Showing posts with label Martin Denny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Denny. Show all posts

Exotica king Martin Denny dies

Mayor of the "Quiet Village," Denny brought exotic, hi-fi sounds to hip bachelor pads in the 50s and captured new fame in recent years as his music was rediscovered via the lounge revival. He was 94.

From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:

Christina Denny, his daughter and primary care-giver, said that her father “passed peacefully at 9 p.m.” and that he had been “ready to go.”

“With the passing of Martin Denny, the world has lost one of its great popular musicians,” said Michael J. Largarticha, Musicians Association of Hawaii president.

“He created a sound that remains unique to this day; an entire genre of music which Martin described as a fusion of Asian, South Pacific, American Jazz, Latin American and Classical.”
Shari Lynn, singer, actress and dancer, as well as music teacher at Hawaii School for Girls at La Pietra, said she was fortunate to have known Denny for more than 20 years.

“He was consistently a gentleman, of course a star but accessible, generous, creative, inspiring — Hawaii’s music monarch,” Lynn said.

Denny and his late wife, June, attended her performances at various hotels over the years and gave her a lot of support, she said. “When someone of that stature gives you thumbs up, you really feel validated.”She said Denny played at La Pietra Feb. 13 at a tsunami fundraiser and at the school’s annual Sunset Jazz fundraiser Nov. 21.

He had been in declining health for the last two years, and had appeared to be near death several times in recent months, but he always dealt stoically with his increasingly limited diet and mobility, and all the related inconveniences.

Denny drew crowds of admirers whenever he appeared and thrilled audiences wherever he performed. One of his final public performances was at Ward Warehouse, where he played a three-song mini-set with bassist Byron Yasui on Jan 21, and as a special guest at the La Pietra fund-raiser Feb. 13. Jimmy Buffett welcomed him as a special guest at a Waikiki Shell concert last year.