Big Eyes, directed by Tim Burton and released on Christmas Day in 2014, is the tragic but ultimately triumphant story of Margaret Keane, whose cloying paintings of children with abnormally large eyes initially gained popularity in 1958 when she met a successful real estate salesman named Walter Keane. She had recently left her first husband in an unnamed part of northern California and settled in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood with one daughter. Following a brief courtship, the couple married. Concurrently, Keane enjoyed visiting Enrico Banducci's hungry i nightclub and was able to talk the outgoing owner into displaying Margaret's work.
On the plus side, the hungry i is featured prominently in the early going and Cal Tjader's band does appear on stage a few times. In addition, during the film's first musical sequence, Banducci exhorts the club audience to express their appreciation for Tjader. However, none of the band members are shown clearly in that scene or in subsequent shots; one could think of them as jazzy apparitions. Timothy Van Cleave wears Tjader's trademark horn-rimmed glasses; the other men go uncredited.
The following are minor caveats. To my knowledge, Tjader never played at the hungry i, his local mainstay during this period being the Blackhawk, located at the corner of Turk and Hyde in the Tenderloin district. That being said, Tjader was a strong presence in North Beach at El Matador, sited at 492 Broadway, from December 1964 to 1976. As a result, one can overlook the harmless artistic license here and elsewhere. For a second example, the marquee announces "The Cal Tjader Quartet" and "The Vince Guaraldi Trio." In reality, Tjader fronted a quintet, though the group did shrink to a quartet when playing straight-ahead tunes. In fact, the late Oakland Tribune jazz critic Russ Wilson coined the term "quantet" to describe the vibraphonist's unique format. Third, Vince Guaraldi's trio did play at the hungry i, but the diminutive pianist––excluded from the movie––was a regular with Tjader's band in 1958.
The soundtrack to Big Eyes contains three selections from Tjader's repertoire: "Bludan" (Eddie Cano), "Tropicville" (Cal Tjader) and "A Minor Goof" (Brew Moore). "Bludan" and "Tropicville" are cover versions by the musicians in the cast––Cal probably would have enjoyed their work––and "Goof" is from Tjader's 1956 LP Cal Tjader Quintet. The first two originally appeared on the LPs Demasiado Caliente (1960) and Latin Kick (1956), respectively.
For those new to Tjader who would like to delve further than the soundtrack, Cal Tjader Quintet is paired with Tjader Goes Latin (1959) on the CD Black Orchid, Demasiado Caliente is paired with Latino! (1960) on Latino! and Latin Kick stands alone. On a straight-ahead note, "A Minor Goof" was first taped by Tjader in 1955 for the LP/CD Tjader Plays Tjazz; Brew Moore is featured on tenor sax.
In sum, the tragedy of Margaret Keane was that she let Walter take credit for her paintings. Although his gift for marketing made the couple a fortune during the early 1960s, the deceit took its toll on the marriage. His seductive charm gave way to verbal abuse and menacing behavior, particularly after a huge Keane painting was given a scathing review by the New York Times in 1964. Shortly thereafter, Margaret took her child and moved to Honolulu. Once the divorce was legal, she finally mustered up the strength to take Walter to court and prove that she was the real artist. That was her triumph.
For the record, Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, who play Margaret and Walter Keane, were both justly nominated for Golden Globe awards. Adams won as Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy. This is odd, because Big Eyes does not fit in either category. Maybe the voters couldn't bear to trim another actress from the Drama category and yet did not want to overlook Adams.
Early in January, his wife of 22 years, Shirley, phoned me and said Bobby had died of liver cancer on December 20, 2014 at the age of 77. Redfield preferred that his friends call him Bobby but didn't mind when I shortened it. Shirley and I talked for about fifteen-twenty minutes; she was in a mood to reminisce. I told her that in the course of researching my Tjader biography, Bob and I became fairly well acquainted. Since Bob lived in southern California (Laguna Hills) and neither of us traveled to meet in person, our periodic conversations were on the phone, beginning in September 2006.
Shirley confided that her marriage was a happy one. Bob was close to his grown children and had an equally remarkable rapport with his grandchildren. As she continued to carry out the mundane tasks of daily life, little things around the house reminded her of Bob, such as his address book, toothbrush and where he liked to sit. He enjoyed golf and spending time at the beach, especially following his retirement. In both his musical and personal life, his integrity was ever present. Tenderness and humor was balanced with toughness; he did not tolerate obnoxious behavior.
In March 2009, Redfield let me know that he had been through chemotherapy for colon cancer and that the disease was in remission. He described what a toll the treatment took on his body but maintained a positive attitude about his future. Unfortunately, several years later, the cancer reemerged in his liver. Still and all, his outlook, unlike many in his position, was hopeful.
Redfield's initial association with Cal Tjader began when he sat in with the vibist's quintet for three days (October 31-November 2, 1972) at the Dry Dock, a club in Newport Beach, CA. The guitarist was quickly upgraded to featured guest status during Tjader's subsequent southern California tours. For the better part of 1973, he joined the combo, most often at former bassist Howard Rumsey's Concerts by the Sea in Redondo Beach, CA. But it was not until mid-1976 that Redfield became a steady member of the fold. Over the next year and a half, he was on stage for most of Tjader's gigs, including the Concord and Monterey Jazz Festivals and a brief tour of Japan.
The fact that the guitar had rarely been used in Latin jazz bands up through the 1970s did not faze Cal Tjader; he had a history of breaking new ground. Bob Redfield (Robert Peter Leyva was his birth name) was proud of being the only guitarist to be showcased regularly in a Tjader band. Having learned from West Coast jazz greats such as Frank Rosolino and played for the Righteous Brothers early in his career, Redfield's sound was a mixture of rock and jazz-blues. In this quote from my biography, the guitarist described the influence Tjader, his roommate on the road, had on his life: "I feel very honored to have played with Cal. It's the highlight of my life. Cal was a mentor to me.... I didn't know anything about [Cuban] music when I started playing with Cal; I could play bossa novas, but I really didn't understand mambos.... Cal and Poncho [Sanchez] taught me how.... Cal and I became real good friends. Even after I left the band, we continued to [stay in touch]."
Addendum: A day or two after Shirley contacted me, I received a phone call from Antonie Boessenkool, a reporter for the Orange County Register. She was writing an obituary on Redfield and had been referred to me by Shirley. The interview lasted roughly fifteen minutes and the resulting final goodbye can be accessed on this link: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jazz-647567-redfield-guitar.html
The tribute turned out well, but, in one instance, she misquoted me:
"[Redfield] was the only regular guitar player in any of Cal's Latin jazz bands. He was very proud of that," Reid said. "He really brought the guitar into that sound, and it wasn't really something you would hear in most Latin jazz bands. He was unique, different. He innovated in a lot of ways."
The first two sentences are accurate, of course. However, the "He" I referenced at the start of the third sentence was Cal Tjader. I had made that clear to her. Later, my request for a correction went unanswered.
I will end with an editorial on the Boessenkool article's quotes from Poncho Sanchez, Tjader's conguero or conga player during Redfield's tenure in the band. First, when I spoke to Sanchez about Redfield, he was decidedly underwhelmed by his former bandmate's guitar playing. In fact, he even went so far as to say, erroneously, that Redfield had not been a true member of the group, that Tjader had only let him sit in. Second, the idea that Redfield loved Cuban jazz because it was "in his blood" is ridiculous. Leyva being a Spanish surname does not necessarily signify a connection to said music. For example, Sanchez is an American who first heard Cuban jazz on the records that his brother collected. The music––Mexican folklorico from two separate regions––that his parents played at home was very different. Ultimately, whatever culture Redfield was exposed to by his father, it had nothing to do with the Cuban musical experience. As the late guitarist noted in a quote I highlighted earlier in this post, he initially learned the concepts of Cuban jazz while in Tjader's ensemble.
Bob Redfield can be heard on the following Cal Tjader records:
Puttin' it Together (CD is not available as of this writing)
Guarabe (CD: Here and There)
Here (CD: Same as above)
Tokyo Debut (Art Pepper's LP and subsequent CD features the Cal Tjader Sextet)
Cuban Fantasy (Posthumously issued CD)
Paul Horn died on June 29, 2014 at the age of 84, but I didn't become aware of the sad news until Australian didgeridoo player Stephen Kent––identifying a track by his former colleague–– mentioned it on the radio in January of 2015. Horn is well known as a pioneer of spiritual or "New Age" music, beginning with recordings made during his first trip to India in 1967 and especially Inside the Taj Mahal––his beautiful flute sounds were taped on location on April 25, 1968. He went forward to have a highly successful career making albums of this nature, including Inside the Great Pyramid (1976), Inside Canyon de Chelly (1997), Inside Monument Valley (1999)––the latter two with American Indian (Navajo & Ute) flutist R. Carlos Nakai––and many others.
Lesser known, especially to the ears of Horn's younger listeners, was his superlative career as an innovative jazz musician, both as a sought after sideman and leader. Something Blue and Profile of a Jazz Musician are among his acclaimed LPs. I first came into contact with Paul while researching my Cal Tjader biography. I interviewed him by phone––he spent winter/spring in Tuscon, Arizona and summer/fall on Cortes Island, off the coast of British Columbia––on January 27, 2005. He was irritable during the start of our late conversation––possibly the result of a rough day––but then relaxed and spoke about his early years in jazz and more than six-year (Summer of 1958-1964) association with Tjader. Although memories of specific events were few, Horn offered some keen insights about the jazz scene, as highlighted in this passage:
"In general, [Tjader} was just really a likable guy. I never saw him get upset or loose his temper. He was even keeled. Everything just went smooth, man. The way it should be. The way it was basically with my bands too. If you are going to have a small group, four or five pieces, Dave Brubeck is a perfect example of this, it’s a family. It’s built on mutual respect, a love for the music and just having a good time when you are together. Otherwise, you can’t play the music. The music evolves out of the relationship of the guys in the band. It’s not just that they’re all good musicians and they are all playing their instruments great. ...It’s that feeling of camaraderie, if you will, and playing together a lot and hanging out. When you are on the road, after the gig, usually everyone doesn’t just go their own way. You might get something to eat. ...Then he magic starts happening in the band. It’s like the extra sensory things when you’re improvising or just have no idea of what you are going to do next. You’re just there in the moment. You can get five great musicians individually and put them together for the first time and that “X” factor is not going to be there. That only comes from working together and hanging out, a family type of arrangement."
In October of 2005, Horn performed in concert with Stephen Kent at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. The concert exposed attendees to exotic sounds––a variety of flutes, some from other parts of the world, and several didgeridoos–– that were right in tune with this majestic venue. Afterwards, Horn and I had a friendly conversation concerning his music. He mentioned that he had continued to play (and occasionally record) jazz over the years. In fact, he had recently played in southern California with vibist Emil Richards and other former musical associates. He smiled when he recounted how fun it was to bring back the old charts. Although we spoke of getting together again, the distance between us and his schedule were obstacles. However, we did stay in touch by phone, both for follow-up interviews and discussions about what was going on in our lives, such as his marriage to Canadian vocalist/songwriter Ann Mortifee, their musical collaborations, the wedding of one of his children, the tranquility of life at a cabin he shared with Mortifee on Cortes Island and the warm winters of Tucson, among other things. He had a healthy ego, but not of the negative kind; the feeling was pride in what he had accomplished. Moreover, he displayed a genuine interest not only in the progress I was making with the Tjader project but my personal life as well. His warmth and encouragement were positive influences for me. Two weeks or so after receiving the Tjader biography, he called both to say how impressed he was with the work that I had put into the book and that he thought it was well done. Lastly, he reiterated what he had been telling me for close to a decade: "I'm so happy you are doing this for Cal. He's smiling down on you and thanking you."
Paul Horn performed as a featured guest, mainly on flute but occasionally on alto sax, with Cal Tjader's groups in concert, including several landmark West Coast jazz festivals detailed further in my book, and in the studio. He can be heard on––CD title is listed second if different than LP title––Latin for Lovers (Sentimental Moods), Concert by the Sea, Vols. 1 & 2 (Monterey Concerts), Cal Tjader Goes Latin (Black Orchid), West Side Story (Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen & West Side Story), Cal Tjader Plays/Mary Stallings Sings, In a Latin Bag and Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brazil.
