Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American

Latin Jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which ...

musician, known as the most successful non-Latino

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

ian. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, the Caribbean, México and Latin America. Cal Tjader played the

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

primarily, but was accomplished on the drums,

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, congas,

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

, and the piano. He worked with many musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of

Latin rock Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

and acid jazz. Although fusing Jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin Jazz", Tjader's works swung freely between both styles. His Grammy award in 1980 for his album ''La Onda Va Bien'' capped off a career that spanned over forty years.

Early years (1925–1943)

Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was born July 16, 1925, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

to touring

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

vaudevillians Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. His father

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

d and his mother played piano, a husband-wife team going from city to city with their troupe to earn a living. When he was two, Tjader's parents settled in San Mateo, California, and opened a dance studio. His mother (who dreamed of becoming a concert pianist) instructed him in classical piano and his father taught him to tap dance. He performed around the Bay Area as "Tjader Junior", a tap-dancing ''

wunderkind A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

''. He performed a brief non-speaking role dancing alongside

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

in the film ''The White of the Dark Cloud of Joy''. He joined a

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

band and played around the Bay Area. At age sixteen, he entered a

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...

drum solo A drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance. In rock, drum solos are unique in that traditionally they are minimally or never accompanied, whe ...

contest, making it to the finals and ultimately winning by playing "Drum Boogie". The win was overshadowed by that morning's event: Japanese planes had bombed

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

Navy and college (1940s)

Tjader entered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1943 at age 17 and served as a medical corpsman in the Pacific Theater until March 1946. He saw action in five invasions, including the Marianas campaign and the Battle of the Philippines. Upon his return he enrolled at San Jose State College (now

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

) under the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, majoring in education. Later he transferred to

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

, still intending to teach. It was there he took timpani lessons, his only formal music training. At San Francisco State, he met Dave Brubeck, a young pianist also fresh from a stint in the Army. Brubeck introduced Tjader to

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " Take Five". He ...

. The three connected with more players and formed the Dave Brubeck Octet with Tjader on drums. Although the group recorded only one album and had difficulty finding work, the recording is regarded as important due to its early glimpse at these soon-to-be-legendary jazz greats. After the octet disbanded, Tjader and Brubeck formed a trio, performing jazz standards in the hope of finding more work. The Dave Brubeck Trio succeeded and became a fixture in the San Francisco jazz scene. Tjader taught himself the vibraphone during this period, alternating between it and the drums depending on the song.

Sideman (1951–1954)

Brubeck suffered major injuries in a diving accident in 1951 in Hawaii and the trio was forced to dissolve. Tjader continued the trio work in California with bassist Jack Weeks from Brubeck's trio and pianists John Marabuto or

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this series includ ...

, recording his first 10" LP as a leader with them for Fantasy, but soon worked with

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

and completed his degree at San Francisco State. Jazz pianist

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

recruited Tjader in 1953 when Joe Roland left his group. Al McKibbon was a member of Shearing's band at the time and he and Tjader encouraged Shearing to add Cuban percussionists. Tjader played bongos as well as the vibes: "Drum Trouble" was his bongo solo feature.

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

's 1953 Critics Poll nominated him as best New Star on the vibes. His next 10" LP as a leader was recorded for Savoy during that time, as well as his first Latin Jazz for a Fantasy 10" LP. While in New York City, bassist

Al McKibbon Al McKibbon (January 1, 1919 – July 29, 2005) was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz. In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced ...

took Tjader to see the Afro-Cuban

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

s led by

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He w ...

and

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces a ...

, both at the forefront of the nascent Latin jazz sound. In New York he met

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga an ...

and

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo,Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American Latin jazz percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Lat ...

who were members of

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

's orchestra at the time.

Leader (1954–1962)

Tjader soon quit Shearing after a gig at the San Francisco jazz club the Blackhawk. In April 1954, he formed the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet. The members were brothers Manuel Duran and Carlos Duran on piano and bass respectively, Benny Velarde on timbales, bongos, and congas, and Edgard Rosales on congas (Luis Miranda replaced Rosales after the first year). Back in San Francisco and recording for

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its invest ...

, the group produced several albums in rapid succession, including ''Mambo with Tjader''. The Mambo craze reached its pitch in the late 1950s, a boon to Tjader's career. Unlike the

exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny Exotica (Martin Denny album), album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon Wa ...

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

and

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

, music billed as "impressions of" Oceania (and other locales), Tjader's bands featured seasoned Cuban players and top-notch jazz talent conversant in both idioms. He cut several notable straight-ahead jazz albums for Fantasy using various group names, most notably the Cal Tjader Quartet (composed of bassist

Gene Wright Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Career Wright was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was large ...

, drummer Al Torre, and pianist

). 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 Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

, Chet Baker, or Art Pepper. 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. 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

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

Verve and Skye Records (1960s)

After recording for Fantasy for nearly a decade, Tjader signed with better-known

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

, founded by

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impres ...

but owned then by MGM. With the luxury of larger budgets and seasoned recording producer Creed Taylor in the control booth, Tjader cut a varied string of albums. During the Verve years Tjader worked with arrangers

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...

Claus Ogerman Claus Ogerman (born Klaus Ogermann; 29 April 1930 – 8 March 2016) was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall. Life and wor ...

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

, Lalo Schifrin,

Don Sebesky Don Sebesky (born December 10, 1937) is an American arranger, jazz trombonist, and keyboardist. Biography Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy D ...

, and performers

, Donald Byrd,

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorat ...

, a young Chick Corea,

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

, Hank Jones,

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band app ...

Armando Peraza Armando Peraza (May 30, 1924 – April 14, 2014) was a Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales. Biography Early life Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924 (although the ...

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with C ...

and others. Tjader recorded with big band orchestras for the first time, and even made an album based on Asian scales and rhythms. His biggest success was the album ''Soul Sauce'' (1964). Its title track, a Dizzy Gillespie cover Tjader had been toying with for over a decade, was a radio hit (hitting the top 20 on New York's influential pop music station

WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...

in May 1965), and landed the album on Billboard's Top 50 Albums of 1965. Titled "Guachi Guaro" (a nonsensical phrase in Spanish), Tjader transformed the Gillespie/

Chano Pozo Luciano Pozo González (January 7, 1915 – December 3, 1948), known professionally as Chano Pozo, was a Cuban jazz percussionist, singer, dancer, and composer. Despite only living to age 33, he played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz. ...

composition into something new. (The name "Soul Sauce" came from Taylor's suggestion for a catchier title and

’s observation that Tjader's version was spicier than the original.) The song's identifiable sound is a combination of the call-outs made by Bobo (''"Salsa ahi na ma ... sabor, sabor!"'') and Tjader's crisp vibes work. The album sold over 100,000 copies and popularized the word ''

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

'' in describing Latin dance music. The 1960s were Tjader's most prolific period. With the backing of a major record label, Verve, he could afford to stretch out and expand his repertoire. The most obvious deviation from his Latin jazz sound was ''Several Shades of Jade'' (1963) and the follow-up ''Breeze From the East'' (1963). Both albums attempted to combine jazz and Asian music, much as Tjader and others had done with Afro-Cuban. The result was dismissed by the critics, chided as little more than the dated exotica that had come and gone in the prior decade. Other experiments were not so easily dismissed. Tjader teamed up with New Yorker

in 1966 to produce ''

El Sonido Nuevo ''El Sonido Nuevo'', subtitled/translated ''The New Soul Sound'', is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri recorded in 1966 and released on the Verve label.

'' ("The New Sound"). A companion LP was recorded for Palmieri's contract label, Tico, titled ''Bamboleate''. While Tjader's prior work was often dismissed as "Latin

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

", here the duo created a darker, more sinister sound. ''Cal Tjader Plays The Contemporary Music Of Mexico And Brazil'' (1962), released during the bossa nova craze, actually bucked the trend, instead using more traditional arrangements from the two countries' past. In the late 1960s Tjader, along with guitarist

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

and

Gary McFarland Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "on ...

, helped to found the short-lived Skye record label. Tjader's work of this period is characterized by ''Solar Heat'' (1968) and ''Tjader Plugs In'' (1969), precursors to acid jazz.

Fusion years (1970s)

During the 1970s Tjader returned to Fantasy Records, the label he began with in 1954. Embracing the jazz fusion sound that was becoming its own subgenre at the time, he added electronic instruments to his lineup and began to employ rock beats behind his arrangements. His most notable album during this period is ''Amazonas'' (1975) (produced by Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira). He played on the soundtrack to the 1972 animated film ''

Fritz the Cat ''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began d ...

'', most notably on the track entitled "Mamblues". In 1976, Tjader recorded several live shows performed at

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco Grace Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral located in the heart of San Francisco. It is a famed sightseeing destination for its striking architecture, stunning stained glass, labyrinths, Interfaith AIDS Chapel, and arts and cultural programs. G ...

. Like the Monterey Jazz Festival show, he played a mix of jazz standards and Latin arrangements. Later he toured Japan with saxophonist Art Pepper, the latter recovering from alcohol and drug dependencies.

Final years (1979 to 1982)

Carl Jefferson Carl Jefferson (December 10, 1919 – March 29, 1995) was an American jazz record producer, and was the founder of the Concord Records label. Biography Jefferson was born in Alameda, California. Prior to entering the music business, he owned and o ...

, president of

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...

, created a subsidiary label called Concord Picante to promote and distribute Tjader's work. Unlike his excursions in the 1960s and his jazz-rock attempts in the 1970s, Tjader's Concord Picante work was largely straight-ahead Latin jazz. Electronic instruments and rock backbeats were dropped, reverting to a more "classic" sound. During the prior decade he'd built up a top-notch crew of young musicians, his best lineup since his Modern Mambo Quintet of the 1950s, with

Mark Levine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

on piano
Roger Glenn
on flute, Vince Lateano on drums,

Robb Fisher Robb is a surname of Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname in the mid-15t ...

on the bass, and

Poncho Sanchez Poncho Sánchez (born Filoberto Sanchez, October 30, 1951) is an American ''conguero'' (conga player), Latin jazz band leader, and salsa singer. In 2000, he and his ensemble won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for their work on the C ...

on the congas. Tjader cut five albums for Concord Picante, the most successful being ''La Onda Va Bien'' (1979) (roughly "The Good Life"), produced by Carl Jefferson and Frank Dorritie, which earned a Grammy award in 1980 for Best Latin Recording. The A section of Tjader's "Sabor" is a 2-3 onbeat/offbeat

guajeo A guajeo (Anglicized pronunciation: ''wa-hey-yo'') is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term ''guajeo'' for ostinato patterns played specifically by a ...

, minus some notes. Tjader died on tour. On the road with his band in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, he collapsed from a heart attack and died on May 5, 1982, aged 56. Tjader's legacy is associated with that of

and

, who worked and founded

Skye Records Skye Records was a United States-based record label established in early 1968 by music executive/producer/artist manager Norman Schwartz, in partnership with musician/arranger Gary McFarland, guitarist Gábor Szabó, and vibraphonist Cal Tjader. ...

together (the PANDORA archive spells Szabó without the acute accent). The American hip-hop band A Tribe Called Quest sampled songs from Cal's "Aquarius" (from ''The Prophet'') as an outro to most of the songs on their album ''Midnight Marauders''. According to WhoSampled.com, over 170 tracks have sampled Tjader's work.

Discography

Albums

*''The Cal Tjader Trio'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, 1953) – recorded in 1951 *''Cal Tjader: Vibist'' ( Savoy, 1954) *''Cal Tjader Plays Afro-Cuban'' (Fantasy, 1954) *''Tjader Plays Mambo'' (Fantasy, 1954) *''Mambo with Tjader'' (Fantasy, 1954) *''Tjader Plays Tjazz'' (Fantasy, 1955) *''Ritmo Caliente!'' (Fantasy, 1955) *''Cal Tjader Quartet'' (Fantasy, 1956) *''The Cal Tjader Quintet'' (Fantasy, 1956) *''Jazz at the Blackhawk'' (Fantasy, 1957) *''Cal Tjader's Latin Kick'' (Fantasy, 1957) *''Cal Tjader'' (Fantasy, 1957) *''Más Ritmo Caliente'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''

Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet ''Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet'' is an album by vibraphonist Cal Tjader and saxophonist Stan Getz recorded in 1958 and first released on the Fantasy Records, Fantasy label.

'' (Fantasy, 1958) with Stan Getz *''San Francisco Moods'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''Cal Tjader's Latin Concert'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''Latin for Lovers: Cal Tjader with Strings'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''Latin for Dancers'' (Fantasy, 1958) compilation *''A Night at the Blackhawk'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''Tjader Goes Latin'' (Fantasy, 1958) *''Concert by the Sea, Vol. 1'' (Fantasy, 1959) *''Concert by the Sea, Vol. 2'' (Fantasy, 1959) *''Concert on the Campus'' (Fantasy, 1960) *''Demasiado Caliente'' (Fantasy, 1960) *''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'' (Fantasy, 1960) *'' In a Latin Bag'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1961) *'' Live and Direct'' (Fantasy, 1962) *''

Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

'' (Fantasy, 1962) with

Mary Stallings Mary Stallings (born August 16, 1939) is an American jazz vocalist and mother of soul singer Adriana Evans. Biography One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the neighborhood of Laurel Hei ...

*''

Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen ''Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen'' is an album by American vibraphonist Cal Tjader, five of its 11 tracks arranged by Tjader's longtime colleague Clare Fischer. Recorded in June 1960 Album notes for 2002 CD re-issue, ''Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arl ...

'' (Fantasy, 1962) *''Latino'' (Fantasy, 1962) *''Saturday Night/Sunday Night at the Blackhawk, San Francisco'' (Verve, 1962) *'' Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil'' (Verve, 1962) *'' Time for 2'' (Verve, 1962) with

*''

Several Shades of Jade ''Several Shades of Jade'' is a 1963 album by Cal Tjader arranged by Lalo Schifrin. It peaked at 79 on the Billboard 200. Reception Stewart Mason reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that of Tjader and Schifrin's collaboration that it was " ...

'' (Verve, 1963) *'' Soña Libré'' (Verve, 1963) *''

Breeze from the East ''Breeze from the East'' is a 1964 album by vibraphonist Cal Tjader, arranged by Stan Applebaum. The album features jazzy lounge music with a quasi-Asian sound. Reception Stephen Cook reviewed the album for Allmusic and described the album as c ...

'' (Verve, 1964) *'' Warm Wave'' (Verve, 1964) *''

Soul Sauce ''Soul Sauce'' is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader recorded in late 1964 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1964) *'' Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof'' (Verve, 1965) *'' Soul Burst'' (Verve, 1966) *''

'' (Verve, 1966) with

*''Bamboléate'' (

Tico Records Tico Records was a New York City record label that was founded in 1948. It was originally owned by George Goldner and later acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records. It specialized in Latin music and was significant for introd ...

, 1967) with Eddie Palmieri *''Along Comes Cal'' (Verve, 1967) *''Hip Vibrations'' (Verve, 1967) *''The Prophet'' (Verve, 1968) *''Solar Heat'' ( Skye, 1968) *''Cal Tjader Sounds Out Burt Bacharach'' (Skye, 1969) *''Cal Tjader Plugs In (At The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California, February 20–21, 1969)'' (Skye, 1969) *''Tjader'' (Fantasy, 1970) *''Agua Dulce'' (Fantasy, 1971) *''Descarga'' (Fantasy, 1971) *''Live at the Funky Quarters'' (Fantasy, 1972) *''Doxy'' (Verve, 1973) *''Primo'' (Fantasy, 1973) *''Last Bolero in Berkeley'' (Fantasy, 1973) *''Tambu'' (Fantasy, 1973) with Charlie Byrd *''Puttin' It Together: Recorded Live at Concerts By the Sea'' (Fantasy, 1973) *''Last Night When We Were Young'' (Fantasy, 1975) *''Amazonas'' (Fantasy, 1975) *''Grace Cathedral Concert'' (Fantasy, 1976) *''Guarabe'' (Fantasy, 1977) *''

Breathe Easy "Breathe Easy" is a song written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson and Lee Ryan and released by the British boy band Blue. The song was included on their third studio album, ''Guilty'' (2003). It was released as a single on 22 Marc ...

'' ( Galaxy, 1977) *''

Here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

'' ive(Galaxy, 1977) *''Huracán'' (Crystal Clear, 1978; reissue: Laserlight, 1990) *''La Onda Va Bien'' ( Concord Picante, 1979) *''Gózame! Pero Ya'' (Concord Picante, 1980) *''The Shining Sea'' (Concord Picante, 1981) *''A Fuego Vivo'' (Concord Picante, 1981) *''

Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) with

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

*''Good Vibes'' (Concord Picante, 1984; recorded 1981) *''Latin + Jazz = Cal Tjader'' (Dunhill Compact Classics/DCC, 1990) – recorded in 1968 (Skye) *''Concerts in the Sun'' (Fantasy, 2002) – recorded in 1960 *''Cuban Fantasy'' (Fantasy, 2003) – live recorded in 1977 *''Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958–1980'' (Concord Jazz, 2008) With

Ed Bogas Edgar Noel "Ed" Bogas (born February 2, 1942), sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American musician and composer whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games. Career Bogas' contributions span four decades and several ...

*''

Fritz the Cat (soundtrack) ''Fritz the Cat'' is the 1972 soundtrack album to the Ralph Bakshi directed animated film of the same name. The soundtrack features a number of blues, funk and rock and roll songs as well as the film's score, which consists of soul-jazz perfo ...

'' (Fantasy, 1972) With Dave Brubeck *'' Dave Brubeck Octet'' (Fantasy, 1956) – recorded in 1946–50 *''Dave Brubeck Trio'' (Fantasy, 1950) *''Distinctive Rhythm Instrumentals'' (Fantasy, 1950) With Rosemary Clooney *''

With Love With Love may refer to: Music Albums * '' ...with Love'', by Mary Byrne * ''With Love'' (Amanda Lear album), 2006 * ''With Love'' (Bobby Vinton album), 1974 * '' With Love, Chér'', 1967 * ''With Love'' (Christina Grimmie album), 2013 * ''W ...

'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) *'' Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Cole Porter'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) With Dizzy Gillespie *''Highlights of the 18th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival 1975'' ( Storyville DVD, 2007) With

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

*''Woody Herman Presents: A Concord Jam, Volume 1'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) With

Eiji Kitamura Eiji Kitamura ja, 北村英治 (born April 8, 1929) is a Japanese jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist originally from Tokyo who made his debut at the age of 22. Kitamura devoted himself to clarinet playing while still an undergraduate at Ke ...

*''Seven Stars'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) With Charles Mingus *''Charles 'Barron' Mingus, West Coast, 1945-49'' ( Uptown, 2002) With Toshiyuki Miyama *''The New Herd at Monterey'' (Nadja

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...

1974) With

Brew Moore Milton Aubrey "Brew" Moore (March 26, 1924 – August 19, 1973), was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Early life He was born in Indianola, Mississippi, United States. Moore's formal musical training began at twelve, first on trombone, then ...

*''The Brew Moore Quintet'' (Fantasy, 1956) *''Brew Moore'' (Fantasy, 1957) With

Vido Musso Vido William Musso (January 16, 1913 – January 9, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Musso moved with his family from Sicily to the U.S. in July 1920, having arrived at the Port of New York on the Italian steamship ''Patria''. T ...

*''Vido Musso Sextet'' (Fantasy, 1952) With Art Pepper *''

Tokyo Debut ''Tokyo Debut'' is a live album by saxophonist Art Pepper recorded in Japan in 1977 by TBS Radio and originally released on the Japanese Polydor Records, Polydor label in 1990 as ''First Live in Japan'' before being rereleased on the Galaxy Records ...

'' ive(Galaxy, 1995]) – recorded in 1977 With

*''Wild Thing'' (Skye, 1969) With

*''Tito Puente & His Orchestra Live at the 1977 Monterey Jazz Festival'' (Concord Jazz, 2008) With

*''An Evening with the George Shearing Quintet'' ( MGM Records, MGM, 1954) *''A Shearing Caravan'' (MGM, 1955) *''When Lights are Low'' (MGM, 1955) *''Shearing in Hi-Fi'' (MGM, 1955)

Tribute albums

* Louie Ramirez: ''Tribute to Cal Tjader'' (Caimán, 1986) *

: ''Tjaderama'' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

, 1987) *

: ''Soul Sauce: Memories of Cal Tjader'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) *

Dave Samuels David Alan Samuels (October 9, 1948 – April 22, 2019) was an American vibraphone and marimba player who spent many years with the contemporary jazz group Spyro Gyra. His recordings and live performances during that period also reflect his p ...

: ''Tjader-ized : A Cal Tjader Tribute'' (Verve, 1998) *

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

: ''For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal'' (Concord Jazz, 2001) * Paquito D'Rivera and his Latin Jazz Ensemble with Louie Ramírez: ''A Tribute to Cal Tjader'' (Yemayá, 2003) * Mike Freeman ZonaVibe ''"Blue Tjade" (VOF Recordings, 2015)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* – official site *
Cal Tjader
complete discography from

Music City Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Cal Tjader
at Space Age Pop

(excerpt), referring to Dr. Anton Tjader {{DEFAULTSORT:Tjader, Cal 1925 births 1982 deaths Cool jazz drummers Latin jazz musicians Latin jazz pianists Bossa nova pianists Jazz percussionists American jazz vibraphonists American jazz drummers Jazz musicians from California American people of Swedish descent San Francisco State University alumni Musicians from St. Louis United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Grammy Award winners Savoy Records artists Skye Records artists Concord Records artists Galaxy Records artists American percussionists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American multi-instrumentalists Jazz musicians from Missouri Male pianists 20th-century pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Jazz vibraphonists