Father Geek here with sad news for music lovers, Space-Age Lounge Music Melody Maker Juan Garcia Esquivel has died at his home in Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico of a stroke at the age of 83.
The musician/composer of eccentric "Space-age Mood Music" had been bedridden with a back injury for close to 10 years and about 3
months ago he had a stroke that left him unable to speak, a second stroke on December 30th led to his
death.
Esquivel was born January 20, 1918 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and in his
early years he was a popular idiosyncratic pianist and bandleader in his homeland. He was a regular
on Mexican radio and TV. He studied for a short while at the Juilliard School of Music
in New York, and he scored and/or starred in several Mexican motion pictures, among them; "Juntos Pero No Revueltes" (1939), "Cabaret Tragico" (1957),
and "Las Locuras del Rock 'n' Roll" (1957). He was nominated for Mexico's academy award, The Silver Ariel for 1955's "Locura Pasional", but Father Geek's personal fave was 1943's "Aventuras de Cucuruchito y Pinocho"
At the age of 29 Juan was brought back to the U.S.A. by
RCA Victor Records, who signed him to a long recording contract.
At that time, record labels were only just beginning to release stereo albums, and
Esquivel set out to fully explore that new cutting-edge medium by integrating panning and sonic separation into
his many moody melodies.
From 1957 thru 1967 Esquivel wrote and released 11 albums of
effervescent, lounge music full of radical dynamics flecked with strange and unexpected intergalactic sound effects. With no synthesizers available at the time he relied instead on instrumentations that were exotic for the time period (Theremin, Steel Guitars, early
Fender-Rhodes Keyboards, Whistles, Chinese Bells, Wordless Vocals, and even a Bass Accordion).
He was a prolific composer who wrote over 100 pieces for various popular American Television shows. His most widely heard piece of music is probably without a doubt the "Universal Emblem," a
three-second-long flurry of a fanfare that has accompanied the Universal
Studios logo at the conclusion of hundreds of television shows over the years.
In 1994, because of a renewed hip underground voguish interest in kitschy martini poptune cocktail culture,
Bar/None Records issued the Esquivel compilation "Space Age Bachelor Pad
Music." Other collections soon followed, including "Music From a Sparkling Planet"
(1995) and "Merry Xmas From the Space-Age Bachelor Pad" (1996). The KRONOS QUARTET has recently recorded his "Mini Skirt" for its upcoming album "Nuevo."
Esquivel's
eclectic music was also used in several Hollywood films, including "The Big
Lebowski," "Four Rooms" and "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."
John Leguizamo has been developing plans to produce and star in a bio pic based on Esquivel's life.
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has called Esquivel "the
great unsung genius of space age pop."
Yeah Ol' Father Geek is glad he discovered this inventive artist over 30 years ago... I'm a hell-of-alot richer for it... I'll have to dust off that vintage copy of my "Infinity In Sound" album and crank up the old turntable... and mellow out with an old friend and a couple of Manhattans...
Vaya Con Dios, Juan
Esquivel was born January 20, 1918 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and in his
early years he was a popular idiosyncratic pianist and bandleader in his homeland. He was a regular
on Mexican radio and TV. He studied for a short while at the Juilliard School of Music
in New York, and he scored and/or starred in several Mexican motion pictures, among them; "Juntos Pero No Revueltes" (1939), "Cabaret Tragico" (1957),
and "Las Locuras del Rock 'n' Roll" (1957). He was nominated for Mexico's academy award, The Silver Ariel for 1955's "Locura Pasional", but Father Geek's personal fave was 1943's "Aventuras de Cucuruchito y Pinocho"
At the age of 29 Juan was brought back to the U.S.A. by
RCA Victor Records, who signed him to a long recording contract.
At that time, record labels were only just beginning to release stereo albums, and
Esquivel set out to fully explore that new cutting-edge medium by integrating panning and sonic separation into
his many moody melodies.
From 1957 thru 1967 Esquivel wrote and released 11 albums of
effervescent, lounge music full of radical dynamics flecked with strange and unexpected intergalactic sound effects. With no synthesizers available at the time he relied instead on instrumentations that were exotic for the time period (Theremin, Steel Guitars, early
Fender-Rhodes Keyboards, Whistles, Chinese Bells, Wordless Vocals, and even a Bass Accordion).
He was a prolific composer who wrote over 100 pieces for various popular American Television shows. His most widely heard piece of music is probably without a doubt the "Universal Emblem," a
three-second-long flurry of a fanfare that has accompanied the Universal
Studios logo at the conclusion of hundreds of television shows over the years.
In 1994, because of a renewed hip underground voguish interest in kitschy martini poptune cocktail culture,
Bar/None Records issued the Esquivel compilation "Space Age Bachelor Pad
Music." Other collections soon followed, including "Music From a Sparkling Planet"
(1995) and "Merry Xmas From the Space-Age Bachelor Pad" (1996). The KRONOS QUARTET has recently recorded his "Mini Skirt" for its upcoming album "Nuevo."
Esquivel's
eclectic music was also used in several Hollywood films, including "The Big
Lebowski," "Four Rooms" and "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."
John Leguizamo has been developing plans to produce and star in a bio pic based on Esquivel's life.
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has called Esquivel "the
great unsung genius of space age pop."
Yeah Ol' Father Geek is glad he discovered this inventive artist over 30 years ago... I'm a hell-of-alot richer for it... I'll have to dust off that vintage copy of my "Infinity In Sound" album and crank up the old turntable... and mellow out with an old friend and a couple of Manhattans...
Vaya Con Dios, Juan
He was a prolific composer who wrote over 100 pieces for various popular American Television shows. His most widely heard piece of music is probably without a doubt the "Universal Emblem," a
three-second-long flurry of a fanfare that has accompanied the Universal
Studios logo at the conclusion of hundreds of television shows over the years.
In 1994, because of a renewed hip underground voguish interest in kitschy martini poptune cocktail culture,
Bar/None Records issued the Esquivel compilation "Space Age Bachelor Pad
Music." Other collections soon followed, including "Music From a Sparkling Planet"
(1995) and "Merry Xmas From the Space-Age Bachelor Pad" (1996). The KRONOS QUARTET has recently recorded his "Mini Skirt" for its upcoming album "Nuevo."
Esquivel's
eclectic music was also used in several Hollywood films, including "The Big
Lebowski," "Four Rooms" and "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."
John Leguizamo has been developing plans to produce and star in a bio pic based on Esquivel's life.
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has called Esquivel "the
great unsung genius of space age pop."
Yeah Ol' Father Geek is glad he discovered this inventive artist over 30 years ago... I'm a hell-of-alot richer for it... I'll have to dust off that vintage copy of my "Infinity In Sound" album and crank up the old turntable... and mellow out with an old friend and a couple of Manhattans...
Vaya Con Dios, Juan
Esquivel's
eclectic music was also used in several Hollywood films, including "The Big
Lebowski," "Four Rooms" and "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America."
John Leguizamo has been developing plans to produce and star in a bio pic based on Esquivel's life.
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has called Esquivel "the
great unsung genius of space age pop."
Yeah Ol' Father Geek is glad he discovered this inventive artist over 30 years ago... I'm a hell-of-alot richer for it... I'll have to dust off that vintage copy of my "Infinity In Sound" album and crank up the old turntable... and mellow out with an old friend and a couple of Manhattans...
Vaya Con Dios, Juan
Yeah Ol' Father Geek is glad he discovered this inventive artist over 30 years ago... I'm a hell-of-alot richer for it... I'll have to dust off that vintage copy of my "Infinity In Sound" album and crank up the old turntable... and mellow out with an old friend and a couple of Manhattans...
Vaya Con Dios, Juan
Information gathered from IMDB, Associated Press, and various "liner notes" of Esquivel's reissue albums. Thanks to these sources.
