Cal Tjader Plays Mambo

This is where it all started folks. The exotica sound is all here in 1954, Denny just added the bird calls. Sure Les Baxter started big band exotica but the small combo vibraphone led exotica probably started with this album.

And what a great contemporary sound it could have been recorded yesterday. Also the first and maybe best version of Guarachi Guaro aka Wachi Ware or Soul Sauce just listen to that latin percussion!

Get it here.

Cal Tjader & Charlie Byrd “Tambu”

Tracklisting:
01 Tambu (Tombo In 7/4)
02 Tereza My Love
03 Black Narcissus
04 Sad Eyes
05 My Cherie Amour
06 San Francisco River
07 Samba De Oneida
08 Don’t Lend Your Guitar To Anyone (Violao Não Se Empresta A Ninguem)

Get it at My Favourite Sound blog

Cal Tjader - Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil (1962)

«This 1962 set by Cal Tjader, recorded at the beginning of the bossa nova craze in the United States (released in the same year and on the same label as the smash Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd), has one of the most boring titles imaginable — which doesn't begin to describe the laid-back yet magical innovations in the grooves. Produced by Creed Taylor, the date was arranged and orchestrated by the great pianist Clare Fischer (who also wrote the liner notes). Tjader set out to offer a very modern portrait of the music pouring out of Mexico City by showcasing selected Mario Ruíz Armengol compositions and out of Brazil by spotlighting numbers by singers such as Elisete Cardoso and João Gilberto. Tjader's vibes are placed in juxtaposition with Fischer's piano and percussion by Changuito, Milt Holland, and Johnny Rae, with a woodwind section that included both Don Shelton and Paul Horn, and even some wordless exotica vocals by Ardeen DeCamp. In addition, Brazilian guitar star Laurindo Almeida helps out on about half the set and contributed "Chôro e Batuque," while Fischer offers "Elisete," named for the singer. The feel here is gentle with infectious rhythms and beautifully wrought woodwinds (check "Se é Tarde, Me Perdoa"), gorgeous piano, and spacious vibes. The arrangements by Fischer certainly represent the era, but they endure into the 21st century because of the shining example of interplay between the percussion and melodies (note the breezy "Silenciosa"). Tjader had been playing samba on records for a number of years by this point, and worked with Getz in 1957, but this was the first place he allowed his own complex yet delightfully subtle melodic (rather than just rhythmic) sensibilities to shine on the vibes. The most remarkable thing about this set is how effortlessly the two traditions blend.» (AMG)

I have over 30 Cal Tjader albums and poking around for this blog I came across this treasure just like that. Sweet.

Get it at Babe(b)logue blog

Gary Burton - Good Vibes (1969)

From the terrific Oufar Khan blog this has to be good as its named Good Vibes:

Gary Burton hits a sweet electric funky sound here, a great groove that really makes the album stand out from most of his other work! The support Burton gets is a big reason for the greatness of the date, as he's working in a group that includes Eric Gale on guitar, Richard Tee on piano and organ, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The album's got a bit of trippiness to it, kind of in the style of some of Herbie Mann's funky production work for the Vortex label, and a few cuts have producer Joel Dorn working with Arif Mardin on the cuts, giving them a more expansive sound that pushes Burton's playing nicely. The vibes have a dark chromatic quality to them that sounds great next to the sweeter playing of the funky player, and the record's filled with nice numbers.

The Fascinations

From the BeeQ blog:

Led by vibes player Masashi Watanabe, The Fascinations have built a small but steady following over the last few years, playing in jazz clubs and appearing at club jazz events with support from DJs such as Tatsuo Sunaga and Kei Kobayashi. This eponymously named album is their second release.

A nice breezy album with a few vocal tracks. Nothing earth shattering but a nice listen.

Cal Tjader - Primo

1. Mama Aguela
2. Bang Bang
3. Gringo City
4. Vibe Mambo
5. Mambo Show
6. Azucar Mama
7. La Murga Pana Mena
8. Tanga
9. El Watusi
10. Bang Bang

Nice jazzy album. Get it at the Hot Sauce Lounge

Good Vibes!

Definition:

A vibraphone (sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes).

A vibraphone is "a percussion instrument resembling the xylophone but having metal bars and motor-driven resonators for sustaining the tone and producing a vibrato" (source: Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

The vibraphone is played by striking the metal bars with mallets of varying hardnesses. The player also can depress a sustain pedal, which allows the notes to ring until the pedal is lifted again.

The vibraphone was invented in the early years of the 20th century and was played by great jazz musicians such as Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson.

Here's 24 tunes by some of my favourite vibraphonists such as Cal Tjader, Dave Samuels, Arthur Lyman and Milt Jackson. Its my favourite instrument in jazz and to my mind always creates a cool tropical sound.

Link

Cal Tjader - Jungle Vibes

Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death.

Tjader primarily played the vibraphone. He was also accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with numerous musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin jazz" (or, earlier, "Afro-Cuban jazz"), Tjader's output swung freely between both styles.

He won a Grammy in 1980 for his album La Onda Va Bien, capping off a career that spanned over forty years. (Wikipedia)

My favourite Jazz/Lounge artist at the moment. I love the tropical sounds of the Vibraphone and nobody plays the instrument better than him. He's released a lot of albums and they are all of a consistently high quality.

This isn't necessarily his best as you'd need a box set of about 4 cds to do full justice to his catalog but these are tunes I think that have a really nice tropical groove. The tracks have been remastered for your listening pleasure.

Link