Cal Tjader - Goes Latin!

Cal Tjader 
Goes Latin!
Shellac 042 - re-issue import LP

A 1959 session (with a mildly offensive stereotypical cover featuring a drawing of the vibraphonist on top of a donkey and wearing an enormous sombrero) that also features percussionist Mongo Santamaria and piano player Vince Guaraldi, Cal Tjader Goes Latin is not the full-speed-ahead immersion into Latin music that Tjader would make later in his career, but a rather typical West Coast cool jazz session with occasional Latin influences. In fact, the highlights of the album are the four ballads that showcase Guaraldi's distinctive piano style and the light tone of tenor saxophonist Jose Silva: Harold Arlen's Happiness is as Thing Called Joe, Out of Nowhere, Close Your Eyes, and the bolero-like Contigo. Of the more uptempo numbers, the twin highlights are the two Samtamaria-penned tunes that bookend the album, Mi China, and the exciting Cuajira at the Blackhawk. ~ Stewart Mason

     Track Listings:
Mi China 
Close Your Eyes 
Mambo at the "M" 
Contigo 
Bonita 
The Lady is a Tramp 
Black Orchid 
Happiness is a Thing Called Joe 
I've Waited So Long 
Out of Nowhere 
Guajira at the Blackhawk

NEW SEALED import LP