Cal Tjader
Born: 1925
Cal Tjader crafted one the sleekest and most distinctive
sounds in Latin jazz. His cool, shimmering, jazz vibes,
gliding fluidly atop fiery, hot Afro-Cuban rhythms, made for a
sonic signature that helped introduce the genre into a
mainstream audience.
Cal Tjader’s mother was a concert pianist, his father a
vaudeville performer. He grew up with them on the road, tap-
dancing his way through early childhood. Later, the family
settled down in San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula,
and… Continue