The Baja Marimba Band was a popular musical group led by marimba player Julius Wechter, initially intended by producer Herb Alpert to cash in on the "south of the border" craze started by his own Tijuana Brass. However the Baja Marimba Band outlasted the Tijuana Brass by several years, thanks largely to producer Chuck Barris featuring the Baja Marimba Band music on his game shows through the mid-70s.
Julius Wechter took up several percussion inst...
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The Baja Marimba Band was a popular musical group led by marimba player Julius Wechter, initially intended by producer Herb Alpert to cash in on the "south of the border" craze started by his own Tijuana Brass. However the Baja Marimba Band outlasted the Tijuana Brass by several years, thanks largely to producer Chuck Barris featuring the Baja Marimba Band music on his game shows through the mid-70s.
Julius Wechter took up several percussion instruments as a youngster, including the vibes and marimba. At age 21 he released his first solo album, called Linear Sketches (1956). The album was a straight-ahead jazz date billed as the Julius Wechter Quartet.
In 1958 Julius joined Martin Denny's band where he played marimba (replacing Arthur Lyman) as well as numerous other percussion instruments. Four years later he was paid $15 as a session man on Herb Albert's debut album, The Lonely Bull. Wechter soon composed the popular song "Spanish Flea" for Alpert, who saw his potential and...
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