Expanded Edition: Adding to the Cal Tjader Saga

I will always be proud of how the first edition of my Cal Tjader biography turned out. However, when reading Derrick Bang's Vince Guaraldi at the Piano during the first half of 2014, I instantly realized that the Tjader book could be improved upon and decided that a revised and expanded edition would rectify the issue. David Alff, my editor at McFarland, was open to the idea as long as I met two important stipulations: One, a healthy amount of new material must be provided and two, publication would be a few years away. Following a year of work on a collection of mystery short stories, I brainstormed about what could be included and the excitement increased.


For a variety of reasons, there were people I hadn't interviewed the first time around, Second, more questions came to mind for the former Tjader colleagues I mention in the next paragraph. Third, even though a tremendous amount of research had been completed by December 2012, I, along with an assist from Derrick Bang, discovered a few print sources that yielded additional information.


All in all, the expanded edition will contain fresh anecdotes from bassist Eddie Coleman and Bob Redfield, excerpts of my lengthy interview with Tjader's lifelong friend Philip Smith, as well as revelations from former sidemen Carl Burnett and Stan Gilbert and one-time Concord Records producer Frank Dorritie. Moreover, my new research revealed more Tjader interviews, including, to my knowledge, the earliest one in his career; more of San Francisco Chronicle music critic Ralph J. Gleason's early coverage of Tjader and ultimate disinterest in the progression of his career, additional gigs––many with background information and or other specific details––and bonus photos.

Bringing the First Cal Tjader Biography to the Public

When the above biography was published on August 23, 2013, I knew that it would not be available in general interest bookstores. McFarland's primary business model is to invest in good production values, price their books high and sell to universities and libraries. Generating publicity for the online market largely falls on their authors.

I started word-of-mouth with Cal Tjader's family, friends and former associates before making an appearance at San Francisco's Bird & Beckett Books on October 25, 2013. The owner, Eric Whittington, is a jazz buff with a small wooden stage inside his store. He regularly presents writers and poets reading from their work and musical performances, especially those featuring jazz. I was given a five-minute spot during an intermission to promote my book. Initially nervous, I relaxed once I looked out over the small audience of 25 or so; I realized that making eye contact made all the difference, whether the person seemed interested in the subject matter or not.

During the following two months, I made excerpts of my book available online. JazzWest published an excerpt from chapter two on November 28, 2013. Unfortunately, Wayne Saroyan, the website's originator, no longer has an archive section. However, the second excerpt, from chapter 3, was published by Michael Ricci at allaboutjazz.com on December 16, 2013 and is archived: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=46100

Next, in 2005, Derrick Bang, author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (McFarland 2012), as well as books about the Peanuts comic strip, and I became acquainted via his Peanuts website while I was researching the Tjader bio. At first, I just fed him information about Guaraldi's years with Tjader, but by January 2010, our correspondence expanded when Derrick decided to write a biography about the pianist. Over the subsequent two years, we shared research and upon publication of his book, we discussed how to best get the word out.

For his part, Derrick informed Don Shor at KDRT, a radio station in Davis, CA, about my biography. Schor, host of Jazz After Dark, planned to do a special tribute to Tjader in honor of the publication. Instead of an interview, the deejay asked me if I could recommend any music. I gave him twelve tunes that spanned the course of the vibraphonist's career. He was able to acquire eleven of those and then picked three of his own for the one hour show. Although the station's website removes podcasts of its shows after two weeks, Shor graciously gave me a link to the show from his server:

http://davisgardenshow.com/Jazz_After_Dark/2014_playlists/JazzAfterDarkApril082014CalTjader.mp3 The show takes about twenty seconds or so to load. Also, a playlist is available on this link:

https://kdrt.org/program-playlist/jazz-after-dark-playlist-04082014

Second, Derrick referred me to Richard A. "Doc" Stull, a jazz historian based in Humboldt County, CA. In his spare time, Stull reviews two or three jazz books each year and posts them online with in-depth author interviews at New Books in Jazz. Well prepared and affable, he interviewed me on May  22, 2014, and the resulting podcast was made available on December 18 of the same year. The review and one hour interview are accessible on this link: http://newbooksnetwork.com/s-duncan-reid-cal-tjader-the-life-and-recordings-of-the-man-who-revolutionized-latin-jazz-mcfarland-2013-2/

Third, Derrick brought a half-dozen or so radio stations to my attention. In the end, Insight with Beth Ruyak, a current affairs program on Capitol Public Radio's station in Sacramento, CA, booked me for an interview to celebrate Tjader's ninetieth birthday. Ruyak, who asked me to pick several tunes, taped the eighteen-minute interview a few days ahead of the air date––July 16, 2015. Like Stull, she had done her homework. The show went very well and can be accessed on this link:

www.capradio.org/52613

 More coverage: James Harrod, a jazz historian whom I mentioned in my first post, pointed Steven Cerra, a veteran jazz musician with a blog, in my direction. Mr. Cerra had read my book, posted––on July 5, 2014––many excerpts of it, and added some of his own positive commentary. (http://www.jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2014/07/cal-tjader-certain-smooth-elegance-la.html). Also in July 2014, Mojo: The Music Magazine, an internationally distributed publication based in London, England, gave my labor of love a glowing review. Like the Cerra blog, this was a pleasant surprise, as Charles Waring, the critic, had not been prompted by me. Instead, he must have acquired a copy from McFarland's London office.

Finally, there was an important event that occurred before the book came out. Allen Thayer, a freelance writer who occasionally is published in Wax Poetics, a nationally distributed magazine based in Brooklyn, NY, said that his editor wanted me to write a long piece that focused on Tjader's achievements as a Latin jazz bandleader and vibraphonist. I was happy to do it, since Cal is best remembered for his pioneering work in the field. One thing to keep in mind when clicking on the following link (http://www.waxpoetics.com/features/articles/vibraphonist-cal-tjader-one-first-american-jazz-musicians-embrace-latin-music), however; I did not write the preface to the article, published in November 2011. Here is the conclusion of the preface: "Throughout his career, Cal Tjader would coat that salsa on everything he played." This statement is absurd. As documented in my biography, Tjader embraced Cuban and Puerto Rican dance music, for which the catch-all term "salsa" applies. He was not only a master at blending the aforementioned musical forms with jazz but also incorporated popular Brazilian styles and European classical. But his first and greatest love was straight-ahead jazz, which is an amalgam of influences itself, and part of his substantial recorded output reflects that. Cal Tjader/Stan Getz Sextet, San Francisco Moods and Breathe Easy are just a few of examples of this.