Artist: Cal Tjader

Call Tjader was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group modern jazz, even as he continued to perform the music of Afro-jazz, the Caribbean, México, and Latin America. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz.

He joined a Dixieland band and played around the Bay Area. At age sixteen, he entered a Gene Krupa  drum solo 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.

Tjader entered the United States Navy 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) under the G.I. Bill, majoring in education. Later he transferred to San Francisco State College, still intending to teach.

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. 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. 

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, recording his first 10" LP as a leader with them for Fantasy, but soon worked with Alvino Rey and completed his degree at San Francisco State.

Jazz pianist George Shearing 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'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 took Tjader to see the Afro-Cuban big bands led by Machito and Chico O'Farrill, both at the forefront of the nascent Latin jazz sound. In New York, he met Mongo Santamaría and Willie Bobo who were members of Tito Puente's orchestra at the time. 

In 1954, Tjader 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, the group produced several albums in rapid succession, including Mambo with Tjader. 

After recording for Fantasy for nearly a decade, Tjader signed with better-known Verve Records, founded by Norman Granz 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, Claus Ogerman, Eddie Palmieri, Lalo Schifrin, Don Sebesky, and performers  Willie Bobo, Donald Byrd, Clare Fischer, a young  Chick Corea, Jimmy Heath, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, Anita O'Day, Armando Peraza, Jerome Richardson and others. Tjader recorded with big band orchestras for the first time and even made an album based on Asian scales and rhythms. 

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