Gig Alert: Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica

Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica
"Andalucia"
Playing Friday at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St., Greenwich Village)
Get: Tickets ($20) | Directions

Tragically, there’s a good chance that you haven’t heard of Juan Garcia Esquivel. Known sometimes as “Mexico’s Duke Ellington” and at others as the inventor of “Space Age Bachelor Pad Music,” Esquivel made some of the world’s zaniest television scores and most creative big band music in the 1950s and '60s, combining light Latin sounds, immaculate orchestrations, and an irresistible pop-culture campiness. Now, Boston area percussionist Brian O’Neil (a.k.a. Mr. Ho) has resuscitated the forgotten music of Esquivel with his 22-piece Orchestrotica, transcribing the master’s complex arrangements by ear. On "Andalucia" from The Unforgettable Sounds of Esquivel, a new album being released Friday night, there are screaming trumpets, frenetic xylophones, silky smooth vocal harmonies, and a comic number of piano slides. Truly, the perfect soundtrack for your space age bachelor pad.