Jazz Articles about Cal Tjader

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 ...

Cal Tjader: Cuban Fantasy

by Russell Moon
November 21, 2003

The brand new Cuban Fantasy is an album of previously unreleased material Cal Tjader recorded in concert in San Francisco over two nights in June, 1977. Tjader's band had the same instrumental makeup as his 1969 Plugs In band – vibes, electric piano, electric bass, trap drums, conga drums – with the addition of an electric guitar.

In the sixties, a few rock bands with radio hits such as the Kingsmen and the Swingin' Medallions had a reputation for specializing ...

Cal Tjader: Latin Concert

by Javier AQ Ortiz
September 25, 2003

Quick and to the Point : Classic.

In hindsight, it is rather easy to understand why this 1958 Cal Tjader group was his best ever. The groove among them is a model of economy, good taste, and simple-yet-profound depth. It sure shows in “The Continental,” with its expertly and tastily executed dynamics converging on Vince Guaraldi’s cohesiveness, tightness and rich rhythmic melodic performance.

“Viva Cepeda” became a memorable hit for Tjader and it is recorded here, as is the entire ...

Cal Tjader: Concerts In the Sun

by David Rickert
February 10, 2003

Concerts in the Sun languished in the vaults for 42 years, but it's now finally available on CD. The recording finds Cal Tjader in a state of transition between the West Coast cool jazz he helmed with Dave Brubeck and a full-blown commitment to integrating Afro-Cuban rhythms into jazz. Culled from two concerts, one in Honolulu and the other in San Francisco, the first half features well-mannered standards and a distinct lack of perspiration; unfortunately, the five song routine seems ...