Jazz Articles about Cal Tjader

Cal Tjader: The Life and Recordings of the Man Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz

by S. Duncan Reid
December 16, 2013

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, ...

Cal Tjader & Stan Getz: Sextet

by Chris May
April 17, 2011

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, ...

Cal Tjader: Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-1980

by David Rickert
November 5, 2008

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 ...

Cal Tjader: The Best of the Concord Years

by Russell Moon
April 15, 2004

From 1979 to his death in 1982, Cal Tjader recorded six albums for Concord. The record label created a new imprint, Concord Picante, for his Latin recordings. Concord has now released The Best Of The Concord Years, which is made up of two 55 minute CDs, comprising more than a third of Tjader's output for the label. Tjader never recorded a bad album, so a collection taken from six is going to be good.

For these recordings, Tjader went to ...

Cal Tjader: The Best of the Concord Years

by Charlie B. Dahan
April 10, 2004

The Best of the Concord Years celebrates the acclaimed composer, bandleader and vibraphonist Cal Tjader’s last four years, 1979 through 1982. Tjader combined Latin, be bop and cool West Coast themes into an inspiring and influential blend of some of the best modern recordings of jazz. This double disc package opens with two Mark Levine penned tunes, “Serengeti” and “Linda Chicana.” Both of these recordings set a tone that the remaining recordings easily follow: simply nothing short ...

Cal Tjader: The Best of the Concord Years

by John Kelman
April 8, 2004

Vibraphonist/percussionist/bandleader Cal Tjader said it right when he claimed “I am not an innovator. I am not a pathfinder. I am a participator.” While he never pushed the envelope of Afro-Cuban music, he did go a long way in popularizing it. With albums like La Onda Va Bien winning a Grammy award, the humble Tjader managed to bring a wider audience to the music, much the same way Dizzy Gillespie did. The Best of the Concord Years brings together two ...

Cal Tjader: Cuban Fantasy

by Chris M. Slawecki
February 13, 2004

George Shearing's bands with percussionists Willie Bobo, Armando Peraza, and Mongo Santamaria also featured Cal Tjader. After his time with Shearing, Tjader employed his drums, timbales, percussion and vibes as a longstanding pillar of the San Francisco jazz scene. Bobo and Santamaria would later realign with Tjader in some of these bands. So did Vince Guaraldi, another of Tjader's Shearing compatriots, whose dancing, crystalline piano style served the Latin idiom well, especially in the context of Tjader’s chiming vibes and ...