Cal Tjader Classic Albums.

[Bobberman]

True indeed ! Rudy. Especially when we are familiar with the original authorized releases ( in this case vinyl or CD from Fantasy. Verve or Concord.) Those who are unfamilar with them are easy targets for these Ripoff Releases. Pure Deception in my opinion.

 

[Rudy]

What really worries me is that copyright will expire on some of those Verve Tjader albums, and some yahoo will do a poor needle drop, put it to CD, sell it, and buyers will think their old favorite has finally been released. I don't know why, but I have struggled to ever find perfectly good copies of Cal's albums on Verve. The only good one I have is Soul Sauce, because it was an 80s Polygram reissue and is very clean. Oh, and the Verve Blackhawk recording I mentioned earlier is nice, but probably wasn't played much. (One owner, low miles.) I cleaned up Jade and it's not very good. Thankfully the CD is around for that one. Along Comes Cal I also need to find a clean copy of. They're all on my wishlist at Discogs, so I have that to go by when I hit the used record stores.

 

[Bobberman]

Best wishes on your vinyl treasure hunt and " Happy Hunting Rudy'" and please let us know on this thread if and when you have purchased any Cal Tjader and perhaps give us a review.

 

[Harry]

I don't have very much to add to this thread, other than I once saw a Cal Tjader album in a throwaway pile at the radio station and grabbed it. I'd never played it, but just now put it on and it's an extra crispy record. Title is LATIN KICK on Fantasy. Cover's in nice shape.

Harry
...weathering a thunderstorm, online...

 

[Bobberman]

You have excellent taste Harry "Latin Kick" is one Of Tjader's Very Best. IMO
We Had a rare thunderstorm here a week or so ago. We generally dont have those as much during late winter early spring months But During the summer We get tons of them thunderboomers.

 

[Rudy]

No thunderstorm here--just steady rain for hours. There is a big lake a mile away from me, but it appears it's in my backyard now.

Too bad Latin Kick is extra crispy. Might just need a good cleaning.

 

[Rudy]

I was just playing the Los Ritmos Calientes CD late the other night. It mirrors the 2-LP release which is comprised of the two original albums, Ritmo Caliente and Mas Ritmo Caliente. Like the titles state, the sounds are more centered around the percussion and rhythm section, although it is not strictly a percussion gig by any means. "Cubano Chant" is a good example of it with the percussion break in the middle (the "part 2" if you will). Ritmo Caliente is one of my favorite albums from that era.

 

[Bobberman]

I was just playing the Los Ritmos Calientes CD late the other night. It mirrors the 2-LP release which is comprised of the two original albums, Ritmo Caliente and Mas Ritmo Caliente. Like the titles state, the sounds are more centered around the percussion and rhythm section, although it is not strictly a percussion gig by any means. "Cubano Chant" is a good example of it with the percussion break in the middle (the "part 2" if you will). Ritmo Caliente is one of my favorite albums from that era.

I own that cd too. And its definitiley an essential part of Tjader's early fantasy canon ( along with many others) as i mentioned previously Thanks to My parents owning two of the original Tjader red vinyl Lps ( same story with the TJB And others)
i became a fan myself. And i appreciate what i have now more than ever.

 

[Rudy]

I first found the double album in the 80s when I was buying up Tjader records at the used record shops--I never did see the originals until I inherited those from Joe Cruz. (Sadly they are dirty and worn.) The second album was also available in stereo, but Cruz's records up until the Verve albums were all mono. I can almost tell at what point he got a new hi-fi system: he started buying records in stereo, and they are less worn than the monos.

I have always struggled to find clean, unworn copies of many of these albums, especially the Verves that never seen a reissue.

 

[Bobberman]

I think in general its very difficult to find good vinyl in excellent ( unworn)shape for a decent price especially when it comes to albums like Cal Tjader and other similar artists.Those who have them are holding on to them. And with good reason even though i dont currently own a turntable i still have my vinyl in protective plastic sleeves stored in a box in a safe place in my home.

 

[Rudy]

With some artists, the used bins seemingly go on for miles. Yet others don't see much. I don't frequent the local stores enough to keep tabs on what is coming and going.

I do know with vinyl's resurgence, there are some artists like Miles Davis where I used to see an entire row in a bin filled with his records. Today, it's usually two or three copies of You're Under Arrest and one or two other stray titles. Many others are like that now also. Led Zep--my local store didn't have a single one. Although that's a moot point thanks to the reissues last year.

 

[Bobberman]

With some artists, the used bins seemingly go on for miles. Yet others don't see much. I don't frequent the local stores enough to keep tabs on what is coming and going.

I do know with vinyl's resurgence, there are some artists like Miles Davis where I used to see an entire row in a bin filled with his records. Today, it's usually two or three copies of You're Under Arrest and one or two other stray titles. Many others are like that now also. Led Zep--my local store didn't have a single one. Although that's a moot point thanks to the reissues last year.

I see the same situations Here with the used bins. Especially at Hastings They got much more used product than new or so it seems to me and much of it is music i already have in top notch shape in other formats. I never thought vinyl would ever see a revival let alone on the scale we see it. we were ingraned with the phrase "Vinyl is Dead" for so long. And at the time i was buying vinyl regularly until they disappeared from the stores. Had i only known.

 

[Rudy]

No kidding. If I'd known how it would be today, I'd have held onto every record I traded in, sold or gave away to friends. Now it costs too much to repurchase them (especially if they are still sealed, which I prefer). I've been buying records all along, mainly because there were (and still are) many titles which never had a digital release. I'll pick up 12" singles that have unreleased tracks or b-sides, or unique mixes or extended versions. (Sadly, many of the 12" singles have been a little too played out on DJ turntables and are worn, even if they look good.) I'll pick up a record if I need it to fill a hole in a collection (like the Mancini collection I have--there are still a few rarer titles I need, or need better copies of). And lately the way I've been devouring classical recordings, finding a nice Living Stereo, DG, Mercury Living Presence, Telarc, etc. LP is a treat.

 

[Bobberman]

No kidding. If I'd known how it would be today, I'd have held onto every record I traded in, sold or gave away to friends. Now it costs too much to repurchase them (especially if they are still sealed, which I prefer). I've been buying records all along, mainly because there were (and still are) many titles which never had a digital release. I'll pick up 12" singles that have unreleased tracks or b-sides, or unique mixes or extended versions. (Sadly, many of the 12" singles have been a little too played out on DJ turntables and are worn, even if they look good.) I'll pick up a record if I need it to fill a hole in a collection (like the Mancini collection I have--there are still a few rarer titles I need, or need better copies of). And lately the way I've been devouring classical recordings, finding a nice Living Stereo, DG, Mercury Living Presence, Telarc, etc. LP is a treat.

I know where you are coming from Rudy i managed to replace everything i had on vinyl and more with Cd versions. Not to mention the various transfers from tape and other sources to cdr but nonetheless i will keep what i have because its mostly too prohibitively expensive to replace and more often irreplaceable but in the future i can rip everything to a secure sturdy and permanent device ( when and if possible) and even my oldest cds are still in immaculate condition and still play well so far so good ill keep my fingers crossed in the meantime and try to keep taking best care of them. Nothing to lose by that.

 

[Mike]

Yesterday I was browsing the shelves of "Disk Union", a used record shop in Yokohama, and I picked up (another) CD version of "Cal Tjader Last Bolero in Berkeley". On the train ride home I was reading the fine print on the back of the case and I noticed something of interest. The first song on the album [Gary's Theme] was written by Gary McFarland and the arrangement for this recording was done by Cal Tjader in memory of Gary McFarland. All the other songs were arranged by Ed Bogas.

BTW, I was quite surprised to see this CD on the shelf and even though I already have one I just couldn't leave it sitting there; especially since it only cost 1,500 yen (about 14 dollars). This is one of the reasons why I never pass by this record shop without stopping in to see what's what. One never knows what little gem might be waiting to be snagged and added to the collection.

All the best,
Mike

 

[Bobberman]

That is very true Mike you just never know what fine rare musical gems may be waiting to be found for the purchasing. I discovered many a recording that way and i have never been disappointed

 

[Bobberman]

As mentioned previously ""a word to the wise should be sufficient"

 

[Silentseason]

This thread prompted me to give Cal Tjader a listen. Really impressive musician and very glad to hear his music for the first time. It is wonderful that a body of work like his exists.

 

[Bobberman]

Welcome To The Forum.Silentseason.

 

[Silentseason]

Thank you. I wish I had learned of the forum much earlier, but better late to the party than not at all.

 

[Rudy]

Thank you. I wish I had learned of the forum much earlier, but better late to the party than not at all.

Well, we've been around for 20 years now in one form or another, so we're not going anywhere! Started out as a "guestbook" back in 1996, and it's been running ever since.

There's a lot of Tjader's music out there for sale these days, and there should be a good selection of it on the streaming services also. If you would like any recommendations, feel free to ask. Just keep in mind that like with Herb Alpert's recordings, Tjader's catalog is flooded with unauthorized releases now. Just looking at Tidal, of the first sixteen recordings listed, only THREE are legitimate releases! (Third row, #s 1 and 3, and 4th row, #2.)

 

[Rudy]

Quickly, here's a screen shot of JRiver showing the 35 discs I have ripped to the server--all of these are legitimate releases. (La Onda va Bien is listed twice since one is an SACD rip, the other is the standard CD.)

 

[Bobberman]

Quickly, here's a screen shot of JRiver showing the 35 discs I have ripped to the server--all of these are legitimate releases. (La Onda va Bien is listed twice since one is an SACD rip, the other is the standard CD.)

View attachment 1768

There is one fantasy album missing "Tjader plays Mambo" the cover has a Girl in a swimsuit drinking from a glass ( or so it appears ) ive counted 10 of those albums in your picture that i have so i have some catching up to do but its gonna be hard because many of them are out of print.

 

[Rudy]

I may have some Tjader CDs in storage I have not ripped yet, but, I don't recall if I ever picked up Tjader Plays Mambo on CD. I do have two vinyl copies--one is a worn mono version, and the other is the OJC reissue on red vinyl that has an odd sound to it (a lot of compression).

Since Fantasy released two-fers, I am surprised that they didn't double up that album with Mambo With Tjader on CD.

Along Comes Cal was not sourced from a CD. So, don't try to look for that one.

 

[Silentseason]

Thanks all; the start of the thread had some good starting points that I have followed.The old AOTW posts have been immensely helpful as well. I wish I had been able to keep my Dad's jazz albums after reading all of these....