| World Jazz |
Playful, infectious, and irresistibly danceable, this album is anything but light. Beneath its sun-drenched surface lies a set of meticulously crafted compositions that at times recall the lush orchestrations of classic film scores or the bold, Technicolor themes of mid-20th-century television. Exotica Reborn marks The WAITIKI 7’s first studio recording since 2011, and their first live album at Honolulu’s legendary Halekulani since 1965. It captures that hypnotic, almost cinematic sound that makes this ensemble such a rare gem on today’s music scene.
The lineup is a world-spanning gathering of virtuosos: flutist and saxophonist Tim Mayer; Grammy-winning Latin jazz pianist Zaccai Curtis; violinist Helen Liu; vibraphonist Jim Benoit; drummer Abe Lagrimas Jr.; bassist and bandleader Randy Wong; and percussionist and master bird-caller Augie “Lopaka” Colón Jr. Joining them are the Galliard String Quartet, marimbist Mika Mimura, and, as a living thread to history, 97-year-old drummer Harold Chang, who played on the original Exotica sessions in the 1950s and ’60s alongside Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman.
This is no mere reunion, it’s a resurrection. The shared devotion of these musicians to the genre has given them the daring to modernize it, no small feat, and here, the gamble pays off completely. The secret? Subtle arrangements driven by a bass-and-drums pairing that can shift from a whisper to a thunderclap in the space of a heartbeat.
Born in Waikiki’s golden age, Exotica was the creation of piano virtuoso Martin Denny and vibraphonist Arthur Lyman. Their groundbreaking albums Exotica and Taboo sparked a cultural wave, fusing the mosaic of ethnic influences that converged in Hawaii after World War II. Listening now, the music still feels timeless: a kaleidoscope of rhythms and melodies, amplified here by the players’ infectious energy.
Denny and Lyman took Exotica global, appearing on American Bandstand, The Andy Williams Show, and The Steve Allen Show. Denny’s “Quiet Village” reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart in 1959, with the Exotica album itself hitting No. 1. Two years later, Lyman’s “Yellow Bird” also climbed to No. 4 on the Hot 100, cementing the genre’s place in pop history.
But make no mistake, this is not music you can fake. True Exotica demands both mastery and instinct: a deep understanding of the jazz and folk traditions that shaped its midcentury vocabulary, and excellence in composition, orchestration, and performance. For more than two decades, The WAITIKI 7 have carried that tradition forward with meticulous skill. Their ties to the pioneers run deep: Randy Wong discovered Exotica through Arthur Lyman; Abe Lagrimas Jr. performed with Martin Denny; and Lopaka Colón channels the same bird and animal calls invented by his father, Augie Colón Sr., a Molokaʻi-born hunter whose sounds gave the music its unmistakable signature.
In the end, Exotica Reborn is pure joy, a heady blend of nostalgia and reinvention. It may well spark curiosity among younger musicians who’ve never encountered the genre, offering a trove of inspiration and, perhaps, planting the seeds for the next chapter in this vibrant, spellbinding tradition.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, August 12th 2025
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Musicians:
Helen Liu, violin
Tim Mayer, Soprano sax, flutes
Zaccai Curtis, piano
Jim Benoit, vibraphone, percussions
Abe Lagrimas JR, percussions, bird, & animal calls
Randy Wong, double bass
Guests:
Galliard String Quartet
Mika Mimura, marimba
Harold Chang, drums
Tracklist:
Studio album:
Cave Of The Tarpon
Tropicando
China Clipper
Quiet Village
Cave Ulda
Yellowbird
Live Album:
Coronation
Similau
Lucero
Mapuana
Sunrise at Kowloon
Halekulani
Cave of the Tarpon