Latest Release
- AUG 11, 2023
- 12 Songs
- Skins! · 1957
- DJ-Kicks (DJ Mix) · 1999
- The Summer Moods of Les Baxter · 1970
- The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter · 1996
- The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter · 1996
- Skins! · 1957
- Ritual of the Savage (Le Sacre du Sauvage) · 1951
- Jewels of the Sea · 1961
- Ritual of the Savage (Le Sacre du Sauvage) · 1951
- The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter · 1996
Essential Albums
- 1958
Artist Playlists
- Find out how he morphed lounge music into exotica.
Compilations
Appears On
- The Newton Brothers
About Les Baxter
Les Baxter was a member of Mel Torme's Meltones, a film score and television theme composer, and even the leader of a folk ensemble. However, the multi-talented composer/arranger/conductor is best known for being one of the creators of the "exotica" sound. By fusing Polynesian rhythms and instrumentation with slick orchestral arrangements, Baxter gave rise to a hip, swanky, less cerebral variation of jazz that appealed to the lounge and bachelor-pad set of the 1950s and '60s. The exotica movement has had many a revival through the years, thus ensuring that Baxter remains an icon of quirky cool.
- HOMETOWN
- Mexia, TX, United States
- BORN
- March 14, 1922
- GENRE
- Jazz