In apparent response to the sampling of old Latin jazz records by hip-hop artists, Verve raided its Cal Tjader archive to come up with this fiercely grooving collection drawn from nine of his Verve albums. For all of producer Creed Taylor's '60s penchant for fashioning two- to four-minute cuts aimed at airplay, he allowed Tjader's groups considerable room to stretch out on several of the tracks included here, particularly on the live "Los Bandidos" and the hypnotic collaboration with pianist Eddie Palmieri, "Picadillo." More importantly, Tjader's records with Taylor were more varied in texture than his earlier discs, venturing now and then from his solid Afro-Cuban base into Brazilian rhythms, soul, big-band backings, and '60s pop touches…

One of the most successful, most recorded and most influential jazz players of his time, Cal Tjader is these days a largely overlooked figure in the music’s history. Part of the cause of his lack of recognition is present in the reasons he was so successful. Tjader made no great leaps forward harmonically or rhythmically, but instead showed how jazz and Afro-Cuban music could blend together with the vibraphone as the lead instrument, its percussiveness working very well in that musical context. In doing so, he was followed by many others, his commercial success affording him the opportunity to record a great number of albums.

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader took a brief vacation from playing Afro-Cuban jazz to record this fine straight-ahead bop set. The 1956 LP matches Tjader with the underrated but always swinging pianist Gerald Wiggins, bassist Eugene Wright (shortly before he joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet), and drummer Bill Douglass. They perform four basic originals (two apiece by Wiggins and Wright) and five standards, including a swinging "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay." On this date, more than almost any other one, Tjader displays his debt to Milt Jackson's style.

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD set release from Cal Tjader, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Tjader Plays Tjazz”; “San Francisco Moods”; “Concert By The Sea Volumes 1 & 2.”
There is a very small and very elite list of classic vibes players and Cal Tjader is certainly high up on that list. Primarily known as a Latin jazz musician, Cal was however a fine straight ahead cool jazz musician as our four fine selections will show. Take a listen to Tjader Plays Tjazz where the great man switches from vibes to drums on a cooled out straight ahead jazz set. For more cool, fun sounds try San Francisco Moods where Cal and gang capture the special atmosphere of his adopted city, San Francisco on an excellent, mostly Tjader composed set…

In the '60s, R&B was a much larger market than jazz. While John Coltrane or Art Blakey could fill a small club like The Village Vanguard, James Brown and the Temptations were selling out large auditoriums - gone were the days when jazz was very much a part of popular culture and Benny Goodman's name was all over the pop charts. Soul's popularity wasn't lost on Verve, which is why some of Cal Tjader's '60s LPs had titles like Soul Sauce and El Sonido Nuevo: The New Soul Sound - Verve wanted the baby boomers who were buying Stax and Motown releases to notice Tjader as well. However, Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof isn't the R&B-drenched project that some might expect it to be. Tjader's vibes solos are soulful in that he plays with a lot of feeling, but he isn't trying to be Marvin Gaye…

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader's 1950s recordings for Fantasy did a great deal to popularize Latin jazz and solidify its innovations. Los Ritmo Caliente features such fine sidemen as flutist Jerome Richardson, pianists Richard Wyands, Eddie Cano, Manuel Duran, and Vince Guaraldi, bassists Al McKibbon, Bobby Rodriguez, and Eugene Wright, and quite a few percussionists (most notably Armando Peraza and, on three songs, Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo). The fusion of bop and Latin music results in some exciting playing. In addition to group originals, tunes such as Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant," "Mambo Inn," "Bernie's Tune," "Perdido," and even "Big Noise from Winnetka" receive lively treatment.

Latin Concert is a pretty good sampling of vibraphonist Cal Tjader's influential Latin jazz of the 1950s. With pianist Vince Guaraldi, bassist Al McKibbon, Willie Bobo on timbales and drums, and the congas of Mongo Santamaria, Tjader's impressive unit performs four of his catchy originals and two by Santamaria in addition to Latinized versions of "The Continental" and Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant." This highly rhythmic music is hard to dislike.

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader is heard leading five different groups throughout this set, but the identities of the flutists, bassists, and pianists are less important than knowing that Tjader, Willie Bobo (on drums and timbales), and the great conga player Mongo Santamaria are on every selection. The music really cooks, with torrid percussion, inspired ensembles, and occasional solos from the sidemen (which sometimes include pianists Lonnie Hewitt or Vince Guaraldi, bassist Al McKibbon, and flutist Paul Horn). Highlights include Latinized versions of "Key Largo" and "September Song," "Night in Tunisia," "The Continental," and a definitive version of Santamaria's "Afro Blue." This is Latin jazz at its finest.

Fantasy Records is to be commended for re-releasing so many of their classic Cal Tjader albums in the two-for-one CD format, even if Sentimental Moods features one of their odder pairings. The first ten selections are culled from the dreamy mood music album Latin for Lovers (aka Latin for Lovers With Strings), and the final ten are from San Francisco Moods, a lean and mean West Coast jazz ode to his hometown. While these two sessions don't really go together, they do show you the breadth of what Tjader was recording for Fantasy at the time. While the Latin for Lovers selections aren't really Latin jazz (or even "Latin" or "jazz," for that matter), it is superior mood music with fine string arrangements written by Jack Weeks. If all lounge music was this good, the term couldn't be used as an insult…

Having finished his tenure with George Shearing in 1954, a thoroughly Latin-inoculated Cal Tjader took off on his own, recording several short slices of infectious Latin jazz, from which a dozen were selected for this album. Many of the selections are standards retrofitted with percolating Latin rhythms, cut and shaped to fit the old three-minute limit of 45 or 78 rpm singles. Tjader's crystalline vibes are teamed with a San Francisco Latin percussion section that lays down the grooves crisply and succinctly, with an occasional emulation of the more laid-back Shearing Latin sound ("East of the Sun"). Elsewhere, Cal experiments with a hot four-man trumpet section on four of the tracks, the best of which is a rhumba version of "Fascinating Rhythm"…

One of the things that hardcore jazz collectors love to do is fantasize about all of the live recordings by major artists that have gone unreleased but may surface eventually - performances that were taped and ended up in the private collection of an artist, promoter, club owner, manager, or soundboard person. Collectors are always hoping that a previously unreleased soundboard recording of a John Coltrane, Bud Powell, or Thelonious Monk gig will turn up somewhere, and in some cases, recordings that have gone unreleased for decades will see the light of day at some point. Take Concerts in the Sun, for example. This 2002 disc contains previously unreleased Cal Tjader performances from 1960 - live recordings that stayed in the can for 42 years…

"Solar Heat" featured the vibraphonist and bandleader in a stellar group with conguero Ray Barretto, João Donato on organ, Michael Abene on harpsichord and Fender Rhodes, both McFarland (who arranged this recording) and Tjader on vibes, percussionist Orestes Vilató, and bassists Bobby Rodriguez and Chuck Rainey. It's a killer program of pop tunes like "La Bamba," and "Never My Love," as well as killer McFarland originals such as "Fried Bananas." Track list notwithstanding, this is one of Tjader's finest moments on record. His soloing and melodic invention is delightfully showcased as the logical center between Donato's brilliant organ playing and the crystalline arrangements.