What does it sound like?:
The conventional impression of 1950s Britain is of a rain-soaked and foggy land exhausted by the war and struggling to come to terms with lingering rationing and austerity. To counter this view along comes a sparkling new box set from Jonny Trunk featuring all manner of exotic recordings by artists with names like Reg, Ted and Eric. The Americans too had their own brand of exotica with artists such as Arthur Lyman, Esquivel, Les Baxter and Martin Denny but, as the sleeve notes suggest, the British experience was rather different. ‘Recovering from war, steeped in tradition and closer to European, Middle Eastern and Asian influences. Quietly reserved, gently comic and slightly confused.’ The three albums included in this box set are : ‘London’s Rarest Primitive Pop and Savage Jazz’, ’Persian Pop and Casbah Jazz from the Wild British Isles!’ and ‘Polynesian Pop and Placid Jazz from the Wild British Isles!’. Each album explores a different substrata of this fascinating music. Highlights include ex-Vernon Girl, Lyn Cornell, with a spirited vocal version of Johnny Dankworth’s ‘African Waltz’, folk singer Nadia Cattouse’s frantic jazz chase produced by her big band arranger husband, Dave Lindup, and ‘The » Continue Reading.
