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I'll always be proud of the fact that, by introducing Hans J. Salter to Tony Thomas, I was instrumental in kicking off the Salter Renaissance. Finally, there were entire LP's devoted to Salter scores where there had been none before, and first out of the starting gate was the score for the MAYA TV series. When the program first aired, Hans prepared an LP of highlights from his pre-production MAYA library of themes, these being the days when the unions still allowed TV composers to prepare and record music from which they would draw for the run of a series. (MAYA's was recorded overseas by the Graunke orchestra.) But when the Indian-location-shot adventure series folded after eighteen episodes, MGM abandoned its plan to release the fully completed album.
Tony rectified that situation by releasing the MAYA LP on his Citadel label, (employing yours truly to write the liner notes), and finally Hans's exotic and dramatic score could be heard and enjoyed. (The series was based on the feature film, which had been scored by Riz Ortolani, though to this day I've never seen it, nor heard its music.) The success of the MAYA album led to many more Citadel releases of tracks from the Salter trunk, (from SCARLET STREET to BEND OF THE RIVER), and ultimately to the wonderful Salter-Skinner re-recordings John Morgan and Bill Stromberg produced for Marco Polo. The MAYA LP eventually re-emerged on CD, slightly abridged, and coupled with "The Horror Rhapsody* (featuring highlights from BLACK FRIDAY, THE MUMMYS HAND and MAN MADE MONSTER).
Many years ago, when TNT re-broadcast the MAYA programs, I finally got to see and hear how Hans had incorporated these wonderful selections into the actual episodes, along with some fine themes which had never made it onto the LP. And now, a few months after releasing the original MAYA movie, Warner Archive is making available the complete TV series:
http://www.wbshop.com/product/maya-+the+series+%281967%29+1000517527.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=fn
Enjoy!
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