Stars of Jazz, hosted by pianist/composer Bobby Troup and broadcast from the Los Angeles area (KABC-TV) from 1956-58, welcomed Cal Tjader for the first time on February 11, 1957. Tjader, Vince Guaraldi, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Al Torre, commenced the set with “Lover Come Back to Me,” a vehicle driven by a fast-paced vibraphone solo. Then the jazz quartet slowed down for “The Night We Called it a Day” and the leader demonstrated his continually evolving skills as a balladeer. But the real ear-catchers were heard after songbird Shirley Saunders’ rendition of “Taking a Chance On Love."
1957 also saw Tjader on World of Jazz (KRON-TV, August 1), The Don Sherwood Show (KGO-TV, August 10) and Del Courtney Showcase (KPIX-TV, September 7); Woody Herman and June Christy costarred. For World of Jazz, the vibist performed with the program’s regulars, Bob Scobey and his Dixieland Band, and then was interviewed by local disc jockey Charlie Stern.
Tjader had been absent from television for over nine months, when, on the morning of June 30, 1958, he made another visit to Stars of Jazz, now broadcast nationwide. Guaraldi was still around, but earlier in the year Wright, Torre and Kant had been replaced by Al McKibbon, Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria, respectively. In the background, Tjader opened with his finger popping original “Bill B., and Troup, best known for the classic “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” and subsequently as an actor, introduced the vibist as “a student in the art of percussion in several of its more fascinating forms.” But he neglected to say anything about the rest of the quintet.
After showing Tjader in close-up––his eyes locked on the shiny metal bars––director Hap Weyman shifted the focus to a smiling Bobo. The drummer was apparently digging his leader’s mallets as they whipped through a solo on “Crow’s Nest.” Then the camera moved on to Guaraldi’s thick hands during the pianist’s subtle swinging turn. McKibbon, too, was given room to jump. Following a short tour through the vibraphone’s Asian antecedents by Troup, Tjader led his jazz quartet in a rendition of “Liz-Anne.” As had been the case when Oakland Tribune jazz critic Russ Wilson heard the tune at Berkeley earlier in the year, the waltz theme was established before a move was made into the jazzy middle part––the drummer in 4/4 and the bassist keeping a 3/4 beat. Concurrently, Tjader used different tempos in his solo. Unlike the Berkeley concert, however, he didn’t have time to let Guaraldi improvise.
In an interesting sidebar, saxophonist Gary Foster recalled that the vibraphonist no longer wanted to tackle the complex ballad during the tail end of his career. Consequently, Foster or pianist Clare Fischer would be directed to take over.
Next, Troup segued to vocalist Ernestine Anderson, new on the scene at the time, for her interpretations of “There Will Never Be Another You” and “III Wind.” In the end, Santamaria was brought up for “Tumbao,” the last of Tjader’s four compositions to be presented. This was the era when it was popular for beatniks to read their poetry to the sounds of jazz. Stars of Jazz had a more unusual approach, however; footage of artist Pat Fitzgerald composing a finger painting was intercut with shots of the quintet, particularly the congas of Santamaria and timbales of Bobo. As the credits rolled, Tjader reprised “Bill B.” for his encore.
The above show was definitely a catalyst for Cal Tjader when it came to getting future small screen bookings. Just a month later, his quintet reappeared on the Don Sherwood Show and then on KQED for a series of live performances in August and September 1958.
Before the decade ended, the Cal Tjader Quintet, now with Eddie Coleman on bass, was invited to perform on Hugh Hefner’s new late-night show Playboy’s Penthouse, taped at the magazine mogul’s fantasy bachelor pad in Chicago. But outside of club and concert dates, only those who tracked Bay Area jazz radio could hear Tjader during the next two years, as he didn't pop up on television again until 1962. The vibist’s quintet was showcased several times that year, most notably on Jazz Scene, U. S. A., a Los Angeles based television program created by Steve Allen and produced by Jimmie Baker, the man behind Stars of Jazz.
Cal’s quartet played a swinging number called “Give Irving My Love" over the opening montage of local jazz clubs. Then, after being introduced by host Oscar Brown Jr., they launched into Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale” and "Come Rain or Come Shine.” As the show entered its second half, Bill Fitch joined Cal, Lonnie Hewitt, bassist Freddie Schreiber and John Rae. Fitch played a long tubular shaker and cowbell on "Manhã de Carnaval" and congas on “Half and Half.” Rae played drum set and timbales, respectively. The studio audience and singer/ songwriter Brown, an affable jazz hipster, were snapping their fingers and cheering at appropriate intervals throughout the half-hour running time.
Baker expanded the format of Jazz Scene, U. S. A.–– in syndication for only 26 episodes––to include interaction between the host and his guests. On Stars of Jazz, Troup would provide a little background on the jazz stars and then introduce them. Brown, or alternate host Vern Stevenson, on the other hand, would approach the musicians directly. For instance, when Tjader came on the show, Brown asked the vibist a few questions about his latest album, namely Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil.
Cal Tjader continued to be a familiar television presence until his premature death in 1982, appearing on many talk shows, such as the Steve Allen Show, Dinah Shore Show and Merv Griffin Show. Given that they were childhood friends, he was booked on the latter’s program more often after Griffin relocated from New York to Hollywood in 1970. These visits would either feature Tjader’s ensemble or the vibist himself jamming with Griffin’s jazz orchestra, which included, among others, trombonist Kai Winding, bassist Ray Brown and trumpeter Jack Sheldon.
The Tjader quintet’s performance on Playboy’s Penthouse, which contains the selections “Cubano Chant,” “Poinciana” and a straight-ahead “Doxy,” was made available on DVD when Hugh Hefner released Playboy After Dark, Collection Two in 2007. There are two black and white Penthouse shows (1959 & 1960) on Disc 1 and two color After Dark shows (1970 and 1968) on Disc 2. All in all, an excellent time capsule of classic music and comedy. The ensuing is just a short list of other guests: Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Phyllis Diller, Johnny Mathis, Grateful Dead and Sid Caesar. Although the set is out-of-print as of this writing, copies may be found floating around on the Internet or in appropriate stores.
The majority of the aforementioned programs, to my knowledge, are not available on DVD. For example, at the end of our interview session in February 2005, I asked Merv Griffin if any of the shows with Cal Tjader were available. He wasn’t sure if his staff had saved them and referred me to his former producer Bob Murphy, who grew up with Tjader and Griffin in San Mateo, CA. Shortly thereafter, I asked Murphy if any of Tjader’s performances would be released, as many of Griffin’s shows had already been put out on DVD. At a later date, he confirmed that the Tjader programs had ended up in the trash can. Moreover, James Harrod, author of the forthcoming Jazz: West, answered my query about Stars of Jazz and Jazz Scene, U. S. A.: “The kinescope of Cal Tjader's Stars of Jazz appearance [in 1957] was erased by KABC along with other priceless appearances in order to reuse the medium. The video of the Jazz Scene USA show is probably preserved, but it was not selected for VHS or DVD reissue. I believe that Meadowlane Productions would be the entity to petition for release on DVD.” Harrod's blogs (starsofjazz.blogspot.com and jazzsceneusa.blogspot.com) contain fascinating information and memorabilia.
Fortunately, some episodes of Stars of Jazz have have survived. Three DVDs with various episodes from 1958 (featuring artists such as Shelly Manne, Paul Horn and Julie London) are available on the web as of this writing. Furthermore, some out-of-print DVDs of Jazz Scene U.S.A. (with Manne, Shorty Rogers, Frank Rosolino and other West Coast stars) pop up now and again. Lastly, jazz film preservationist Mark Cantor has Tjader's 1958 Stars of Jazz performance in his vast collection. Cantor periodically holds special screenings of his clips and posts some of them online. One can always keep an eye out for Tjader while perusing his offerings.
P. S.: For those who would like to see Tjader's episode of Jazz Scene U.S.A. on DVD, please contact:
William Allen, President
Meadowlane Music Inc,
15201 Burbank Boulevard # B
Van Nuys, CA 91411
Phone: (818) 988-3830
