Los Ritmos Calientes - The Cal Tjader Forum

[mikeweil]

Re: the sound of the Macumba recordings: It is surprisingly good, the ride cymbal is a bit obtrusive at times, but otherwise it's very good. You get plenty of lengthy solos by Vince Guaraldi, and Luis Kant (only opportunity to hear this great conga player at some length).

Edited November 22, 2017 by mikeweil

[GA Russell]

Thanks, Mike!

[mikeweil]

Duncan Reid just mailed me the link to the publisher's pages announcing his upcoming Cal Tjader biography, for which I contributed the discographical section. It will be out in a few months, I will keep you updated.

http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-3535-7

[Teasing the Korean]

I was browsing Amazon looking at the CDs of the (first) Fantasy era and had no idea that many had made it to CD. (Most of my Cal Tjader is on vinyl.). How is the sound on those OJC/Fantasy CDs? I may want to pick up a few...

[mikeweil]

I have all of the Fantasy and OJC CDs, sound is fine throughout. Fantasy had a no-nonsense keep-it-simple approach to recording in the 1950's that worked well. The CDs are 1-to-1 transfers of the tapes. But in some cases you need three discs to complete a session, discographical information is not accurate in many cases, five tracks recorded in stereo are in mono on the CD reissues, and two tracks from singles never were on LP or CD.

The Fantasy SACD reissue of the Tjader/Getz session sounds terrific, btw.

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks. I must have about 40 Cal Tjader LPs/CDs, but I will have to fill some holes with those OJC CDs; That red and blue vinyl is getting pricey these days!

[mikeweil]

Duncan Reid's biography on Tjader is available for pre-order, the Kindle edition is already there! I downloaded it and will report ...

amazon link

[Teasing the Korean]

Just picked up "Live on Direct" on Fantasy red vinyl.

This guy was so prolific. There must be about 25 albums on Fantasy alone, before the 1960s.

Can't get enough Cal!

Suggestion to Mikeweil: Could you adjust the thread title to something like Los Ritmos Calientes: The Cal Tjader Forum? Whenever I look for this thread, I can't remember the title, and when I do, I forget the "S" at the end of calientes.

[Head Man]

Duncan Reid's biography on Tjader is available for pre-order, the Kindle edition is already there! I downloaded it and will report ...

amazon link

Did you report somewhere else?

[mikeweil]

Not yet ... wanted to write reviews, but too many other things are keeping me busy. It will take me a few weeks before I will have the time to pull it out once again. I think he did a great job tracking Cal' career in detail, with many personal recollections of the many musicians he interviewed, and statements from his two children, which are very moving. Anybody seriously interested i n Cal's music should read this, there are many details that I didn't know.

Suggestion to Mikeweil: Could you adjust the thread title to something like Los Ritmos Calientes: The Cal Tjader Forum? Whenever I look for this thread, I can't remember the title, and when I do, I forget the "S" at the end of calientes.

Done!

[jazzbo]

Duncan Reid just mailed me the link to the publisher's pages announcing his upcoming Cal Tjader biography, for which I contributed the discographical section. It will be out in a few months, I will keep you updated.

http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-3535-7

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE.

[mikeweil]

There is a new CD reissue on él, a sub-label of Cherry Red, a UK label. It combines Tjaders first two Verve LPs, In A Latin Bag & Saturday Night / Sunday Night At The Blackhawk. The former is a Cuban Jazz affair, with Paul Horn, Lonnie Hewitt, Al McKibbon, Johnny Rae, Changuito, and Armando Peraza, recorded in a studio. The latter is a live straightahead quartet recording with Hewitt, Rae, and Fred Schreiber on bass - both are among Tjader's best albums, IMHO. Remastering is fine - sounds like they had access to the master tapes, definitely not a needle drop.

Edited June 25, 2014 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

I should mention the live Blackhawk LP never was on CD, not even in Japan; tracks from the Latin Bag LP were scattered over several Verve compilations, Tjader as well as V.A., but they never got around to reissue the entire LP.

[mikeweil]

Nice recollections on Tjader by drummer Steven Cerra.

Tjader Biographer Duncan Reid also started his own blog: Cal Tjader's World

[Teasing the Korean]

There is a new CD reissue on él, a sub-label of Cherry Red, a UK label. It combines Tjaders first two Verve LPs, In A Latin Bag & Saturday Night / Sunday Night At The Blackhawk. The former is a Cuban Jazz affair, with Paul Horn, Lonnie Hewitt, Al McKibbon, Johnny Rae, Changuito, and Armando Peraza, recorded in a studio. The latter is a live straightahead quartet recording with Hewitt, Rae, and Fred Schreiber on bass - both are among Tjader's best albums, IMHO. Remastering is fine - sounds like they had access to the master tapes, definitely not a needle drop.

On the second of the two, is Johnny Rae on drums and Cal on vibes?

[mikeweil]

Exactly.

[Teasing the Korean]

Exactly.

Thanks. A clean copy of "In a Latin Bag" has eluded me, so I may have to grab this CD.

[Teasing the Korean]

Picked up this CD. Thanks for the heads up!

It does indeed sound like it's from a tape source and not vinyl.

"Latin Bag" is great. I love the track "Triste," which I first heard on a Verve CD comp.

I liked "Blackhawk" more than I expected to. I have about 50 Cal Tjader records by now, but I never think to spin any that don't have Latin percussion.

[mjzee]

I just picked up a two-CD set on Concord, "Both Sides of the Coin", from Amazon (Prime!) for the ridiculous price of $3.84.

[GA Russell]

Thanks mj!

[Teasing the Korean]

Does anyone here have the second Playboy After Dark collection that includes Cal Tjader's performance on Playboy's Penthouse, circa 1959 0r 1960? 

I have the first volume with Cy Coleman, Lenny Bruce, Ella, etc.  The second volume seemed to go out of print quickly.  If I had known Cal Tjader was on it, I would have hopped on it immediately.

Can anyone tell me which and how many songs he does, who was in the band, if he talks to Hef between songs?  

 

[mikeweil]

Hunting for that one myself!

[Teasing the Korean]

22 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Hunting for that one myself!

Have you found the videos on YouTube or anyplace else online?  I haven't found them. 

[mikeweil]

Me neither. All I found so far (thanks to another board member) is a copy of The Big Beat with a scene with Tjader's band, and a few live videos of the band at various stages that Duncan Reid had been given by Poncho Sanchez - most of this is on YouTube. 

What I am the most curious about is the music Tjader wrote (but not played) for the movie Hot Car Girl.

Edited November 21, 2017 by mikeweil

[Teasing the Korean]

19 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Me neither. All I found so far (thanks to another board member) is a copy of The Big Beat with a scene with Tjader's band, and a few live videos of the band at various stages that Duncan Reid had been given by Poncho Sanchez - most of this is on YouTube. 

How do you search for it?  I put in Cal Tjader Big Beat and all I got were album tracks.