Amazonas (Remastered 2023) Cal Tjader

• 1 Amazonas 04:28
• 2 Xibaba 05:54
• 3 Mindoro 04:28
• 4 Flying 04:09
• 5 Corine 05:13
• 6 Noa Noa 04:12
• 7 Tamanco No Samba 05:32
• 8 Cahuenga 04:44
• 9 Cahuenga (Long Version) 09:29
• Total Runtime 48:09

Info for Amazonas (Remastered 2023)

A great Brazilian set from Cal Tjader quite different than most of his other work of the time. Although Cal spent most of his time at Fantasy Records working in a mixture of jazz and Afro-Cuban styles, he steps off here in a very Brazilian 70’s mode one that has some great links with jazz trends going on in Brazil at the time. Production is by Airto and arrangements are by George Duke and there’s a wonderful crossing of Rio and California in the set – one that uses keyboards from Egberto Gismonti, flute from Hermeto Pascoal, guitars by David Amaro, and trombone from Raul De Souza. Dawilli Gonga aka george duke plays some especially nice keyboards on the set and titles include a great version of Joao Donato’s “Amazonas.”

"Cal Tjader's Brazilian explorations continue and actually deepen with this release, as he joins forces with a host of progressive young Brazilian musicians, all overseen by producer Airto Moreira. By now, Tjader had figured out how to fit into the blend, doing so by losing himself in the complex mix of Afro-Brazilian rhythms, American funk and '70s-era electronics, integrating his own identity for the sake of the ensemble. Indeed, Tjader actually appears on marimba on tracks like Joao Donato's "Amazonas" and his collaboration with Hermeto Pascoal, "Mindoro," his playing taking on a more brittle edge as a result. Tjader's Southern Hemisphere cohorts include such emerging luminaries as keyboardist Egberto Gismonti, percussionist Robertinho Silva, the sometimes wild flutist Hermeto Pascoal and on one track, the superb trombonist Raul de Souza. The intricate arrangements are in the hands of George Duke, and so are the funky, occasionally spaced-out keyboard sounds (albeit under the contractually dictated pseudonym "Dawilli Gonga")." (Richard S. Ginell, AMG)

Cal Tjader, vibraphone, marimba
David Amaro, guitar
Dawilli Gonga, keyboards
Egberto Gismonti, piano, synthesizer
Luiz Alves, bass
Robertinho Silva, drums, percussion

Recorded June 1975 at Wally Heider's Recording Studios, Los Angeles

Digitally remastered

Cal Tjader
Born July 16, 1925, in St. Louis, Missouri, Cal Tjader was originally a drummer and played with George Shearing. He came to prominence, however, as a vibraphonist. I remember Mongo Santamaria accompanying him on congas at the "Village Gate" in 1961. I never heard anything as exciting in my life! My career was beginning to take shape--even if I didn't realize it at the time.

Cal Tjader had studied music in San Francisco and had come up through the ranks with Dave Brubeck, Alvino Rey, Willie Bobo, Vince Guaraldi, and Mongo Santamaria. His discography is enormous and includes close to one hundred albums as leader and many as "sideman"--with the likes of Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Rosemary Clooney, Tania Maria, Anita O'Day, and Carmen McRae. As a songwriter, his work appears on albums by Poncho Sanchez, Bobby Shew, Clare Fischer, Jerry Gonzales, and Stan Getz.

In 1963 Creed Taylor signed him with Verve, and Tjader worked with Klaus Ogermann and other producers to create some of the hippest albums of the 1960s. His single of "Soul Sauce" ("Guachi Guara") briefly entered the Top Forty charts.

Although Tjader was often slammed by jazz critics for pandering to popular tastes, he was well-respected among the Latin musicians with whom he worked, including Candido, Armando Peraza, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente. In his later years, he came to be recognized as one of the fathers of acid jazz. His concord album "La Onda Va Bien" won a Grammy award in 1979.

This album contains no booklet.