Search - Cal Tjader :: Monterey Concerts

A great Cal Tjader album

Robert J. Cruce | Muskogee, OK United States | 09/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wanted "Cal Tjader's Concert By the Sea" to be released on CD so badly. I have been enjoying my LP copy of this album (Fantasy 3295) for several years. We can all rejoice that some of the best Tjader Fantasy albums are now being reissued. And what a bonus that the trend seems to be putting the contents of two LP releases on one CD. If you buy Blackhawk Nights, Black Orchid, San Francisco Moods, Ritmos Calientes and Monterey Concerts(Live) you'll have the cream of the recordings of Tjader and his greatest groups. As this release of M.C.(Live) shows, Cal Tjader was one of the greates jazz musicians America produced. This is swinging, sophisticated jazz in that 1950's style. The remastered sound is excellent. Put this at the head of your wish list. You'll thank me."

Outstanding!

Rosemarie Persek | California | 02/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Ultimate Cal Tjader. I saw Tjader do excerpts from this CD at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach in the early 60's. This is Tjader at his absolute best! This CD combines two early concerts at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Tjader crosses generations--my two sons are also collecting his music."

A Milestone Event in Jazz History

Dr. Debra Jan Bibel | Oakland, CA USA | 08/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1959 was a good year for Latin jazz when jazz lovers, coming to the second Montery Jazz Festival, attended a pre-concert in nearby Carmel and discovered Cal Tjader, who had been in the comparative backwater of the West coast playing and recording jazz tunes with a Latin rhythm section. That night, listeners heard Willie Bobo on timbales and drum set and Mongo Santamaria on bongos and other percussion. They found Paul Horn on flute and also saxophone, Lonnie Hewitt on piano, and Al McKibbon on bass, while Tjader mellowed the timbre with his vibes. Only a few tunes had an up-tempo, vigorous Afro-Cuban feel; straight ahead ballads, such as Laura and We'll Be Together Again, and mainstream grooves, original or neo-standards, such as Walkin' with Wally and 'Round Midnight, were well represented. After all, this was a mixed, mainly mainstream audience, and there was something for everyone. This 78-minute live album, consisting of tracks from the two original LPs, sound great. That is good engineering, both at the time and with mastering afterwards. The album, in short, is historic and brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable. I particularly liked the Latin pieces, Tu Crees Que, for instance."