Bwana A/Bahia

AMG Review of Bwana A/Bahia

Lindsay Planer
All Music Guide

Reaffirming its status as the 21st century's most eclectic reissue label, Collectors' Choice Music begins an extensive assessment of vintage exotica pop master Arthur Lyman with this two-fer, corralling both the Bwana A (1958) and Bahia (1959) long-players. Lyman was not only a Hawaii-based bandleader but a multi-instrumentalist as well. After serving an apprenticeship under the tutelage of Martin Denny, Lyman -- and longtime bandmate John Kramer (bass/flute) -- would eventually settle into a career-defining gig as the main attraction at the Henry J. Kaiser-conceived and constructed Hawaiian Village complex. Lyman often recorded in an aluminum geodesic dome -- built by American industrialist, ship magnate, and music lover Kaiser. The structure's innate three-second delay would imbue the music documented there with an almost enveloping soundscape. So taken was Lyman with the facility that he dedicates Bwana A -- which translates as "boss man/friend" -- to Kaiser himself. Each composition and performance provides a unique mood, subtle though it may seem. The distinct Asian feel to the enigmatic "South Pacific Moonlight" and "Moon Over a Ruined Castle" are juxtaposed by the classically inspired update of Franz Schubert's Serenade on "Waikiki Serenade." "Canton Rose" is both an outlet for one of Kramer's far too infrequent bamboo flute solos as well as guest Chew Hoon Chang's moon harp. "Vera Cruz" takes listeners to the heart of the jungle, where the ambience is replete with the very definition of exotica -- including bird calls and the like. These augmentations resurface on the title track to Bahia. This cut reveals a perfect example of Lyman (vibes, marimba, guitar) and Alan Soares' (piano) repartee that turns up on the cover of the Les Baxter-penned "Jungle Jalopy." A further attempt at bringing the sounds of the Tropics to Middle America is the twangy traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar replicated on "Legend of the Rain" as well as the almost surreal "Beyond the Reef" -- the latter of which begins with the ethereal vibrations of a conch shell. Bahia also features the fun and (believe it or not) funky "Caribbean Nights." "Quiet Village" and "Happy Voodoo" are two other adeptly chosen and imaginatively executed Les Baxter titles that are considerably more "native" than the hustle and bustle of the jazz-infused "Busy Port." Interestingly, each of the original LPs wraps up with entries that are quite unlike anything else on the respective platters. Bahia concludes with "Maui Chimes" as a bevy of ukuleles plays against melodic tubular bells, while "Colonel Bogey's March" is a twist on the familiar theme to the film The Bridge on the River Kwai.