Cal Tjader 2nd Edition Sent to McFarland/John Handy-Ali Akbar Khan Article

The second edition Cal Tjader manuscript was mailed to McFarlamd & Co. on Monday, October 7, 2019 and received by my editor David Alff on Thursday, October 10. The preparation for publication has begun and proofs will likely be back to me in two to three months.

On other fronts, I recently completed an article on alto saxophonist John Handy's decade-long collaboration (1971-1980) with the late East Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan. My parents and I have known Handy casually for many years and he was happy to see a neglected part of his career brought to light. This was a different kind of fusion, but, like Tjader's, a fascinating one full of fresh delights. Currently I am seeking publication in an appropriate magazine.

Moreover, I continue to write stories about a jazz loving private detective who has an office in Eugene, Oregon during the 1970s. There is a short story collection called The Wrong Vibe & Other Stories, a novella titled Find the Man Who Would Be Marlowe and Zanetti is Ready, about 60% finished, which will be a novel. Elisa Celli, my agent, has been submitting proposals to publishers for a while now, but even with positive feedback from editors about the writing, no one has made a commitment so far. We will stay the course.

Soul Sauce Revisited

My agent, Elisa Celli, and I lobbied Randall Kline's office in 2014 to do a comprehensive tribute to Tjader with a book tie-in. So far the executive director of the San Francisco Jazz Festival has shown no interest in a long overdue show of respect for Tjader's legacy. However, a baby step in the right direction occurred in 2017. The San Francisco Jazz Festival held a series of concerts in which current jazz artists played selections from an album they admired. Roger Glenn, whom jazz fans and readers of the first edition of my Tjader biography will recognize, picked the seminal LP Soul Sauce. The following is my review of  that performance:

On January 26, Roger Glenn’s combo of Murray Low on piano, James Henry on timbales and drum set, Robb Fisher on bass and Estaire Godinez on congas, performed at the San Francisco Jazz Center’s Joe Henderson Lab, a more intimate room opposite the much larger Miner Auditorium. Both the 8 and 9:30 P.M. shows were well attended. 

Glenn, who wrote his own arrangements and played vibes, started out the set with “Mamblues” and continued with “Soul Sauce (Guarachi Guaro),” “Tanya,” “Leyte,” “João” and “Afro Blue.”

His charts stayed true to his former leader’s spirit, while his solos, particularly on the opening and closing numbers, demonstrated the contrast in the two vibraphonists’ approach. Specifically, a more seasoned Glenn still relishes rapid-fire showmanship, occasionally flipping his mallets in the air. Tjader, well, one can visualize his energetic but measured maneuvers on stage. 

Glenn’s easy rapport with the audience and sense of humor remain intact, though his anecdotal digressions occasionally led him too far astray. Moreover, he mistakenly referred to the late Lonnie Hewitt, formerly a pianist with Tjader, as the sole author of "Leyte." Though Hewitt is rightly credited as co-writer, "Leyte" was the first of three tunes––the others being "Mindoro" (co-written by Hermeto Pascoal) and "Mindanao"––Tjader composed about various locations in the Philippines; he served in the U. S. Navy and was deployed in said country during World War II. 

Glenn's band members, most often Low, segued confidently through the various musical moods. Henry and Godinez, who generally kept her head turned to one side or the other, had their best moments during the finale and Fisher’s fine fingering was most prominent on “Soul Sauce.”

2nd Edition Cal Tjader Biography Finished/Publication Set for Early 2020

The second edition manuscript has been completed. My conclusion on the last phase of the research: From 1951 to 1969 Down Beat reviewed most of Tjader's LPs, and once in awhile, a live performance. During the 1970s, however, only three of the fourteen albums released under his name were reviewed. Moreover, the magazine had just one full length review of a live Tjader combo performance and no attention was paid to any of the LPs subsequently issued by Concord Records in his lifetime; the bandleader died on May 5, 1982. Overall, Tjader was profiled twice in the 1950s––the first was quite brief––and made the cover once (1966). Good to see that he received some recognition but it falls well short of the majority of his peers.

One extra benefit of the wealth of new material on Tjader from Down Beat, the San Francisco Chronicle, other newspapers and more interviews, was the opportunity to correct some errors of commission and omission in the first edition. In sum, I am very pleased with the outcome.

Publication of the 2nd edition Cal Tjader by McFarland & Co. will be early in 2020.

Cal Tjader 2nd Edition: Down the Home Stretch

In early July 2018, following what I thought was the completion of the Cal Tjader 2nd Edition first draft, I came across a Down Beat "Blindfold Test" that Tjader did in 1965. Steven Cerra, a jazz drummer who had briefly filled in on drums for Cal in 1962, had written about the test on his blog Jazz Profiles. This stimulated my interest in both the vibist's '65 encounter with Leonard Feather and his first such test with the late jazz critic in 1961. Gradually I became hooked on researching back issues of Down Beat at San Francisco's Main Library. Initially, the years I deemed most important were covered, but the draw to go back wouldn't let go. All told it took six months––trips were infrequent in August and September due to a pressing family matter––to glean what was needed from mid-1951 to 1982.

How wonderful it was to learn more about the real history of jazz instead of Ken Burns' Jazz, a documentary on the subject that debuted on PBS in January 2001. In a response to a letter I sent, Burns wrote that it was jazz critic and author Gary Giddins who had the most input during the making of the film. Moreover, he let it be known that trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, whom I thought was the main consultant, and Giddins "are polar opposites" when it comes to their perspective on jazz history. Yet the fact that Caucasian jazz musicians––a handful of token exceptions notwithstanding––are denigrated and their contributions, particularly on the West Coast, ignored or minimized, is not the fault of Giddins. That much is apparent from Giddins' commentary on camera. Marsalis was evidently the one who set the tone and direction of the film.

Following Tjader's career in Down Beat was not wholly unfamiliar to me, as I referenced the magazine while compiling research for the Tjader first edition. However, certain truths emerged after  covering such a long period issue by issue. Positively speaking, there were some staff writers that appreciated the depths of Tjader's gifts. On the other hand, more were harder on him than I anticipated, dishing out faint praise to mean-spirited pans. Constructive criticism is warranted at times even for top artists, but certain critics were tactless and nasty.

The material from the Down Beat archives will help readers fully understand the way Tjader was perceived throughout his career. On a personal level, expanding my knowledge of jazz in general was well worth the extensive amount of time spent inside the library. At the same time, I added research from an online newspaper archive to go with the San Francisco Chronicle items already included in the second edition.

All told, the amount of new information discovered exceeded my expectations. The last two chapters (4 and 5) are what remains to be revised; the finish line is near.

Tjader Expanded Edition: Chapters 3 and 4

Yesterday I completed the integration of all the new material to chapters 3 ("Reaching for the Skye") and 4 ("Last Bolero in Berkeley"). Highlights from chapter 3 include Eddie Coleman on the Blackhawk, a scandal at said club, more on the Weiss brothers at Fantasy Records, Ralph J. Gleason's perception of West Coast jazz and Caucasian musicians in general and other reasons that probably led to Cal Tjader eventually falling off his radar, more from Tjader's best friend Philip Smith and Carl Burnett opens up about his tenure with the vibraphonist, among other subjects of interest.

Unlike the first three chapters, "Last Bolero in Berkeley" only has a comparatively small amount of new material. This includes Bob Redfield's memory of the Redondo Beach club Concerts by the Sea and the making of Tjader's 1976 LP Guarabe, more gigs and music reviews.

Chapter 5 ("Flying with Concord") is underway and finally, adjustments to the preface and epilogue.

The Cal Tjader Quintet, Live at Club Macumba San Francisco 1956

(Cal Tjader on vibes, Vince Guaraldi on piano, Eugene Wright on bass and Al Torre on drums. Sunset School Auditorium, Carmel, CA, 1957. Photograph by Peter Breinig, Vern Fisher's Monterey Herald collection.)

Club Macumba taped some of Tjader’s sets in September and/or October 1956. More than 50 years later, Trapeze Music and Entertainment Ltd., based in England, unearthed these tracks––not originally intended for an album––and issued a two-CD set on their Acrobat label in December 2012. Live at Club Macumba San Francisco 1956 both gives one a seat in this close-quartered, convivial environment and an opportunity to hear the fairly new configuration test their ideas, and at the same time, embrace the cohesive Tjader sound. 

The following is a preview from the second edition of my Cal Tjader biography:

The unit’s songbook was limited, so several tunes are played twice over the course of these separate shows. For instance, Tjader’s straight-ahead swinger “Bill B.,” which like Luis Kant’s “Mambo at the ‘M’,” is presented here before it was officially recorded, and “Philadelphia Mambo.” The first version of “Bill B.” contains an elongated preamble and inventive improvisations by the composition’s author that would be the highlight of any all-star jam session. When he reprises the tune, the introduction is excised, Vince Guaraldi is given more solo space and the running time, while still not compact, is shorter. As for “Philadelphia Mambo,” the initial arrangement doesn’t just feature Tjader’s vibes but a burst of creativity from the leader on timbales as well. During the second go-round, he switches the spotlight over to the congas of Kant.

Drummer Al Torre, under the tutelage of Tjader and Kant, keeps good time on timbales. And even though he doesn't remember it, does a little solo stretch on the remarkably sophisticated and entertaining “Mambo at the ‘M’.” Torre also plays bongos on both versions of the ballad "For Heaven's Sake." 

The rapport Tjader has with the audience and his sidemen, which is audible throughout theses sets, is a bonus in this wonderful listening experience.

Finally, the booklet notes by Paul Watts are very informative. Michael Weil, the man with whom I collaborated on Cal Tjader's discography, and I made significant and properly acknowledged contributions. Moreover, I let Paul use two photos from my collection; the one on the back cover of the booklet is not featured in either edition of my biography. All in all, I am grateful to him for being included in this valuable musical package.

Progress on the Second Edition of Cal Tjader

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.