Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Esquivel!, a Mexican pianist and composer from Tampico by way of Mexico City. Juan García Esquivel was a self-taught musician from a young age. At age 6, his piano playing would arrest passersby who were amazed at the child’s precocity.1 He would go on to compose and arrange eclectic orchestral music that was contemporaneously labeled “lounge” or “exotica.” Attentive listening reveals Esquivel’s music to be a genre unto itself, integrating jazz with mariachi bands and whistling, among many other things. We’re playing Cabaret Mañana, a 1995 RCA collection of great works by him and his orchestra, as well as Goodbye Summer…, a more recent collection of his works.

Cabaret Mañana - Esquivel! (50m, occasional vocals, mostly wordless)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Goodbye Summer - Autumn Mood - Esquivel! (30m, occasional vocals, especially on track 5)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a really nice Thursday.