It has been written that Cal Tjader was the “point man between Latin jazz and mainstream bop.” Of Swedish descent, he was sometimes called “the most successful non-Latino Latin musician” and spent the bulk of his career playing musical styles from Cuba, Mexico, the Caribbean and throughout Latin America. Known mainly as a vibraphonist, Tjader also can be heard on recordings playing drums, bongos and piano, as well. He was born on July 16, 1925, 99 years ago today.

Cal Tjader was born in St. Louis, Missouri because his vaudevillian parents were on tour there. His father was a tap dancer and his mother played piano in their act. When Cal was two his family settled in San Mateo, California where his parents opened a dance studio. His parents taught young Cal their skills and soon he was making appearances around the San Francisco Bay Area as Tjader Junior.

After serving as a medic in the Pacific during World War II, Tjader studied at San Francisco State College. While there he met pianist Dave Brubeck and accepted an offer to play drums in his octet. The octet was a short-lived project, but Tjader followed that by being the drummer in the Dave Brubeck Trio.

In 1953 Cal joined up with pianist George Shearing for a short while before forming his own group which capitalized on the mambo craze that swept America in the mid-1950s. Tjader was signed to Fantasy Records and began turning out a series of popular albums that featured seasoned Latin musicians. The band was the opening act at the second Monterey Jazz Festival.

In the 1960s Tjader signed with Verve Records and made a number of popular albums for them. He recorded in many different formats during the decade including with big bands, string groups. His 1964 album "Soul Sauce" and its title track were a huge success for Cal.

During the 1970s Cal Tjader experimented with electronic instruments and rock beats on his records but returned to a more standard instrumentation and style by the time the 1980s rolled around. He was on tour in the Philippines in 1982 when he suffered a fatal heart attack. In all, Cal Tjader recorded more than 70 albums as a leader between 1954 and 1982 and was one of the most popular jazz performers of his era.

Here is a link to Tjader’s 1964 hit Soul Sauce, a cover of a Dizzy Gillespie tune:

"SOUL SAUCE"