Cal Tjader

Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary are gearing up for summer with the first-ever vinyl reissue of Amazonas—the 1976 fusion album from influential vibraphonist Cal Tjader. Bridging the gap between California and Rio de Janeiro, this innovative LP pairs the jazz star with top talent from Brazil (including producer Airto Moreira, flutist Hermeto Pascoal, and trombonist Raul de Souza) and features arrangements by legendary musician, singer-songwriter, and producer George Duke. The result is a spectacular blend of joyful melodies, funky basslines, and space-age synths, as heard in tracks like “Mindoro,” “Amazonas,” and “Corine.”

Returning to vinyl for the first time in five decades as part of Jazz Dispensary’s Top Shelf reissue series on July 25, Amazonas was cut (AAA) from its original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Rounding out the package is a stylish tip-on jacket replicating the album’s classic cover art.

Perhaps the most influential Latin bandleader of non-Latin descent, vibraphonist Cal Tjader (1925–1982) integrated Afro-Caribbean rhythms, bop, and a variety of other influences to create a sound that was fresh, modern, and utterly unique. Raised in the Bay Area, Tjader began his career as a drummer, playing alongside the likes of Dave Brubeck before breaking out on his own as a leader. By the mid-’50s, Tjader was primarily focused on the vibraphone and, with his own quintet, had established himself in the hugely popular mambo scene. Significant success followed in the ’60s with a string of popular and stylistically varied albums for Verve Records, including Several Shades of Jade (1963), Soul Sauce (1964), Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof (1965), and The Prophet (1968). In addition to exploring sounds from around the globe, Tjader was also broadening his circle of collaborators, including such luminaries as Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell, and Willie Bobo.

By the turn of the ’70s, as Tjader returned to his original label, Fantasy Records, his ever-evolving style was significantly influenced by the burgeoning fusion scene. While this period is often overshadowed by Tjader’s earlier works, his sonic voyages during this time were among his most creative, as he experimented with electronic instrumentation, funkified rhythms, and even elements of rock music. Amazonas, released in 1976, stands as the pinnacle of this era.

Recorded at Wally Heider’s storied Los Angeles studio in the summer of ’75, Amazonas featured an incredible collective of talent. At the helm was Brazilian percussionist and composer Airto Moreira, who served as producer. A key player in the fusion scene, Moreira was fresh off high-profile stints with Miles Davis, Return to Forever, and Weather Report, and had released several bestselling jazz titles under his own name.

Arranging the album was singer-songwriter, musician, and producer George Duke—another sonic shapeshifter who, in a testament to his versatility, was also splitting time between Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and Cannonball Adderley’s band. While Duke’s complex arrangements (and moments of synth-driven flair, under the pseudonym “Dawilli Gonga”) brought a spirited funk to the tracks, Moreira oversaw an ensemble of rising Brazilian stars, including Egberto Gismonti (keyboards), Robertinho Silva (percussion), Hermeto Pascoal (flute), and Raul de Souza (trombone)—all of whom would become legends in their own right.

Tjader, who alternates between the vibraphone and marimba, leads the group through a refreshingly dynamic selection of tracks, including “Mindoro” (co-written with Pascoal); the João Donato-penned “Amazonas;” and “Noa Noa” by the great Sérgio Mendes. The highly collaborative session also features selections by Moreira (“Cahuenga” and “Xibaba”), Duke (the smooth-as-silk “Corine”), and prolific session musician David Amaro (“Flying”), who performs guitar on the album.

Over the years, Amazonas has become a highly respected title in Tjader’s catalog as well as the fusion canon. In a retrospective, AllMusic hailed, “Tjader los[es] himself in the complex mix of Afro-Brazilian rhythms, American funk, and ’70s-era electronics, integrating his own identity for the sake of the ensemble.” In his EchoLocator newsletter, veteran music journalist Tom Moon wrote, “Amazonas…is on my shortlist of albums that transcend genre categories so completely as to define an entire zone of creativity… It stands among his most ambitious and fully realized projects overall, envisioning fusion as a basis for elastic, sometimes frenetic interactivity.”