Review, Analysis and Recordings Containing
Jungla
Jungla
| Jungla Monophonic (Moisés Vivanco, Billy May - 2:25) Recorded in 1954 |
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| Review and Analysis of Jungla by Nicholas E. Limansky From Yma Sumac - The Art Behind the Legend used with permission - all rights reserved, © Nicholas E. Limansky Read more on the Legacy of the Diva Web site! |
| Of all the selections on the Mambo album, it was only "Jungla" that stood the test of time, being resurrected by Yma as late as 1989, for her New York Ballrooom performances. This is a bizarre song, pure exotica and one of the best bands on the disc. The song is mesmerizing for its nonsensical syllables, close chromatic climbing, and the extreme range Yma exhibits. Add to this the constant drum-beat that underlines the vocal line and you have a song that musically represents the heady lushness of a tropical jungle.
This is a stunning vocalise; an excercise in the singing of chromatics that shows Yma's excellent command of pitch. She starts the piece on a resonant low G and then, while singing lyrics of "Ba-ba-boo-ba-boo-ba-boom," takes off in a diffused, chromatic ascent. As she reaches the upper passagio, or transition area, she smartly gets rid of the consonants so she can vocalise on "Ooh" for a smooth flow of legato. As she reaches even higher, the "Ooh" sound is exchanged for "Awh" and the legato is dropped in favor of staccato so that she can easily dart up to high E. Each of these changes help her ascent through almost three octaves. After a middle section of rhythmical accentuation, tongue trills, belted chest voice and tonal accents in the low register, Yma suddenly enters on high D and descends two octaves in a chant-like figure. The main theme is then repeated but this time, instead of ascending, it goes the other way to a low, dusky D natural, three octaves lower. |
Jungla is included on the following releases
catalog no: ASIN: B002B2LZWC
Another collection of download only tracks that includes several of Yma Sumac's early South American recordings along with her later cuts from Capitol Records. Interestingly, the makers of this release chose to use English translations for some of the songs but the track listing shown here has been . . . 2008 United Kingdom
Download-only version of Yma Sumac's Mambo!, probably a bootleg as no EMI/Capital Records licensing information could be found. These are the same tracks that can be found on legitimate releases of Mambo! but in a different order. The exact country of origin is unknown. 2013 Australia
catalog no: AMR381
Download-only version of Yma Sumac's 1954 Mambo recordings. 2010 United Kingdom
catalog no: ASIN: B002GM2RAQ
A download-only collection of recordings that includes several of Yma Sumac's early songs from South America along with her later material. Although the exact country of origin is vague and it seems to appear most often on sites in Germany, the record label seems to be located in the United Kingdom. . . . 2006 United Kingdom
catalog no: EAP 2-564
One of Yma Sumac's most popular albums, Mambo! was released many times over around the world. This French release is part 2 of a two part EP. 1955 France
catalog no: H-564
This particular release was the first pressing of Yma Sumac's fifth album and both then when it was new, and now, it is one of her most popular albums. 1954 United States
catalog no: L-564
As with most South American pressings, this release from Brazil was made by Odeon. 1955 Brazil
catalog no: T-564
A reissue, first 12" LP release of fourth album with additional tracks from Capitol vaults 1956 United States
catalog no: M-11892
Reissue of fourth album with additional tracks from Capitol vaults. This is an abridged version (as noted on the lower back sleeve) which is missing Cha Cha Gitano from side two that is found on most other 12" LP and later reissues. 1979 United States
catalog no: 599331
Some later reissues of this title were abridged and had only ten tracks but this one is complete with eleven. 1987 France
catalog no: 7 80863
Reissue of fourth album which had only eight tracks, with additional tracks from Capitol vaults to fill the larger 12" LP format 1987 Greece
catalog no: UV-120
Another vinyl release by the Italian company which already released Voice of the Xtabay, Inca Taqui and Legend of the Sun Virgin on vinyl. 2005 Italy
catalog no: 7243 8 317161 3
Double LP Compilation from Greece features tracks from Voice of the Xtabay, Mambo! and Legend of the Jivaro 1971 Greece
catalog no: CD 62 056
This CD compilation features tracks from Yma Sumac's Capitol Records sessions and is not to be confused with the unrelated cassette and 12" LP of the same name. The material on this compilation was drawn primarily from the Mambo! and Legend of the Jivaro albums with two tracks from the live Rec . . . 1994 Italy
catalog no: LA 24
Hard to find CD collection featuring songs from several early '50s Yma Sumac albums with two tracks from the 1961 Recital LP. Little else is known about this compilation, which appears to have all the telltale signs of being a bootleg. It is also interesting to note that the author of the booklet se . . . 1998 Italy
catalog no: BYD77004
27 track compilation featuring pre-1955 material along with several 1943 Argentina Session tracks. Good selection of material but the booklet contains many inaccuracies over the usual. For example, her name was spelled as Ymma throughout when that spelling was used only on one obscure release from t . . . 2008 United Kingdom
catalog no: PS39015
A collection featuring tracks drawn primarily from Yma Sumac's Mambo! (1954) and her Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952) albums with several others from various albums and singles. 2007 Germany
catalog no: 2711402146
Unusual Compact Disc collection from Greece, apparently available for only a single day as a promotional by a weekly newspaper. Packaged in a long DVD-type sleeve. 2008 Greece
catalog no: CD-45 524
Part of a series of public domain CD releases from Promo Sound, formerly listed here is being in Italy but their business headquarters are in Ireland. 1996 Ireland
catalog no: 0777-7 8063-2-1
CD reissue on the Capitol Right Stuff label. From Canada, this release has a clear tray rather than a solid yellow one as found on the U.S. releases and has advertisments behind the disk. Image at the right shows the cover in the tray with the Valu Plus text showing from below.. 1996 Canada
Peruvian CD-R reissue of Mambo! using the Fuego del Ande cover art. It is not known if this is a promotional release or a homemade CD-R. 2000 Perú
catalog no: TK-504
Compact disc made from vinyl sources pairs two records on one disk, with the two original cover arts on opposite sides of the CD packaging. It is interesting to note that this CD has the uncut version of Sojello which has not been heard in that form since the early releases after which the master . . . 1994 United States
catalog no: CD-12 532
Part of a series of public domain CD releases from Promo Sound, formerly listed here is being in Italy but their business headquarters are in Ireland. 1996 Ireland
catalog no: ASIN: B001P5MG6A
Collection from the United Kingdom features tracks ranging from Yma Sumac earliest material from 1943 to 1954 at the height of her career. Includes tracks from Voice of the Xtabay (1950), Legend of the Sun Virgin (1952), Inca Taqui (1953) and Mambo! (1954) and also included are her two singles from . . . 2009 United Kingdom
catalog no: 796 642-2
Contains second half of Mambo! and complete Legend of the Jivaro, volume two of two 1991 France
catalog no: INTROCD2086
Another compilation of early '50s material by Yma Sumac. 2006 United Kingdom
catalog no: CD 367
Part of a series of public domain CD releases from Promo Sound, formerly listed here is being in Italy but their business headquarters are in Ireland. 1997 Ireland
catalog no: CD 31507
Another compilation featuring selections from Yma Sumac's first four Capitol Records albums. This release is part of the Entertainers of the World series. Although the country origin is not stated anywhere on the packaging inside or out, the publisher is located in Ireland. This release does not hav . . . 2009 Ireland
catalog no: TOCP 50 037
CD compilation from Japan features a nice cross section of Yma Sumac's '50s material. Now out of print, it still shows up once in a while. 1996 Japan
This CD compilation is one of the few known pressings from Greece in any format. 1997 Greece
catalog no: CREVO 34 CD
Compilation with previously-unreleased material. This is the original 1995 issue but a more recent version exists with different tracks. 1995 United Kingdom
catalog no: 23351
76 Hits and Rarities from the goddess of Exotica. More details and track for this September 2012 collection coming soon. 2012 United Kingdom
Although this double CD has the tracks in a different order, it is basically the CD version of the LP, The Very Best of Yma Sumac, and is one of the few known pressings from Greece. 2003 Greece
catalog no: GSS 5482
This 3-CD set advertised as being from Holland but package and disk printing indicate it was made in Portugal. Released in March 2008 and contains 47 tracks, this boxed set contains three standard jewel cases all with the same cover art and no booklet or notes. The box cover is shown. 2008 Portugal
catalog no: 118734
Anthologie 1950-1959
Compact Disc set of Yma Sumac's containing all of Yma Sumac's 1950's Capitol Records original release catalog. Probably a bootleg as no EMI/Capital Records licensing information could be found. These tracks are included on legitimate releases of all the original albums. 2013 France
catalog no: BLUE102CD
Double CD collection features remastered tracks from the 1943 Argentina Session along with those from the Capitol Records years. 2005 United Kingdom
Yet another compilation CD with the title of Queen of Exotica making three with that title. This one, which is a 2-CD set, combines four of Yma Sumac's '50s albums. 2005 United Kingdom
catalog no: 0777 7 99701 2 4
Two-CD reissue of Voice of the Xtabay (original eight tracks only), Mambo and Legend of the Jivaro, in one jewel case. Manufactured in Holland for EMI Germany. 1992 Germany
catalog no: B00006IWIC
Two CD set containing the entire Mambo! and Ultimate Yma Sumac Collection CDs, probably as individual CDs in a slipsleeve. 2002 France
catalog no: 4 M-11 892
This is the first, and as far as we know, the only cassette reissue of Yma Sumac's fourth album. She toured and performed in several U.S. cities as part of the promotion, inclusing The Ballroom in New York and Theatre on the Square in San Francisco. Abridged, this cassette release is missing Cha . . . 1987 United States