Sundog Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Did Cal Tjader play drums? I saw him credited on a Brubeck album (Brubeck Octet) as the drummer. Is this a typo, or did he actually dabble on drums? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stereojack Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Did Cal Tjader play drums? I saw him credited on a Brubeck album (Brubeck Octet) as the drummer. Is this a typo, or did he actually dabble on drums? Thanks in advance. Yes - also played drums (and vibes) with Brubeck's trio c. 1950. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conclave Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 In addition to playing jazz trap drums, Cal played mainly timbales and he was regarded a decent timbalero. Occasionally, he sat in on congas and bongos. He also played guiro, claves, hand cowbell, shakers, a little piano and organ--- you name it, he played it. The original vinyls give instrument breakdowns, particularly the Ritmo Caliente series and early Fantasy cuts. The newer re- released CDs unfortunately don't. Of course his main ax was the Vibes, but on Amazonas ( Fantasy) he delved into the Marimba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) Tjader learned to play drum set in the first place, and studied that instrument at San Francisco State University (besides being a boy tap dancer at an early age). He was engaged by Brubeck as a drummer but bought himself a set of vibes at the time and when he mentioned it, Brubeck encouraged him to bring it along to rehearsals and gigs. He did, after only two weeks on the instrument! He's entirely self-taught on the vibes! Same with the bongos, which he reportedly taught himself to particiapate on a Nick Esposito recording session in 1949. But the congas: I suppose he knew the basics, but never recorded on them! He did play timbales, since his first Cuban Jazz sessions for Fantasy, a variety of small percussion, as well as piano and organ. I read somewhere he was Mingus' favourite drummer during the latter's California days - he drums on a 1949 Mingus session on that great Uptown Mingus disc. He again played drums on one session of the "Tjader Plays Jazz" LP, and on the first Gus Mancuso LP, both on Fantasy. Edited January 30, 2006 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks everyone. I need to check some of that early material out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 These are the CDs with Cal on drums: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conclave Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Just a note on Cal recording on congas....... On the album Mambo with Tjader- Fantasy 3-202, Cal wails on congas on the tune Mamblues in the mid section. He doesn't have an authentic Afro-Cuban Tumbao sound , but he cooks nevertheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Kat Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Did Cal Tjader play drums? I saw him credited on a Brubeck album (Brubeck Octet) as the drummer. Is this a typo, or did he actually dabble on drums? Thanks in advance. Dabble? That was his main instrument until he heard Afro-cuban music. He went back and forth from vibes and drums early with the Brubeck trio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Just a note on Cal recording on congas....... On the album Mambo with Tjader- Fantasy 3-202, Cal wails on congas on the tune Mamblues in the mid section. He doesn't have an authentic Afro-Cuban Tumbao sound , but he cooks nevertheless. Seems I overlooked this one: The liner displays a photo of Cal standing behind a conga drum, hands on skin, and the notes mention him working out on conga on this track. That's a detail I have to correct in my eternal work in progress, the Cal Tjader Discography. Thanks for pointing this out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyBoy Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 My Dad started playing Drums at a young age. He scored big by winning a Gene Krupa contest in his teens. wasn't til later that he embraced the Vibes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Drums and vibes are an interesting and not all that rare double. Lionel Hampton and Victor Feldman come to mind. Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Larry Bunker was another doubler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPF Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 And Alan Dawson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Johnny Otis is another one. If I call correctly he landed a job with Count Basie who was looking for a drummer. Johnny is also pretty adept on vibes. He plays them a lot on his own recordings as well as piano. It doesn't surprise me that Cal was a working drummer considering how well he plays those timbales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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