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.

Legacy

Alongside Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, many vibraphonists today count Tjader as a vital influence, including Dave Pike, Spyro Gyra's Dave Samuels, and Ruben Estrada. Latin rock guitarist Carlos Santana also named Tjader as a forbearer.

Related Topics:
Lionel Hampton - Milt Jackson - Dave Pike - Spyro Gyra - Dave Samuels - Ruben Estrada - Carlos Santana

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John Storm Roberts notes:

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:"Playing a style most jazz writers did not understand, and in an age when then old European Romantic concept of the suffering artist had to some extent infected jazz, the modest, decent, talented, and agreeable Tjader did not get the critical respect he deserved. But whether you think jazz is about creating honest and complex music or expressing the deepest aspects of the artist's own personality (another Euro-Romantic concept, of course), Tjader's work should rank high, even if he was fortunate enough to have a temperament and a life that weren't the stuff of dramatic anecdotes."

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