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Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience.
Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later, the family settled down in San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula, and his father opened a dancing school. After high school and a stint in the Navy, Cal ended up at San Francisco State College, where he first met up with Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond.
Tjader graduated in 1950 with a B.A. in education and a minor in music. With Brubeck, Tjader hit the big time and he liked it. The years between 1949 and 1951 were spent with Brubeck. Then, after a short stint as leader of his own group, Cal joined George Shearing’s Quintet as featured vibraphonist and percussionist. While with Shearing Cal made frequent trips to New York and began listening to the Latin New York bands of Tito Puente and Machito.
When Tjader left Shearing, he formed his own group again and began to record prolifically for Fantasy. Between 1954 and 1962, Tjader cut a series of over 20 albums for Fantasy. The list of people who recorded with him during that time is truly impressive. Some are Eddie Palmieri, (on whom he had a major influence) Vince Guaraldi, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Stan Getz, Al McKibbon, Armando Peraza, Latin percussionist Johnnie Rae, and saxophonist Paul Horn. Many of those albums are still in the Fantasy catalog. He then signed on with Verve in 1963, and continued on a roll.
Tjader’s biggest-selling record was "Soul Sauce.” Cal recalls, “I recorded that for MGM/ Verve in 1964. And it’s very strange, in a way, because I first started playing that tune in San Francisco clubs ten years earlier, in 1954. Then ten years later, it’s a hit in New York. You tell me! Willie Bobo played jawbone on that one, and Al McKibbon played congas. It was originally called ‘Guachi Guara’ but we knew that name wouldn’t make it, so we just called it Soul Sauce.”
Tjader re-signed with Fantasy Records in 1970. Some of his varied recordings for Fantasy include a collaborative effort with Charlie Byrd “Tambu,” (’73) and an exciting live performance “Puttin’ It Together.” (’75) His much-acclaimed “Amazonas,” (’75) was produced by Airto, with arrangements from keyboard wizard George Duke.
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Is the Jazz Detective Sherlock or Watson?
by Patrick Burnette
Few players have made the splash in the archival jazz game as Zev Feldman, who has discovered many lost jazz gems (and a little Fool's Gold) and shown how these issues can be events when packaged properly with good artwork and notes. This fortnight's show looks at two of his recent productions and two historical albums in the Latin Idiom. Did the jazz detective uncover more classics, or did his deductions go awry? Tune in to find out.Playlist ...
read moreCal Tjader: Catch The Groove: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1967
by Troy Dostert
It would be unusual to hear vibraphonist Cal Tjader mentioned alongside the all-time greats on his instrument. He is not remembered for being a fearless improviser like Bobby Hutcherson, or as deeply soulful as Milt Jackson, or as hard-swinging a presence as Lionel Hampton. Moreover, one will search in vain in his biography for the hard-fought personal struggles that have typically been the bread and butter of jazz legend: no tortured tales of substance abuse, or bouts with poverty or ...
read moreJazz at the Blackhawk: Reflections of Cal Tjader’s First Live Album
by Geo Thelen
The historic Blackhawk jazz club (1949-1963) was formerly located at 200 Hyde Street on the northeast corner of Turk Street in the heart of San Francisco's tenderloin district. The smoky neighborhood nightclub launched the career of Johnny Mathis, helped Dave Brubeck find an audience, and gave numerous national artists such as Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk a musically intimate space to experiment and record quality live albums. Arguably though, Bay Area vibraphonist Cal Tjader (pronounced Jay-der) was the most synonymous ...
read moreListeners' Favorites
by Marc Cohn
Every tenth show, we go through Mixcloud messages, emails, phone calls and 'stopped me on the street' comments to compile a list of tunes that grabbed you. Dr. Jazz offers some of the many selections that resonated with you from Shows 331 to 340. This is not just about the tracks that get the 'most votes,' but also the quality of the comments. The full list usually would take about 6 hours to play, so the doctor has to use ...
read moreCal Tjader: The Life and Recordings of the Man Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz
by S. Duncan Reid
The following is an excerpt from the “Reaching for the Skye" chapter of Cal Tjader: The Life and Recordings of the Man Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz by S. Duncan Reid (McFarland, 2013). Tjader had reached the East Coast by November and on November 17, he arrived at Van Gelder Studio for a session ("Willow Weep for Me" and “Joey Joey") that probably included tenor sax man Jimmy Heath and trumpeter Donald Byrd. Two days later, Heath, Byrd, ...
read moreCal Tjader & Stan Getz: Sextet
by Chris May
Cal Tjader / Stan GetzSextetOriginal Jazz Classics Remasters2011 (1958) The presence of Latin and Afro-Cuban enthusiast, vibraphonist Cal Tjader, has created a widespread misconception that Sextet was the album which sparked tenor saxophonist Stan Getz's fascination with Brazilian music and, ultimately, bossa nova. The notion has, over the years, been reinforced by the inclusion of pianist Vince Guaraldi's “Ginza Samba," whose theme statements were played over a samba beat, and which, ...
read moreCal Tjader: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-1980
by David Rickert
Cal Tjader began his career as a stalwart member of the West Coast jazz scene, swinging his vibes through breezy versions of standards with the likes of Vince Guaraldi and Stan Getz. Along the way he delved into Latin music and after that it colored almost everything he did. His progression as an artist is explored on this compilation of performances from the Monterey Jazz Festivals, spanning the time period from 1958 to 1980. The first five ...
read moreArchival Releases From The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Dizzy Gillespie And Cal Tjader Out May 17 From Liberation Hall
Source:
Prime Mover Media
Liberation Hall has announced archival jazz releases from Cannonball Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cal Tjader. All titles will arrive in stores May 17 and be distributed by MVD Entertainment Group (USA) and Wienerworld (UK). The Cannonball Adderley QuintetLive in Montreal May 1975(Liberation Hall, 2024) The great Julian “Cannonball" Adderley rose to prominence in the hard-bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. After a successful stint with Miles Davis’s sextet —including being featured on the seminal Davis records Milestones ...
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Jazz Detective Launches Never Before Released Cal Tjader Live Sets Recorded In The 1960s At The Penthouse Jazz Club In Seattle
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
THIS IS THE FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE OF PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED LIVE CAL TJADER MUSIC IN NEARLY 20 YEARS! Transferred from the original tape reels and mastered for vinyl by Bernie Grundman, Cal Tjader: Catch The Groove – Live at the Penthouse 1963-1967 is presented as a 180-gram vinyl limited edition 3-LP SET and will also be available as a Deluxe 2-CD set and as a digital download. LP Release Date: November 24th CD Release Date: December 1st The deluxe package includes ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today!
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later, the family settled down ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today!
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later, the family settled down ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today!
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later, the family settled down ...
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Cal Tjader Quartet: Vibist
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Over the years, many jazz fans have assumed Cal Tjader was of Hispanic heritage, given his many Latin albums from the early 1950s onward. Actually, he was the child of Swedish-American vaudeville performers. His parents were a husband-and-wife team—his father tap danced while his mother played piano. They appeared at theaters in the region around their home in St. Louis before resettling in San Mateo, Calif., to open a dance studio. As a young boy, Tjader developed into an exceptional ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today!
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later... Read more.
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Cal Tjader’s 90th
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
This is the 90th birthday of Cal Tjader (1925-1982). Tjader may have been best known for his pioneering Latin jazz, but in the late 1940s and early ‘50s with the Dave Brubeck Trio, he was respected for his mainstream drumming. Pianist Hank Jones told me that when he played on Tjader’s 1953 record session for Savoy, Tjader became one of his favorite drummers. After he formed his own band and concentrated on vibraharp, Tjader’s Latin recordings with sidemen like Mongo ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today! Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later... Read more. Place our ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Cal Tjader
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Cal Tjader's birthday today! Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes, gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a mainstream audience. Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap- dancing his way through early childhood. Later... Read more. Place our ...
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Cal Tjader
Instrument: Vibraphone
Born: July 16, 1925
Died: May 5, 1982
