Cal Tjader

Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) has been called the greatest Anglo Latin jazz musician. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death.

Frontman (1954 – 1963)

Tjader soon quit Shearing's band. When he learned that Bobo and Santamaria planned to leave as well, he hired them and formed The Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, filling out the roster with pianist Vince Guaraldi. Back in San Francisco and recording for Fantasy Records, the group produced several albums in rapid succession, including Mambo with Tjader. Many of these LPs are collectible for not only their "classic" Fifties sound but also their kitsch value, as some covers featured saucy flimsily-clad models drinking cocktails and slapping congas.

Related Topics:
Vince Guaraldi - Fantasy Records - Kitsch - Cocktail

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The mambo craze reached a high pitch in the late 1950s, a boon to Tjader's career. Unlike the exotica of Martin Denny and Les Baxter, music billed as "impressions of" the Caribbean (and other locales), Tjader's bands featured seasoned Cuban players and top-notch jazz talent conversant in both idioms. Some consider his Modern Mambo Quintet his greatest band, and perhaps the greatest small-combo Latin jazz band ever.

Related Topics:
Mambo - Exotica - Martin Denny - Les Baxter

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Tjader also cut several notable straight-ahead jazz albums for Fantasy under separate groups, most notably The Cal Tjader Quartet (composed of bassist Gene Wright, drummer Al Torre, and Vince Guaraldi). As such, he is considered a member of San Francisco's flourishing 1950s bebop scene. Tjader is sometimes lumped in as part of the West Coast (or "cool") jazz sound, although his rhythms and tempos (both Latin and bebop) had little in common with the work of Los Angeles jazzmen Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, or Art Pepper. He did team up with legendary jazz saxophonist Stan Getz in 1958, producing a well-received album.

Related Topics:
Gene Wright - Al Torre - Bebop - West Coast - Gerry Mulligan - Chet Baker - Art Pepper - Stan Getz

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Tjader and his band opened the second Monterey Jazz Festival in 1959 with an acclaimed "preview" concert. The first festival had suffered financially. Tjader is credited with bringing in big ticket sales for the second and saving the landmark festival before it had even really started.

Related Topics:
Monterey Jazz Festival - 1959

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The Modern Mambo Quintet disbanded within a couple of years. Tjader formed several more small-combo bands, playing regularly at such San Francisco jazz clubs as the Black Hawk.

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