Show 25: Jardin Tiki

The first in a series of shows on music heard at or inspired by Tiki bars I’ve written about over the years... we’re starting off with a show on the biggest Polynesian Palace in Canada, Montreal’s Jardin Tiki.

You can READ about the Jardin Tiki by clicking over to the “READ” page at www.maitaionline.com, and then clicking the “Montreal Area Tiki” rock.

You can also WATCH a video of the Jardin Tiki Brunch (shot at the Jardin Tiki, of course) by clicking over to the “WATCH” page in the menu up top.

Since the Jardin Tiki is a Canadian Tiki mecca, I’ve dug up a few tracks from a vintage Canadian exotica album, Driftwood by the Jimmy Namaro Trio. The great liner notes tell us that Jimmy – “one of Canada’s most popular musicians” – is a “suave, handsome young man of Spanish-American parentage... born in Hamilton, Ontario.”

Here is Jimmy’s bio from the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.


Song 1 : : Soft Sands
Artist : : Jimmy Namaro Trio
Album : : Driftwood

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Song 2 : : Harbor Lights
Artist : : Alfred Apaka
Album : : Adventures in Paradise

This song and the next are actually more typical of the kind of music heard at the Jardin Tiki than Namaro’s stuff. Here is a short bio of Apaka and a picture of his statue at the Hawaiian Village Beach Resort.

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Song 3 : : Blue Hawaii
Artist : : The Outriggers
Album : : Captivation

Another classic that seems to be in heavy rotation every time I go to the Jardin Tiki...

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Song 4 : : Driftwood
Artist : : Jimmy Namaro Trio
Album : : Driftwood

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Song 5 : : Nightingale
Artist : : Jimmy Namaro Trio
Album : : Driftwood