Cal Tjader – Solar Heat from the Skye Records 45

I am still reeling from the Sharon Jones show last weekend. I can not stop listening to the new record, and urge you to support them. You can purchase the record here. I was pretty excited to see that Brooklyn Vegan used a quote from my review on their front page. I thought I’d throw this next side out because it’s a great combination of genres. This time I’m hitting up a little Latin infused Funk, courtesy of Mr. Cal Tjader and friends. I included some Cal Tjader on my Real Roast Mix. It got me thinking about the funkier sides he has done, and well, I was lucky enough to come across this side recently, and I wanted to share it. Here’s “Solar Heat” from 1968 on Skye Records.

Cal Tjader was born in St. Louis, MO in 1925. There was entertainment in the blood, as his parents were a vaudeville entertainers. Tjader danced, was present in the theater, but eventually settled down with the drums. ( Tjader also played the bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano ). He was hired some years later to work with the great Dave Brubeck, after getting introduced to him by Army buddy Paul Desmond. The Dave Brubeck Octet became a trio soon after,and a staple on the San Francisco Jazz scene. Tjader taught himself the vibraphone during that time. This instrument would be one that Cal would master and go on to make Latin Jazz for many years to come with. He was an influential Latin Jazz musician, but was not of Latin descent. Tjader would leave Brubeck and join up with George Shearing in 1953. This short stint with Shearing would yield his next group, one that would, capitalize on the current Mambo craze, the Modern Mambo Quintet, where some say this was the best lineup Cal has ever assembled in a Latin Jazz sense. He did record some straight ahead jazz with The Cal Tjader Quartet whose members were Gene Wright (bass), Al Torre (drums), and Vince Guaraldi and Cal himself. The mighty Creed Taylor signed him to Verve in 1963, where he went on to do a lot of notable work. His Jazz take on many popular songs of the time kept him working, as did his Latin Jazz, where he became a very well respected musician, sideman, and leader of the genre. In 1964 he released “Soul Sauce”, a take of a Dizzy Gillespie tune which propelled him into the living room of Space Age Bachelor pads everywhere. He continued to record for Verve and played along side such notables as Willie Bobo, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Palmieri, Donald Byrd, Chick Corea, and Lalo Shifrin among others. In the latter part of the 1960’s he went on to found Skye Records with Gary McFarland and Gabor Szabo. The record label released independent Jazz and folded in 1970, where the masters were leased out to Buddah. This is the period where this particular tune comes from. Some say his sound at this time was the root of Acid Jazz of the 1990’s, where artists drew much influence off of the Tjader sound. The 1970’s were tough for Tjader. He moved around on labels, and eventually ended back on the label he founded, Fantasy. Check out the write up Funky 16 Corners did on his Fantasy years here. Cal moved on to Concord later on, but still continued to tour. As a matter of fact, he died of a heart attack on tour in Manila, Phillipines in 1982.

This 45 is a definite groover. Combining his excellence in the Latin genre, he mixes it with a Funk sound, and it’s easy to see why this was reissued some years later with much success. Joining Cal on this record were Michael Abene (Harpsichord and Electric Piano), Ray Barretto (Latin Percussion), Gary McFarland (Arranger, Vibraphone),Chuck Rainey (Bass), Bobby Rodriguez (Bass), and Orestes Vilato (Latin Percussion). The addition of João Donato on organ gives this record it’s proper groove. Cal was just beginning to change with the times, adding in electric instruments to his lineup, and this addition along with his traditional Jazz sound really make a difference. This record definitely comes highly recommended from FMF. See you on Friday, Keep Diggin’!