Korla Pandit - Odyssey (Fantasy)

The original Turbanator, years before Dr. Lonnie Smith took the title, Korla Pandit cornered the market on organ-based mood music through daily television transmissions beamed out to bored housewives nationwide. His beguiling and often haunting melodies capitalized on the pipe organ’s populous tone settings coupled with a percolating percussive attack. He cut fourteen records for Fantasy; this two-fer reissues Music of the Exotic East and Latin Holiday. The former plays up Pandit’s mystical persona with exotic sounding tunes like “Kartikeya,” “Tale of the Underwater Worshippers” and “Kashmiri Love Song.” He even turns in the obligatory cover of the Fifties staple “Miserlou” and manages to make the shop-worn song his own. All make clever use of a range of effects including whirring pedal sustains, racing keyboard runs and crashing gongs and cymbals. The Latin album has more tracks, but is less engaging from a creative standpoint. Mostly standards, the pieces are throwbacks to the repertoire of Pandit’s earlier incarnation Juan Orlando, an alias he had to adopt in order to join the Latin musician’s union. Like his exotica colleague Yma Sumac, Pandit forged a personal mythology that fanned his commercial appeal complete with New Delhian origins and silent Sufi-like demeanor. The detailed liner notes do little to dispel the fabrication and the charming music makes clear why the vinyl-buying public bought it hook, line and sinker.