Tjader Plays Mambo !!

Having finished his tenure with George Shearing in 1954, a thoroughly

Latin-inoculated Cal Tjader took off on his own, recording several

short slices of infectious Latin jazz, from which a dozen were selected

for this album. Many of the selections are standards retrofitted with

percolating Latin rhythms, cut and shaped to fit the old three-minute

limit of 45 or 78 rpm singles. Tjader's crystalline vibes are teamed

with a San Francisco Latin percussion section that lays down the

grooves crisply and succinctly, with an occasional emulation of the

more laid-back Shearing Latin sound ("East of the Sun"). Elsewhere,

Cal experiments with a hot four-man trumpet section on four of the

tracks, the best of which is a rhumba version of "Fascinating Rhythm."

The earliest Tjader-led recording of "Guarachi Guaro" (later known as

"Soul Sauce") is also included here. These seminal tracks helped

launch the Cal Tjader Latin jazz style, and they still sound fresher

than many other such historical landmarks. from Allmusic.com

Bass – Carlos Duran
Congas – Edgar Rosales, Luis Miranda
Maracas – Edgar Rosales
Piano, Claves – Manuel Duran
Timbales, Cowbell, Congas – Bayardo Velarde
Trumpet – Al Porcino, Charlie Walp, Dick Collins, John Howell
Vibraphone, Cowbell – Cal Tjader

Cal Tjader

recorded live in

1954 & 1956