Arthur Lyman
Birth nameArthur Hunt Lyman
Born(1932-02-02)February 2, 1932
Kauai, Hawaii
DiedFebruary 24, 2002(2002-02-24) (aged 70)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Genresjazz, Hawaiian, exotica
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Marimba, xylophone, percussion
Years active1948–2002

Arthur Hunt Lyman (February 2, 1932 – February 24, 2002) was a Hawaiian jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica. His albums became favorite stereo-effect demonstration discs during the early days of the stereophonic LP album for their elaborate and colorful percussion, deep bass and 3-dimensional recording soundstage. Lyman was known as "the King of Lounge music."

Biography

Arthur Lyman was born on the island of Kauai in the U.S. territory of Hawaii, on February 2, 1932. He was the youngest of eight children of a Hawaiian mother and a father of Hawaiian, French, Belgian and Chinese descent. When Arthur's father, a riveter, lost his eyesight in an accident on Kauai, the family settled in Makiki, a subdistrict of Honolulu.[1] Arthur's father was very strict with him, each day after school locking him in a room with orders to play along to a stack of Benny Goodman records "to learn what good music is."[2] "I had a little toy marimba," Lyman later recalled, "a sort of bass xylophone, and from those old 78 rpm disks I learned every note Lionel Hampton recorded with the Goodman group."[1] At age eight he made his public debut playing his toy marimba on the Listerine Amateur Hour on radio station KGMB, Honolulu, playing "Twelfth Street Rag." "I won a bottle of Listerine," he laughed.[3] Lyman joined his father and brother playing USO shows on the bases at Kaneohe and Pearl Harbor.[4] Over the next few years he became adept at the four-mallet style of playing which offers a greater range of chord-forming options. In fact he became good enough to turn professional at age 14 when he joined a group called the Gadabouts, playing vibes in the cool-jazz style then in vogue. "I was working at Leroy's, a little nightclub down by Kakaako. I was making about $60 a week, working Monday to Saturday, from 9 to 2 in the morning, and then I'd go to school. So it was kind of tough."[4]

Exotica

After graduating from McKinley High School in 1951, he put music on hold to work as a desk clerk at the Halekulani hotel. It was there in 1954 that he met pianist Martin Denny, who, after hearing him play, offered the 21-year-old a spot in his band. Initially wary, Lyman was persuaded by the numbers: he was making $280 a month as a clerk, and Denny promised more than $100 a week. Denny had been brought to Hawaii in January on contract by Don the Beachcomber, and stayed in Hawaii to play nightly in the Shell Bar at the Hawaiian Village. Other members of his band were Augie Colon on percussion and John Kramer on string bass. Denny, who had traveled widely, had collected numerous exotic instruments from all over the world and liked to use them to spice up his jazz arrangements of popular songs. The stage of the Shell Bar was very exotic, with a little tropical garden pool of water right outside the bandstand, and rocks & palm trees growing around. One full moon night Lyman had "had a little too many Mai-Tais to drink," and when they began playing the theme from Vera Cruz, Lyman let out a few bird calls. "The next thing you know, the audience started to answer me back with all kinds of weird cries. It was great." These bird calls became a trademark of Lyman's sound.[5]

When Denny's Exotica album was released on record in 1957 it became a smash hit, igniting a national mania for all things South Pacific during the lead-up to Hawai'i becoming a state, including the stage play, the movie, tiki-themed restaurants like Don the Beachcomber's and Trader Vic's, luaus, Oceanic art, exotic drinks, aloha shirts, and straw hats.

Later career

That same year, Lyman was persuaded by Henry J. Kaiser to leave The Martin Denny Group to form his own group, continuing in much the same style but even more flamboyant. For decades Arthur and Martin did not speak to each other, but eventually came together (with many of their former bandmates) on Denny's 1990 CD Exotica '90 and remained friends since.[6] Although the Polynesian craze faded as music trends changed, Lyman's combo continued to play to tourists nearly every Friday and Saturday night at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel in Honolulu throughout the 1970s. Lyman continued to play as a solo act at the New Otani in the 1980s and 1990s. He also performed for years at Don the Beachcomber's Polynesian Village, the Shell Bar, the Waialae Country Club and the Canoe House at the Ilikai Hotel at Waikiki, the Bali Hai in San Diego and at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. During the peak of his popularity Lyman recorded more than 30 albums and almost 400 singles, earning three gold albums. Taboo peaked at number 6 on Billboard's album chart and stayed on the chart for over a year, eventually selling more than two million copies.[7] The title song peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1959. Lyman's biggest pop single was "Yellow Bird," originally a Haitian song, which peaked at #4 in July 1961. His last charting single was "Love For Sale" (reaching number 43 in March 1963),[8] but his music enjoyed a new burst of popularity in the 1990s with the lounge music revival and CD reissues.

Death

Lyman died from esophageal cancer in February 2002.[9]

Arthur Lyman Group personnel

1957–1965
  • Arthur Lyman – vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, bird calls, congas, bongos, guitar, percussion (including wind chimes, ankle spurs, timbali, cocktail drums, boobams, ass's jaw, guido, conch shell, tambourine, snare drums, wood block, finger cymbals, cowbells, castanets, samba, Chinese gong and sleigh bells)
  • Alan Soares – piano, celeste, glockenspiel, guitar, clavietta, marimba, percussion
  • John Kramer – string bass, bass guitar, percussion, ukulele, guitar, bird calls, flute, clarinet
  • Harold Chang – percussion, marimba, xylophone, bass
1965–1966
  • Arthur Lyman – vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, bird calls, congas, percussion
  • Alan Soares – piano, celeste, glockenspiel, guitar, percussion
  • Archie Grant – bass, flute, guitar, ukulele
  • Harold Chang – percussion, marimba, xylophone
1966–1975
  • Arthur Lyman – vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, percussion
  • Clem Low – piano
  • Archie Grant – bass
  • Harold Chang – percussion, marimba, xylophone
  • Kapiolani Lyman (his daughter) – percussion, marimba, flute, hula, vocals
1975–1978
  • Arthur Lyman – vibraphone, marimba, ukulele, percussion
  • Paul Reid – piano
  • Randy Aton – bass
  • Pat Sombrio – drums
  • Kapiolani Lyman – percussion, marimba, flute, hula, vocals
  • Neil Norman – guest guitarist

Recording details

Most of Lyman's albums were recorded in the aluminum Kaiser geodesic dome auditorium on the grounds of the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel on Waikiki in Honolulu. This space provided unique acoustics and a natural 3-second reverberation. His recordings also benefited from being recorded on a one-of-kind Ampex 3-track 1/2" tape recorder designed and built by engineer (and Hi-Fi Records label owner) Richard Vaughn. All of Lyman's albums were recorded live, without overdubbing.[10] He recorded after midnight, to avoid the sounds of traffic and tourists, and occasionally you can hear the aluminum dome creaking as it settles in the cool night air.[11] Lyman noted that he did not like recording in the dome because of the echo and the outside noise but did so because it was free. At night, after playing in the lounge the band would wheel their instruments over to the dome and record all night. They knew their recording session was over when morning came and the trash trucks started making noise.[12] The quality of these recordings became even more evident with the advent of CD reissues, when the digital mastering engineer found he didn't have to do anything to them but transfer the original 3-track stereo masters to digital.[13] The recordings remain state-of-the-art nearly 50 years later.

Discography

Original LPs

Appears as a guest

CD reissues

Related

In May 2014, Alika Lyman, the great-nephew of Arthur Lyman, released a tribute album titled Leis of Jazz, Vol. 2 which featured songs and cover art that paid homage to Arthur Lyman's original Leis of Jazz album.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Liner notes to Pearly Shells
  2. ^ Downes, Lawrence (March 3, 2002). "Arthur Lyman, 70, of Hawaii, King of the Jungle Vibraphone". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  3. ^ "Profile: Arthur Lyman". Kevdo.com. June 8, 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Nate Chinen (March 4, 2002). "Good vibes". Star-Bulletin.
  5. ^ "Mood Merchant". Time. August 17, 1962. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
  6. ^ http://www.spaceagepop.com/lyman.htm
  7. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 104. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  8. ^ Liner notes to Music for a Bachelor's Den, Vol.5
  9. ^ Obituary in Honolulu Advertiser, February 26, 2002
  10. ^ Liner notes to Hawaiian Sunset CD
  11. ^ Liner notes to Taboo 2
  12. ^ Interview conducted with Arthur Lyman in Waikiki circa 1995 by Otto von Stroheim
  13. ^ Liner notes to Taboo compilation CD
  14. ^ Listed by Nick DiFonzo as being among The WORST album covers in the world...EVER! (New Holland Publishers, 2004). As described by Nick DiFonzo (at p. 54), "Arthur Lyman was one the undisputed masters of 'exotica' music that consisted of lush string and percussion arrangements spiced up with monkey calls and macaw shrieks. His album covers were always exciting, usually featuring blasting volcanoes or other explosive fare." As noted by Richie Unterberger, "The CD reissue (Rykodisk 2006 and 1998) restores the original sleeve, whose distorted tikified heads were considered 'too gruesome' upon its initial release." The album cover may be viewed here; www.allmusic.com.

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