Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Cal Tjader: The Best of the Concord Years
Cal Tjader: The Best of the Concord Years
For these recordings, Tjader went to his past in two ways. First, the electric piano was put away (except for two songs here), and the flute was given a predominant position. This recalled his sixties recordings for Verve. Ten of the 21 songs of this compilation feature Roger Glenn or Gary Foster on flute. But Creed Taylor's production values are not present. Instead, second, the sound is similar to that of his late fifties Fantasy recordings with Vince Guaraldi.
This set does not present the songs in chronological order. The first Concord album, La Onda Va Bien, received the Grammy Award for the new Latin category. It is represented here by five songs, the best of which is "Speak Low." Carmen McRae recorded an album with the band called Heat Wave, and her album is represented by three songs: the Santana hit "Evil Ways," "Besame Mucho" and Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." McRae is in fine form, but to these ears Heat Wave is the least valuable of the sessions making up the Concord canon.
One album, The Shining Sea, eschews the Latin beat and takes the songs in a mainstream manner. Two Johnny Mandel songs, "Quietly There" and "Don't Look Back," are taken from that album. A Fuego Vivo was recorded live in concert, and it appears from its four selections to be the best of the six albums. Gary Foster is featured on soprano saxophone, a different sound for Tjader.
It wouldn't be a Cal Tjader compilation without "Soul Sauce," and this rendition is taken from a live recording featuring Foster's soprano and Poncho Sanchez on congas. "Speak Low" and Mandel's "Close Enough For Love" feature Mark Levine on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, recalling Tjader's seventies band.
The Best Of The Concord Years is a worthwhile collection of sufficient variety within the Tjader formula, which does not disappoint.
Track Listing
Disc One: Serengeti; Linda Chicana; Aleluia; Evil Ways; Close Enough for Love; Roger's Samba; Quietly There; Besame Mucho; Mambo Mindoro; Don't Look Back; Bye Bye Blues;
Disc Two: Speak Low; Will You Still Be Mine?; Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing; Cuban Fantasy; Gauchi Guaro (Soul Sauce); Naima; Shoshana; The Continental; Santo Domingo; Mindano
Personnel
Cal Tjader
vibraphoneCal Tjader (vibes), Mark Levine (piano, Fender Rhodes), Roger Glenn (flute, percussion), Gary Foster (soprano saxophone, flute), Vince Lateano (drums, timbales, percussion), Rob Fisher (bass), Poncho Sanchez (congas, percussion), Carmen McRae (vocals), Ramon Banda (timbales, percussion), Al Bent (trombone), Mike Heathman (trombone), Mundell Lowe (guitar), Hank Jones (piano), Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone), Dean Reilly (bass)
Album information
Title: The Best Of The Concord Years | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Concord Music Group
About Cal Tjader
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
