatles material. some bad, some brilliant

for the more jazz/60s vibe, then one i really enjoy is johnny lyte - done it again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtMijixpcGs

great cover art on that album.

two excellent compilations that fit in with that 'baby elephant' groove

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419ERGSAP6L._SX355_.jpg

and

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JH44S1KQL.jpg

I've never actually seen a physical copy of either of those In Flight comps - I guess I could just mail order 'em - but this one, also by The Karminksy Brothers, gets a ton of play at my house.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VSJHQHR9L.jpg

I haven't heard those compilations, but it was those Capital's Ultra-Lounge and Rhino's Cocktail mixes from the 90's that got into easy listening. I've yet to dive into the enormous world of library records, it makes me nervous thinking about it.

that expresso one is next on my list.

[ f*ck it - ordered ! ]

i found the 'in flight' ones in a collection that had not been assessed in a trade in shop .. got those with one of the 'hotel easy' sets.

never seen the 'in flight' sets before/since.

there are four 'hotel easy' compilations, but they are seriously £££ on amazon (well, the one i dont have is)

never seen/heard of ultra-lounge before.

oh no ..

how many volumes !!

Really? Wow. (and welcome to the Ultra Lounge... muahahahaha....) Yeah, there are many, many volumes. For the most part, I really like them. Well curated, and released thematically (organs, cha cha, bossa nova etc.) They put a "how to play the bongos" instructional record at the end of some of them though, which is cute once but annoying in the CD changer.

suspect they are USA releases ..

but wil definitely keep an eye out for some of those .. ta for the tip off ..

expresso has been dispatched !

cant f*cking wait.

do let us know how it goes down, mark, it looks interesting!

bought Blue Hawaii by Lawrence Welk yesterday, always having had a perverse fascination for his television show. Listening to some of his albums on Youtube, it's almost disturbing how soft and rinky-dink the instrumentation is, but I find them strangely endearing nonetheless. I also came across a Liberace vinyl boxset in Fopps, which I would have bought had I not already been bogged down with purchases.

It's interesting to listen to all this stuff, hearing the encapsulation of a lost world filled with folk who were left behind by the advent of rock and roll; surely that's who this music was recorded for and sold to, I'm guessing?

I used to dig Arthur Lyman's "taboo" and "yellow bird" and some martin denny stuff but I suspect now they have contain probably some pretty suspect shit (from a cultural sensitivity pespective)

rather than continue to clog up the Nilsson thread with unabashed Alpert worship, I'll post this here. Utterly gorgeous cover of the Gordon Lightfoot song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK091faAVVY

thats ace.
i only ever see crap albums by herb albert in my local charity shops.
i have one, and its not that good.

which one, Mark? I have Whipped Cream and Going Place and a compilation called This Guy's in Love with You from sometime in the mid 70s. It's virtually all covers and it's where I discovered the Lightfoot rendition. Not sure which album it's from; there seems to be very little information about the later LPs online.

The Tijuana Brass are basically The Wrecking Crew so there's a lot to savor just listening to the playing on those records.

I share your love of these records but screw guilt. I loved that stuff as a kid but what revived my interest was trip hop and hip-hop, so it's cool now. It's a good way to learn standards and compare arrangements. Personally I like moody guitar records - Dan and Dale, Al Caiola...

With Hawaiian records, you have to sit through a pile of them, the majority are shit but some are truly trippy. Check out "the Surfmen" on Spotify for example. I'll do some searches and get back to you with more.

I love Hawaiian records, when they are good, they are unbelievably great! There's also a lot more variety in Hawaiian records than I thought once I started buying them. The steel guitar ones are great and there was a large country music scene on the islands, I'm guessing due to the army base. My favorite is this one, and there's a different cover.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7437/12047833546_19c586ebdc_z.jpg
Also one of my holy grails is a record called Muana Kea Breeze by the Hawaiian Spotlighters. Only a handful of copies have turned up and they ones that have sold are 100+. From the few songs I've heard it's probably the greatest exotica record.

which one, Mark?

http://www.discogs.com/Herb-Alpert-And-The-Tijuana-Brass-Early-Alpert/release/2602502

think i need to get some his late 60s material, as this is early doors and so rather raw sounding.

ok, i take it back.
i picked up the album from a local charity shop during the evil lump chaos, and so the uptempo happy grooves did not sit well, and bh hated it.
this morning however, its sounding ace !
ta for the nudge to make me get it out and try it again.
bring on the espresso compilation ..

I was in Fopps today and snagged another Tijuana Brass album, this time it was Your Smile - The Song Begins from 1974. It's obscure, coming after his more famous and better-selling 60s efforts, but I think it's one of his finest. Check him out, duetting with his wife Lani Hall, on "Save the Sunlight"... really nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-R71rQZIj4

been pretty bored with everything thats been on the playlist this week, so very happy to have just found this fine looking betty page fronted collection :

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/818eat5qPLL._SL1470_.jpg

that's this weekend sorted

https://www.amoeba.com/admin/uploads/albums/covers/other//johnnysmith_guietarsandstrings.jpg
this is so good it makes me feel sad and happy at the same time. I like the minimalist discipline of strings and guitar working together here, with just the odd bit of simple percussion.