I finished adding new material to "Tap Dancing with Bojangles to Playing with Brubeck" and "Tjader Plays Mambo and Tjazz," the first and second chapters of the expanded Tjader biography, respectively, in early August 2017.
Tjader's best friend Philip Smith contributed a great deal––his memories of their growing up together in San Mateo, CA.––to "Tap Dancing." Also featured are excerpts of, to my knowledge, Tjader's first full length interview in print; he was 24 years old at the time. Lastly, some new information regarding his gigs with Dave Brubeck have come to light.
Regarding "Mambo and Tjazz," most of the new material is from the San Francisco Chronicle and Downbeat, but Smith contributed two revealing anecdotes about the Cal Tjader Trio; both concern Tjader's relationship with Vince Guaraldi. Moreover, said print sources reveal additional details about Tjader's association with Brew Moore, as well as concert and club dates throughout the 1950s. Finally, Terry-Ann Torre, longtime wife of ex-Tjader drummer Al Torre, reminisced about a few of Tjader's favorite southern California jazz venues, namely the Interlude, Crescendo and Zucca's Cottage. For his part, Al offered a story about Moore.
Ever since taking a pause on the Tjader book, I have been at work on a novella featuring the same private detective from my as yet unpublished short story collection set in 1970s Eugene, Oregon. He listens to jazz––Tjader is high on his list––and frequents a jazz club in town called the Right Vibe. The house bandleader there is a vibraphonist who admires Cal Tjader. In fact, Tjader makes a cameo appearance in one of the stories.
I will be devoting my time to the novella for approximately the next half year. Then I will return to incorporate new material to "Reaching for the Skye," the third chapter of expanded Tjader. Highlights will be forthcoming.
