Eddie Palmieri / Cal Tjader - Bamboleate

Released 1967

Tico Records

Re-issued Vampi Soul 2002

Produced by Pancho Cristal

Available at Amazon, etc

1. Bamboleate 3:25 (E. Palmieri)
2. We've Loved Before 2:30 (H. Mancini)
3. Resemblance 5:02 (E. Palmieri)
4. Mi Montuno 5:25 (A. Rodriguez)
5. Samba Do Suenho 5:00 (Cal Tjader)
6. Guajira Candela 5:42 (E. Palmieri)
7. Pancho's Seis Por Ocho 5:42 (E. Palmieri)
8. Come An' Get It 3:03 (M. Weinstein)

This album has been recently re-mastered by Fania/E-Musica. While Vampi Soul reissue CD has fine sound quality, I suspect the Fania/E-Musica version would be as good if not better.

Pancho's Seis Por Ocho might be my favorite track - it's an Afro-Cuban track. The only song I have ever danced to in this album is Mi Montuno with intro cut off.

Musicians:

Eddie Palmieri / Piano
Cal Tjader / Vibes
Bobby Rodriguez / Bass
Barry Rogers / Trombone
Mark Weinstein / Trombone
Ismael Quintana / Lead Vocals

others incl. probably
Manny Oquendo / Percussion
Kako / Percussion

Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - El Sonido Nuevo

Original album released 1966
with bonus tracks recorded in 1963 and 1967

Reissued 1993

Produced by Creed Taylor

Verve

Available at Amazon, Descarga, etc

1. Los Jibaros 2:44 (Ray Rivera, Vin Roddie)
2. Guajira En Azul 3:26 (Eddie Palmieri, Cal Tjader)
3. Ritmo Uni 3:51 (Eddie Palmieri, Jose Rodriguez)
4. Picadillo 7:04 (Tito Puente)
5. Modesty 2:28 (John Dankworth, Adolph Green)
6. Unidos 4:34 (Eddie Palmieri, Cal Tjader)
7. On A Clear Day You Can See Forever 1:53 (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner)
8. El Sonido Nuevo 5:02 (Eddie Palmieri, Cal Tjader)

Bonus tracks
9. Fuji 2:32 (Cal Tjader)
10. Black Orchid 3:10 (Cal Tjader)
11. Los Bandidos 7:16 (Cal Tjader)
12. Poinciana 3:25 (Nat Simon, Buddy Bernier)
13. Yellow Days 2:19 (A. Carrillo, A. Bernstein)
14. Along Comes Mary 3:20 (Tandyn Almer)

Arrangements by Eddie Palmieri (3,4,7,8), Claus Ogerman (1,2,5,6), Stan Applebaum (9,10,12), Chico O'Farrill (13,14).

The main material in this CD is the first of two collaborations between Eddie Palmieri and Cal Tjader - El Sonido Nuevo. Most of the musicians are from Eddie Palmieri's band La Perfecta. The final 6 tracks are from two other Cal Tjader albums.

Picadillo made salsanewyork.com list as Salsa while Guajira En Azul and Poinciana made the same list as Cha Cha. Also of potential interest are the Afro-Cuban tracks Los Jibaros, Ritmo Uni, and Unidos,

Musicians:

original LP El Sonido Nuevo (tracks 1-8)
recorded 1966

Cal Tjader / Vibraphone
Eddie Palmieri / Piano
Barry Rogers / Trombone, Conga
Julian Priester / Trombone
Jose Rodriguez / Trombone
Mark Weinstein / Trombone
George Castro / Flute, Percussion
Bobby Rodriguez / Bass
Ismael Quintana / Percussion
Tommy Lopez / Drums
Manny Oquendo / Drums

from Breeze from East (tracks 9, 10, 12)
recorded 1963

Cal Tjader / Vibraphone, Percussion
Jerry Dodgion / Flute
Lonnie Hewitt / Piano
Dick Hyman / Organ
Stan Applebaum / Celeste, Conductor
two unknown / Guitar
George Duvivier / Bass
unknown / Timbales
unknown / Drums

from Along Comes Cal (tracks 11, 13, 14)
recorded 1967

Cal Tajder / Vibraphone
Al Zulaica / Piano (11)
Chick Corea / Piano (13, 14)
Stan Gilbert / Bass (11)
Bobby Rodriguez / Bass (13,14)
Ray Barretto / Conga (11,13,14)
Armando Peraza / Bongos (13,14)
Carl Bernett / Drums (11)
Grady Tate / Drums (13,14)
Derek Smith / Organ (13,14)
Chico O'Farrill / Conductor (13,14)

Cal Tjader - Descarga

Produced by Ed Bogas

Originally released as

Agua Dulce 1971 (Fantasy 8416)

Live At The Funky Quarters 1972 (Fantasy 9409)

Digital Remastering 1995 Fantasy

Available at Amazon, etc

1. Agua Dulce (Cool-Ade) 4:08 (Otis, Otis, Love)
2. Curacao 5:38 (Cal Tjader)
3. Somewhere In The Night 4:23 (May, Raskin)
4. Gimme Shelter 2:52 (Jagger, Richards)
5. Ran Kan Kan 3:00 (Tito Puente)
6. Descarga Cubana 3:05 (Osvaldo Estivill)
7. Invitation 3:01 (Bronislau Kaper)
8. Now 5:25 (Dave MacKay)
9. Morning 3:29 (Clare Fischer)
10. Leyte 6:25 (Tjader, Hewitt)
11. Mother And Child 5:57 (John Heard)
12. Cubano Chant 4:50 (Ray Bryant)
13. Soul Sauce III 5:56 (Gillespie, Pozo)
14. Philly Mambo 6:36 (Tito Puente)
15. Davito 4:22 (Tjader)
16. Manteca 8:09 (Gillespie, Fuller)

The first part of the album - Agua Dulce (1971) - is fairly laid back. The only track inviting for dancing is Descarga Cubana, but it's good one. The arrangement of Ran Kan Kan by the Escovedo brothers on the other hand is good for listening only, and much of the rest is as much Jazz as Latin. The second half - Live at the Funky Quarters (1972) - is more intense. It is a live recording and with authentic crowd noise throughout but still with excellent sound quality. Philly Mambo made salsanewyork.com list - minimal background noise for this song. One song from Funky Quarters "Theme" was deleted because a single CD could not accommodate the length of both albums.

Musicians

#1-9 (Agua Dulce)
Cal Tjader / Vibes, Bongos, Guiro
Luis Gasca, Pat Houston, Frank Snow / Trumpet
Bill Perkins / Saxophone
Gerry Gilmore, Mel Martin / Saxophones and Flutes
Rita Dowling / Moog Synthesizer
Al Zulaica / Fender-Rhodes Electric Piano
Jim McCabe, Ron McClure or Phil Escovedo / Bass
Dick Berk or Lee Charton / Drums
Pete Escovedo / Bongos, Conga, Guiro, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Smithe / Bongos, Conga, Guiro, Percussion
Coke Escovedo / Timbales, Vocals

#10-16 (Live at the Funky Quarters)
Cal Tjader / Vibes and Percussion
Al Zulaica / Fender-Rhodes Electric Piano
John Heard / Bass
Dick Berk / Drums
Michael Smithe / Conga

Cal Tjader's Latin Concert

Recorded at the Blackhawk, San Francisco
September 1958

Fantasy Records
Reissued by Original Jazz Classics (OJC) 643
ASIN B000000YUJ

Available at Amazon, Descarga, etc.

1. Viva Cepeda 3:40 (Cal Tjader)
2. Mood For Milt 3:13 (Tjader)
3. The Continental 3:40 (Magidson-Conrad)
4. Lucero 4:26 (Tjader)
5. Tu Crees Que? 4:47 (Mongo Santamaria)
6. Mi Guaguanco 4:43 (Santamaria)
7. Cubano Chant 4:04 (Bryant)
8. A Young Love 9:24 (Tjader)
9. Theme 0:54

This is arguably my favorite Cal Tjader album. It's also arguably the best Latin album Cal Tjader has done. Great lineup - a quintet with Tjader's best Latin sidemen. Viva Cepeda made salsanewyork.com honor list.

Perhaps someone with a LP version of this album can tell me what the sign, which one of the spectators in the stadium is holding. My best guess is "Nixon Go Home." I have no idea if that makes sense.

Musicians

Cal Tjader / Vibes
Mongo Santamaria / Conga
Vince Guarardi / Piano
Al McKibbon / Bass
Willie Bobo / Timbales, drums

Cal Tjader - Black Orchid

This CD combines two Fantasy LPs "Cal Tjader Goes Latin" and "Cal Tjader Quintet" from 1950s.

Fantasy
ASIN B000000XFN

Available at many places including Amazon (clips) and Descarga (review).

1. Mi China 2:15 (Mongo Santamaria)
2. Close Your Eyes 3:11 (Bernice Petkere)
3. Mambo At The "M" 4:39 (Luis Kant)
4. Contigo 2:40 (Pedro Flores)
5. Bonita 2:28 (Lonnie Hewitt)
6. Lady Is A Tramp 4:32 (Rodgers-Hart)
7. Black Orchid 3:32 (Cal Tjader)
8. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe 3:44 (Arlen-Harburg)
9. I've Waited So Long 2:07 (Jerry Lordan)
10. Out Of Nowhere 3:26 (Heyman-Green)
11. Guajira At The Blackhawk 5:20 (Santamaria)
12. I Want To Be Happy 3:15 (Caesar-Youmans)
13. Nearness Of You 3:65 (Carmichael-Washington)
14. Pete Kelly's Blues 3:48 (Cahn-Heindorf)
15. Minor Goof 3:53 (Milton Moore)
16. Undecided 3:23 (Shavers-Robin)
17. Philadelphia Mambo 3:20 (Tito Puente)
18. Flamingo 4:12 (Grouya-Anderson)
19. Stompin' At The Savoy 4:00 (Sampson-Webb-Goodman)
20. Laura 3:21 (Raksin-Mercer)
21. Lullaby Of Birdland 4:00 (Shearing-Forster)

Another consistently nice-sounding latin jazz album. Probably the most obvious Salsa dance track is Philadelphia Mambo, which in my opinion might be better than the version recommended by salsanewyork.com (Philly Mambo - Cal Tjader ... from 1970s). Another possibility is Stompin' At The Savoy.

CD includes liner notes from both original LPs as well as more detail on musician lineup.

Musicians tracks 1-11 (originally released as Cal Tjader Goes Latin (Fantasy 8030), recorded in four sessions 1957, 1958 and 1959)

Paul Horn / flute
Lonnie Hewitt / piano
Al McKibbon / bass
Mongo Santamaria / conga
Willie Bobo / timbales, drums
Jose "Chombo" Silva / tenor saxophone
Vince Guarardi / piano
Eugene Wright / bass
Luis Kant / conga
Bayardo Velarde / timbales
Cal Tjader / vibraphone (piano on track 7?)

Musicians tracks 12-21 (originally released as Cal Tjader Quintet (Fantasy 8085), recorded 1956)

Manuel Duran / piano
Carlos Duran / bass
Luis Miranda / conga
Bayardo Velarde / timbales
Cal Tjader / vibraphone

Cal Tjader - Los Ritmos Calientes

This CD combines two Fantasy LPs "Ritmo Caliente" and "Mas Ritmo Caliente" from 1950s.

Fantasy
ASIN B000000XF8

Available at many places including Amazon (clips) and Descarga (other reviews).

1. Cubano Chant 6:17 (Ray Bryant)
2. Goza 1:53 (Eddie Cano)
3. Panchero Mambero 2:22 (Rivera-Cano)
4. Alegres Timbales 1:09 (Tempest Storm)
5. Mambo Moderno 3:25 (Richard Wyands)
6. Afro Corolombo 1:25 (Cal Tjader)
7. Ritmo Caliente 2:05 (Cano)
8. Lamento De Hodi 3:00 (Jerome Richardson)
9. Mambo Inn 2:46 (Sampson-Woodlen-Bauza)
10. Buhulto 1:35 (Al McKibbon)
11. Alegres Congas 1:00 (W. Frumkin)
12. Mueve La Cintura 2:30 (Tjader)
13. Bernie's Tune 2:35 (Miller-Stoller-Leiber)
14. Perdido 7:01 (Tizol-Lengsfelder-Drake)
15. Armando's Hideaway 2:32 (Armando Peraza)
16. Cuco On Timbales 1:40 (Tjader)
17. Tumbao 3:10 (Tjader)
18. Ritmo Rumba 0:53 (Peraza)
19. Big Noise From Winnetka 4:15 (Bauduc-Crosby-Rodin-Haggart)
20. Poinciana Cha Cha 3:38 (Simon-Bernier)
21. Mongorama 6:20 (Mongo Santamaria)
22. Ritmo Africano 1:37 (Peraza)
23. Perfidia Cha Cha 8:12 (Alberto Dominguez)

It's a very pleasant record to listen to in my opinion, but there probably isn't very much for Salsa dancing - better for Cha Cha, however. Two possible Salsa tracks as could be guessed from the song titles are Mambo Moderno (melody is driven by flute with other instruments being piano, bass, conga and Tjader on timbales), which probably will come across as artsy or mellow to many, and Mambo Inn (played by a quartet of piano, bass, conga and Tjader on vibraphone supplying the melody). Poinciana Cha Cha (played by a sextet of piano, bass, conga, bongos, timbales and vibraphone) in my opinion has nicer and clearer beat compared to the version recommended by salsanewyork.com (Poinciana - Cal Tjader from a Verve 1963 recording and incorrectly described done by Cal Tjader and Eddie Palmieri by salsanewyork.com). Perfidia Cha Cha is also perfectly danceable as Cha Cha albeit rather long.

Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo appear only on tracks 14, 21 and 23. These three tracks also feature a larger set of musicians - nine musicians in full lineup of percussion as well as saxophones and flute - compared to the rest of the songs played by quartet, quintet or sextet of musicians. Liner notes provided with the CD has additional information.

Musicians tracks 1-13 (originally released as Ritmo Caliente (Fantasy 3216), recorded in 3 sessions 1954-1955)

Jerome Richardson / flute
Richard Wyands / piano, maracas
Al McKibbon / bass, conga
Armando Peraza / conga, bongos
Eddie Cano / piano
Manuel Duran / piano
Cal Tjader / vibraphone, timbales

Musicians tracks 14-23 (originally released as Mas Ritmo Caliente (Fantasy 3262), recorded in 3 sessions 1957)

Vince Guaraldi / piano
Al McKibbon / bass
Luis Kant / conga, gourd, cowbell
Armando Pereza / conga, bongos
Armando "Cuco" Sanchez / timbales
Jose "Chombo" Silva / tenor saxophone
Gerald Sanfino / flute, alto saxophone
Bobby Rodriguez / bass
Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria / conga
Willie Bobo / timbales
Eugene Wright / piano
Al Torres / drum
Bayarde Velarde / timbales, bongos
Cal Tjader / vibraphone, timbales