Esquivel

The “King of Space-Age Pop”, Juan Garcia Esquivel was one of the premier composers and bandleaders in the world of lounge music. Born in ​​January 1918 in Tampico, Mexico, Esquivel started playing piano at age six and began his professional music career in his teens, performing on and eventually leading the orchestra of a Mexico City radio station. His bandleading and composing for the station’s various shows eventually garnered notice from RCA, and the label began releasing his music in the U.S. in 1957. Esquivel became an innovator in writing and arranging music for the high-end stereos of the time; on his 1962 album Latin-Esque, he recorded two bands that were performing simultaneously in different studios, mixing them live, while his placement of certain instruments on the left and right side of stereo setups gave his Latin-jazz-tinged songs an extra pop. In the ’90s, the cult of lounge music and the success of bands influenced by him, such as Stereolab and Combustible Edison, led to his music being reissued, exposing him to an entirely new audience. Esquivel died in January 2002 at age 83; his music has remained a touchstone for pop aficionados.