Dawili Gonga

Cal Tjader: Amazonas

by Richard J Salvucci
August 12, 2025

Multi-instrumentalist Cal Tjader has been gone for over forty years. Had he lived, he would be in his nineties today. The West Coast scene he entered, first as a drummer, then as a vibraphonist, was a world of clubs, acoustic bands, and enthusiastic promoters who pushed their favorite artists' careers. For Tjader, it was jny: San Francisco, the Blackhawk, and jazz writer Ralph Gleason. Tjader broke in playing with Dave Brubeck in 1948. He was continuously employed until his premature ...