AROUND YMA SUMAC

Yma Sumac: Secret of the Incas

2011-11-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 extracts of the famous film in which Yma Sumac starred.

And here is a live performance of that same legendary song on David Letterman Show in 1987.

Alba Del Castillo: Virgenes Del Sol

2011-02-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

Alba del Castillo -- born in Columbia -- is a classic Peruvian flute singer from the Yma and Wara Wara tradition.

Enjoy her performance, recommended to us by John Carroll, from Seattle!

Suray Surita: Amor Indio

2009-06-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is another version of this great Andean standard by one of Peru's greatest singers, Suray Surita (or Zurita), in the line of Yma Sumac. This is another example of the unique Peruvian tradition of coloraturas.
Enjoy Suray Surita's style!

The Kokako, a bird with an Yma Sumac-like range

2008-06-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Kokako is a very curious bird from New Zealand, of so ancient a lineage that it is certain that it has been in this country since before the time when New Zealand first became an oceanic island or archipelago. Its ancestor probably became isolated when the super continent, Gondwanaland, began to fragment some 80 million years ago. It is found nowhere else in the world, nor does it have any obvious living relatives. The dawn chorus of the Kokako was a common sound in the forest before European settlement. The incredibly beautiful melodious organ–like notes hang over the valley before being answered by another of its kind, somehow enhanced and made more poignant by the dark brooding quality of the bush. Male and female may sing together for periods of up to half an hour, performing a duet of impressive harmony and complexity. Neighbouring Kokako may join in singing the same themes, resulting in a rondo-like chorus. In addition to song, Kokako communicate with a variety of calls, clicks, buzzes, cat–like noises and screeches, all used in particular social contexts. According to a recently published document, less than 400 pairs of Kokako currently exist.

Hawaiian Fire Goddess

2008-03-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a wordless song from the Surfmen's exotica album "The Sounds of Exotic Island". This is music with the hypnotic enchantment of a jungle paradise filled with both the romantic and the forbidden. From the delicate eroticism of the "Orchid Pool", the calling surf of "Moonlight In Paradise" to the terror of the volcanic sacrifice in "Fire Goddess"; this is music of a unique and spicy flavor. This is the lure and the spell of Exotic Island!
Enjoy this Yma Sumac-esque rendition!

The Axolotl Song

2008-02-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

Here is an intoxicating song called "Axolotl", a fantasy about the fabulous Mexican creature, written by the composer Don Tiki, in the great tradition of Les Baxter and Martin Denny, and which is his tribute to multi-octave exotica singer Yma Sumac. The evocative vocals are provided by the gorgeous and talented Lana Warner, Don Tiki's own Sandy Warner look-alike (the model that graced most of Denny's album covers).
Enjoy this strange trip to the limits of imagination and reality!

Rita Moss: Daydream & Zakita

2008-02-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 fantastic songs, in a very Yma Sumac-esque fashion, by the great yet unfortunately forgotten singer Rita Moss.
An extract of Jet (26-06-1952):

Enjoy!

“Daydream” was probably recorded in the early 1960's. It is a curious song, an invitation to reverie...

And here is "Zakita", a mysterious song evoking the exotic Polynesia!

The Voice of Love: Nature Boy

2008-02-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a rare version of this famous song, arranged by Don Reed and his orchestra and performed by a singer called simply "The Voice of Love", in the fashion of Yma Sumac. Enjoy her exotic rendition!

Urszula Dudziak: Wordless Vocalizing

2007-12-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a song by the famous Polish jazz vocalist Urszula Dudziak, who was nicknamed "the Yma Sumac of jazz". Urszula Dudziak (born in 1943) has worked with such artists as Krzysztof Komeda, Michał Urbaniak (her ex-husband), Gil Evans, Archie Shepp, and Lester Bowie. She studied piano, but began to sing in the late 50's after hearing records by Ella Fitzgerald. Within a few years she was one of the most popular jazz artists in her native country. She met and later married Michał Urbaniak, in the late 60's they began to tour overseas and in the 70's settled in New York. Dudziak has few language problems, as she customarily eschews words in favour of wordless vocalizing that is far more adventurous than scat. Already gifted with a remarkable five-octave vocal range, Dudziak employs electronic devices to extend still further the possibilities of her voice. She has frequently worked with leading contemporary musicians and was a member of the Vocal Summit group, with Jay Clayton, Jeanne Lee, Bobby McFerrin, Norma Winstone, Michelle Hendricks, and Lauren Newton.
Enjoy Urszula Dudziak's acrobatic vocalizing!

Zdenka Kovačiček: Klik Tema Broj 1

2007-11-30T16:27:00.001-08:00

Here is an original and unique Croatian (abridged) adaptation of the sublime Yma Suma's song "Remember" by Croatia's greatest singer, Zdenka Kovačiček. It was performed in 1973 at the famous Yugoslavian "Boom pop festival ´73" in Ljubljana. Zdenka Kovačiček (born in 1944 in Zagreb) is one of the most significant and eminent figures on the Croatian music scene. She started her career in 1957 and continued with numerous successful performances abroad where she sang with many famous musicians. In 1970 she returned to Croatia where she pursued her career as a brilliant jazz-rock, blues, gospel and pop singer. She is a singer with a distinctive voice and sophisticated music style, who has become the trademark of the Croatian jazz and rock scene.
Enjoy the Croatian Yma Sumac, the most original singer of the beautiful and exotic Yugoslavia!

Lene Lovich: Bird Song

2007-11-28T12:04:00.001-08:00

Here is a very Yma Sumac-influenced song, performed by the inimitable singer Lene Lovich. Born Lili-Marlene Premilovich in 1949, Lene Lovich is an American punk rock singer of Bosnian and British parentage. She began her career in the London underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show at the Royal Albert Hall, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, etc. She even recorded screams for horror films. In 1977, Lovich provided lyrics for the song "Supernature". This song, with its surreal lyrics describing a world in which nature has risen to fight against desecration and destruction by humanity, is indicative of Lovich's interest in animal rights issues. Lovich released "Don't Kill The Animals", a single with Nina Hagen. Lovich continues to perform in much the same style she did back in the 1970's and 1980's.
Enjoy Lene Lovich's vocal extravaganza!

Gianna Spagnulo: Navajo Joe

2007-11-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the score of the famous 1966 western "Navajo Joe"(about a Navajo, called Joe, who vows revenge against a band of outlaws who have been killing and scalping his Indian brethren for bounties), composed by Ennio Morricone (credited as Leo Nichols). Tribal drums and the stunning, very Yma Sumac-esque, soloist Gianna Spagnulo, accompanied by a male and female chorus, make this a must for any serious exotica-phile!

Ñusta Nativa: Amor Indio

2007-11-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a famous Peruvian song by one of Peru's greatest coloraturas.
Born Inés Oropeza Crisóstomo de Vivanco, she began singing at an early age. She was a pioneer of the Peruvian musical folklore. With her group, Wirakocha, she was the first traditional singer to appear on the National Peruvian television. She was very famous in the fifties, the golden age of Peruvian folk music. She participated in the Pachamama company, founded by the famous anthropologist and folklorist Dr. Alejandro Vivanco Guerra. She now lives in Lima and still sings for all audiences.
Enjoy the artistry of Ñusta Nativa!

Elizabeth Lands: Ku Ku Ba

2007-11-04T14:23:00.001-08:00

Here is a folk song by a very little-known but very original singer from the fifties, Elizabeth Lands. Born in Harlem, she began singing at an early age, and made a hit on the gospel circuit. Then a composer heard her singing in a Brooklyn club and composed a whole album of arrangements for the singer who possessed, as the copywriters claimed, a unique talent: "Elizabeth Lands has an Yma Sumac range with a Mahalia Jackson soul!"
Discover her exotic performance and enjoy!

Gloria Ramos Cahuana: Virgenes Del Sol

2007-11-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is another version of this beautiful song by a great Peruvian coloratura, Gloria Ramos Cahuana.
Enjoy this other example of the extraordinary Peruvian culture!

Zoila Zevallos: Cholo Traicionero ("Song of Youth")

2007-10-31T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here is an extract of an ultra-rare record, by another great Peruvian coloratura, Zoila Zevallos (aka Yntig [or Intig, Intiq] Ñusta), the sister of Ezmila Zevallos. (This song has been also performed by Yma Sumac.)
Enjoy this other jewel of the magnificent Peruvian traditional culture!

Sumac Koya: Montaña Mía (My Mountain)

2007-10-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here is an extract of an ultra-rare record by another very great Peruvian soprano, Sumac Koya (or Colla). Listen to this beautiful Andean melody, where her voice enhances the art of the great harpist Florencio Coronado!

Yma Sumac: Tumpa

2007-09-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a fantastic song, typical of the style of the divine Yma Sumac, gifted with an incredible voice (with a range of 5 octaves). Enjoy the magic of the Inca princess!

And here is another version of this fantastic song, from the film "Secret of the Incas" (1954).

Yma Sumac: Chuncho

2007-09-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here is an extraordinary rendition of this fabulous song by the legendary Yma Sumac!

And here is another version, the original one, of this incredible song!

Cathy Berberian: Xango

2007-05-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a famous song (written by Heitor Villa-Lobos) performed in a Yma Sumac-ish manner by the great avant-garde opera singer Cathy Berberian.
Cathy Berberian (Attleboro, Massachusetts, 1925 - Rome, Italy, 1983) was a composer, mezzo-soprano singer, and vocalist. From 1950 to 1966 she was married to composer Luciano Berio, who deconstructed her voice in "Thema (Omaggio a Joyce)" (1958) and wrote his "Circles" (1960) and "Recital I (for Cathy)" (1972) for her. In addition Sylvano Bussotti, John Cage, Hans Werner Henze and Igor Stravinsky wrote works for her voice.
She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music, Armenian folk songs, Monteverdi, The Beatles, and her own compositions. Her best known work is her "Stripsody" (1966), in which she exploits her vocal technique using comic book sounds.
Enjoy!

Gloria Wood: Hey! Bellboy!

2007-05-03T14:32:00.001-07:00

Here is a funny song by the excentric singer Gloria Wood.
The 26th of May, 1958, Time Magazine wrote:
«The most pervasive voice in radio or television belongs neither to Bing Crosby nor Perry Como, but to a pretty, twinkly, auburn-haired girl named Gloria Wood. Blessed with a four-octave range and a gift for mimicry, Gloria can sing high or low, squeaky or sweet, on demand and to order. And the demand for such special talents is tremendous. In just the past three years, Gloria has recorded for more than 2000 singing commercials. (...) She is the voice of the impish Tinker Bell orbiting around a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter, of Walt Disney's Minnie Mouse, and (on records) of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. One firm planned a commercial featuring an eight-year-old boy, a nine-year-old girl, their mother and grandmother. Gloria did all four characters. (...) With her four-octave range, which she claims matches the eerie range of Peruvian Vocal Acrobat Yma Sumac, she can take off from low C below middle C and soar to C above high C. But this endowment also drives Gloria to despair: nobody wants to hear her sing straight. Her mother, a pop singer on Boston radio back in the mid-'20s thrust Gloria into big-band singing straight out of high school in 1941. Gloria did solid hitches with Horace Heidt and Kay Kyser, in 1953 made a Capitol record called "Hey Bellboy" (its only words), which sold nearly 1000000 copies. The movies have called on her to provide the voice of many a nonsinging star. She sang for Marilyn Monroe in "River of No Return", for Vera-Ellen in "White Christmas". (...) "I like making money", she admits. "But I'd like to be known for all the things I've done. Nobody knows Gloria Wood."»

Violetta Villas: Spójrz Prosto W Oczy

2007-05-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here is another fabulous song ("Look Simply In The Eyes") by Poland's greatest songbird (see previous clip for details), as colourful as her beautiful country.
Enjoy this firework of extravaganza!

Violetta Villas: Dla Ciebie Mily (For You Beloved)

2007-05-03T14:29:00.001-07:00

Violetta Villas (real name Czeslawa Cieslak) was born in 1938 in Liège, Belgium, to Polish emigrants. She is a Polish and international singer, also an actress. She has a remarkable 4-octave vocal range and is known for her conspicuous, outstanding appearance and numerous number-one hits on her account. She has been nicknamed "the Polish Yma Sumac". In 1948 she returned with her parents to Poland where she started to learn music. Her 4-octave vocal range and timbre conditions were significant, just for a promising operatic career, but she had decided to progress in more contemporary forms of music, accepting touring and vocal performances on stage. Soon Villas released her debut hits on Polish Radio and first album. She received her first noteworthy prize in Sopot Festival in 1961. In early 60's Violetta Villas toured many countries in Europe and the USA. She singed with Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka and Charles Aznavour. In Carnegie Hall she received standing ovation. In New York all the tickets for her concert were sold. She starred in two movies. Violetta Villas was offered a lucrative 8-year contract with Paramount Pictures but she turned that down, unfortunately. In Las Vegas, Violetta Villas married a fan, an American millionaire of Polish descent, who gave her a theatre as a wedding present, a building specially designed and built for her vocal capabilities. She was talented and he was very wealthy, however their marriage didn't last, she left him and returned to Poland, again with great acclaim.
In her best years Violetta Villas was a mezzo-soprano whose voice had an extraordinary compass and a very wide range of vocal color. In her songs she was showing a remarkable ability to naturally assimilative styles and eliciting a multiplicity of voices. Villas was once a tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano and soprano, a most unique attribute amongst singers of any gender, both in the classical and popular music fields.
Enjoy this song, typical of her style!

Aura Urziceanu: Surpriza

2007-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a vocalized song from 1974 by beautiful Romania's greatest singer, Aura Urziceanu.
Aura Urziceanu (aka Aura Rully, Aura Borealis) was born in 1946 in Bucharest in a family of musicians. She started studying the violin with her father when she was 5 and singing when she was 16 years old. In 1969, after being awarded the second prize at the National Festival in Mamaia, she left for a long tour in Canada and USA, where she appeared on stage together with Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Back in the old Continent for a short time, she represented Romania at the International Festival of Knokke, Belgium, in 1971. She won the "European Cup" with the Romanian team and, together with the European team, the long wished-for "World Cup", in a strong contest with the USA team. She was also awarded the Press prize for the best interpreter of the Festival and, as unprecedented event in the 13 years of existence of this competition, she received mark 10 from all the members of the jury. In 1972 she made her first appearance at the famous New York (Newport) Festival, together with Duke Ellington. She has toured in the USSR, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland, Bulgaria, Brazil, Portugal, Japan and Australia. She has still toured with Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, Ahmad Djamal, Bill Evans, Paul Desmond, Hank Jones, Art Hampton, Joe Pass. Aura still performs and is at ease as well with jazz as with classical music and folklore.
Enjoy this number, where Aura navigates between Sarah Vaughan and Yma Sumac!

Márta Szirmai: Bagira

2007-05-03T14:26:00.001-07:00

Here is a song ("Bagheera") from a very rare Hungarian LP from 1964, sung by the soprano Márta Szirmai.
Born in 1939 in Kaposvár, Hungary, Márta Szirmai (sometimes credited as Márta or Marta Szirmay) is an opera and jazz singer and also an actress. She has sung many jazz standards, and namely, in this LP, songs from "West Side Story" and "Porgy and Bess". In the song "Bagira", Szirmai takes wild accents worthy of Yma Sumac, which shows once more the incredible influence of the Peruvian soprano everywhere in the world.
Enjoy this curious and exotic song, where Hungary meets the Brazilian jungle!