CAL TJADER · MARY STALLINGS — Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings (1961-2005) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Mary Stallings was just 22 at the time this album, her first, was cut in 1961. Fortunately, she was teamed up with a group of top professionals led by vibist Cal Tjader. She also sticks with mostly tried and true material, with Duke Ellington's songs getting a big play. Tjader is not a virtuoso on the vibes, but has made a name for himself because of his attachment to Latin rhythms. With no such music on this album, Tjader's playing seems somewhat stiff at times, particularly on ballads and slow blues. However, alternating pianists Lonnie Hewitt and Clare Fischer get with the program to give Stallings the backing she needs. The vibes player also loosens up on up-tempo tunes like "It Ain't Necessarily So." The singer has a powerful voice with a straight from the shoulder, no holds barred delivery. Her years singing in churches in San Francisco no doubt helped to develop her powerful style, and also give her some sympathy for such tunes as "God Bless the Child," which gets a particularly reverent reading. Paul Horn's flute helps make this a premier track. Stallings also makes good use of vibrato to emphasize a word or a phrase. This technique is used effectively on blues tunes such as "Mr. Blues." Stallings' dedication to pitch comes through on "Just Squeeze Me," where the bass is her only accompaniment. But some seasoning is needed. She sings everything with just about the same volume, paying no attention to dynamics. But all the equipment is there and, coupled with a natural affinity for the blues and swing, taking care of this matter should be no problem. Dave Nathan 

Tracklist :
1     Mighty Rumblin' Blues    3:46
    Written-By – Unknown Artist
2     It Ain't Necessarily So  2:28
    Written-By – Gershwin-Gershwin

3     God Bless The Child   3:14
    Written-By – Herzog, Holiday
4     Just Squeeze Me   2:37
    Written-By – Ellington, Gaines
5     I Didn't Know About You    3:47
    Written-By – Russell, Ellington
6     I'm Beginning To See The Light    3:08
    Written-By – George, Ellington, James, Hodges
7     Goodbye    2:40
    Written-By – Gordon Jenkins
8     Why Don't You Do Right?    2:36
    Written-By – McCoy, Melrose
9     Honeysuckle Rose 2:08
    Written-By – Razaf, Waller
10     I'm Just A Lucky So And So    2:28
    Written-By – Ellington, David
11     Ain't Misbehavin' (I'm Saving My Love For You)    3:07
    Written-By – Razaf, Waller, Brooks
12     Mr. Blues    2:39
    Written-By – Costell Akrie
– BONUS TRACKS – (Previously Unreleased)
13    Just In Time    1:59
14    Why Don't You Do Right? [Alt. Take]    2:38
Credits :
    Bass – Freddie Schreiber, Victor Venegas
    Drums – Johnny Rae
    Vocals – Mary Stallings
    Flute – Paul Horn
    Piano – Lonnie Hewitt
    Vibraphone – Cal Tjader   

CAL TJADER - Monterey Concerts (1959-1990) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This two-LP set is the definitive early Cal Tjader album and one of the high points of his career. For a Monterey concert that was considered a preview concert for the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival, Tjader was teamed up with flutist and altoist Paul Horn, pianist Lonnie Hewitt, bassist Al McKibbon, Willie Bobo (on drums and timbales), and percussionist Mongo Santamaria. Their renditions of Latinized jazz tunes along with a few Latin originals practically define the idiom. Highlights include "Doxy," one of the earliest versions of Santamaria's "Afro Blue" (pre-dating John Coltrane's famous rendition by four years), "Love Me or Leave Me," and "A Night in Tunisia." Essential music for everyone's Latin jazz collection. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Doxy 8:48
Sonny Rollins
2     Afro Blue 6:33
Mongo Santamaria
3     Laura 5:19
Johnny Mercer / David Raksin
4     Walkin' With Wally 10:05
Lonnie Hewitt
5     We'll Be Together Again 5:11
Carl Fischer
6     'Round Midnight 6:06
Thelonious Monk / Cootie Williams
7     Love Me or Leave Me 5:56
Walter Donaldson
8     Tu Crees Que 5:27
Mongo Santamaria
9     S.S. Groove 5:18
John Mosher
10     A Night in Tunisia 6:53
Dizzy Gillespie / Frank Paparelli
11     Bess, You Is My Woman 4:10
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
12     Lover Come Back to Me 3:11
Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg
13     Tumbao 4:55
Cal Tjader
Credits :
Bass – Al McKibbon
Bongos, Percussion – Mongo Santamaria
Drums, Timbales – Willie Bobo
Flute – Paul Horn
Piano – Lonnie Hewitt
Vibraphone – Cal Tjader 

CAL TJADER - Soul Sauce (1964-1994) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Soul Sauce is one of the highlights from Tjader's catalog with its appealing mixture of mambo, samba, bolero, and boogaloo styles. Tjader's core band -- long-time piano player Lonnie Hewitt, drummer Johnny Rae and percussionist's Willie Bobo and Armanda PerazaÑ -- starts things off with a cooled down version of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo's latin jazz classic "Guachi Guaro (Soul Sauce)". With the help of guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Donald Byrd, and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath they offer up a lively version of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue." Sticking to his music's "Mambo Without a Migraine" reputation, though, Tjader's musicians keep things fairly calm, especially on Latinized ballads such as Billy May's "Somewhere In the Night" and on midtempo swingers like "Tanya." On Soul Sauce Tjader had perfected a middle ground between the brisk, collegiate mambo of his early Fantasy records and the mood-heavy sound of Asian themed albums like Breeze From the East. In the process, he dodged the "Latin lounge" label with an album full of smart arrangements, subtly provocative vibe solos, and intricate percussion backing. by Stephen Cook  
Tracklist :
1 Soul Sauce 2:24
Dizzy Gillespie / Chano Pozo
Percussion – Willie Bobo
2 Afro-Blue 4:27
Mongo Santamaria
Bass – Bob Bushnell, Richard Davis
Drums – Grady Tate
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Kenny Burrell
Tenor Saxophone – Jimmy Heath
Trumpet – Donald Byrd
3 Pantano 3:35
Lonnie Hewitt
4 Somewhere In The Night 3:14
 Mack Gordon / Billy May / Josef Myrow / Milt Raskin
5 Maramoor Mambo 4:00
Armando Peraza
6 Tanya 5:28
Lonnie Hewitt
7 Leyte 5:18
Lonnie Hewitt / Cal Tjader
8 Spring Is Here 4:00
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
9 Joao 4:50
Clare Fischer
10 Soul Sauce (Guachi Guaro) 2:30
Dizzy Gillespie / Chano Pozo
11 Monkey Beams 5:40
12 Ming    8:39    
13 Mamblues 3:49
Credits:
Cal Tjader - vibraphone
Lonnie Hewitt - piano
Richard Davis (tracks 2, 11 & 12), John Hilliard (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13) - bass
Grady Tate (tracks 2, 11 & 12), Johnny Rae (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13) - drums (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13)
Willie Bobo, Armando Peraza, Alberto Valdes - percussion
Donald Byrd - trumpet (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Jimmy Heath - tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Kenny Burrell - guitar (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Bob Bushnell - electric bass (track 2) 

CAL TJADER - Black Hawk Nights (2000) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In the late '50s, Cal Tjader and his bands played lengthy engagements at the Black Hawk jazz club in San Francisco. This CD combines almost everything from two albums he recorded there in the late '50s: the entirety of A Night at the Blackhawk, and all songs save one from Live and Direct. This is on the mellow side for Tjader, even by the vibraphonist's standards; if A Night at the Blackhawk is low-energy, Live and Direct is positively sleepy. A Night at the Blackhawk employs an all-star sextet including Willie Bobo on drums, Mongo Santamaria on congas, and Vince Guaraldi on piano. Despite the presence of Bobo and Santamaria though, it's only in the Latin-Afro-Cuban mood about half the time. That's heard on the mambo version of "Stompin' at the Savoy," "I Love Paris," and Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," the last of which is of course a natural for the Latin-jazz treatment; otherwise it's pretty inside, straight-ahead stuff. Although Live and Direct was billed to the Cal Tjader Quintet, it in fact usually features just a quartet of Tjader, Lonnie Hewitt on piano, Victor Venegas on bass, and Willie Bobo on drums. The leader doesn't even play on "My Romance," a showcase for Hewitt. Latin-Afro-Cuban-jazz fusion is barely evident on the laidback Live and Direct session, except for the high-spirited finale. Actually, the Live and Direct set is rather too much on the polite, even sleepy side: the kind of thing you'd put on to fall asleep to in the wee hours. The pace does pick up for Live and Direct's only Tjader original, "Raccoon Straits," and "Mambo Terrifico," the number that has Santamaria and Lozano on board. by Richie Unterberger 
Tracklist :
1     Stompin' at the Savoy 5:23
Benny Goodman / Andy Razaf / Edgar Sampson / Chick Webb
2     I Hadn't Anyone Till You 8:08
Ray Noble
3     Bill B. 12:05
Cal Tjader
4     Blue and Sentimental 3:05
Count Basie / Mack David / Jerry Livingston
5     I Love Paris 4:34
Cole Porter
6     A Night in Tunisia 9:15
Dizzy Gillespie / Frank Paparelli
7     Autumn Leaves 8:40
Joseph Kosma / Johnny Mercer / Jacques Prévert
8     My Romance 5:11
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
9     Theme from the and the Beautiful 3:46
David Raksin
10     You Stepped Out of a Dream 5:30
Nacio Herb Brown / Gus Kahn
11     Raccoon Straits 6:19
Cal Tjader
12     Mambo Terrifico 4:23
Jose Lozano
Credits :
Bass – Al McKibbon (faixas: 1 to 6), Victor Venegas (faixas: 7 to 12)
Congas – Mongo Santamaria (faixas: 1 to 12)
Drums – Willie Bobo (faixas: 1 to 12)
Piano – Lonnie Hewitt (faixas: 7 to 12), Vince Guaraldi (faixas: 1 to 6)
Tenor Saxophone – Jose Silva (faixas: 1 to 6)
Timbales – Willie Bobo (faixas: 7 to 12)
Vibraphone – Cal Tjader
Note
Tracks 1 to 6 originally released as A Night At The Black Hawk (Fantasy 3283); tracks 7 to 12 on Live And Direct (Fantasy 3315)