Cal Tjader • Soul Sauce

Review by Stephen Cook

Soul Sauce is one of the highlights from Tjader's catalog with its appealing mixture of mambo, samba, bolero, and boogaloo styles. Tjader's core band -- long-time piano player Lonnie Hewitt, drummer Johnny Rae and percussionist's Willie Bobo and Armanda PerazaÑ -- starts things off with a cooled down version of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo's latin jazz classic "Guachi Guaro (Soul Sauce)". With the help of guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Donald Byrd, and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath they offer up a lively version of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue." Sticking to his music's "Mambo Without a Migraine" reputation, though, Tjader's musicians keep things fairly calm, especially on Latinized ballads such as Billy May's "Somewhere In the Night" and on midtempo swingers like "Tanya." On Soul Sauce Tjader had perfected a middle ground between the brisk, collegiate mambo of his early Fantasy records and the mood-heavy sound of Asian themed albums like Breeze From the East. In the process, he dodged the "Latin lounge" label with an album full of smart arrangements, subtly provocative vibe solos, and intricate percussion backing.

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Reseña de Stephen Cook

La Salsa para el Alma es uno de los aspectos más destacados del catálogo de Tjader con su atractiva mezcla de estilos de mambo, samba, bolero y boogaloo. El núcleo de la banda de Tjader - el pianista Lonnie Hewitt, el baterista Johnny Rae y los percusionistas Willie Bobo y Armanda PerazaÑ - comienza con una versión más fresca del clásico de jazz latino de Dizzy Gillespie y Chano Pozo "Guachi Guaro (Soul Sauce)". Con la ayuda del guitarrista Kenny Burrell, el trompetista Donald Byrd, y el saxofonista tenor Jimmy Heath ofrecen una versión animada de "Afro Blue" de Mongo Santamaría. Sin embargo, apegándose a la reputación de su música "Mambo Without a Migraine", los músicos de Tjader mantienen las cosas bastante tranquilas, especialmente en baladas latinizadas como "Somewhere In the Night" de Billy May y en swingers de medio tiempo como "Tanya". En Soul Sauce Tjader había perfeccionado un punto medio entre el mambo colegial y enérgico de sus primeros discos de Fantasía y el sonido agitado de los álbumes de temática asiática como Breeze From the East. En el proceso, esquivó el sello "Latin lounge" con un álbum lleno de arreglos inteligentes, sutilmente provocativos solos de vibración y un intrincado respaldo de percusión.

Tracklist
A1 Soul Sauce
A2 Afro-Blue
A3 Pantano
A4 Somewhere In The Night
A5 Maramoor
B1 Tanya
B2 Leyte
B3 Spring Is Here
B4 Joao




Personnel
Cal Tjader - vibraphone
Lonnie Hewitt - piano
Richard Davis (tracks 2, 11 & 12), John Hilliard (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13) - bass
Grady Tate (tracks 2, 11 & 12), Johnny Rae (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13) - drums (tracks 1, 3-10 & 13)
Willie Bobo, Armando Peraza, Alberto Valdes - percussion
Donald Byrd - trumpet (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Jimmy Heath - tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Kenny Burrell - guitar (tracks 2, 11 & 12)
Bob Bushnell - electric bass (track 2)

Engineer – Phil Ramone (tracks: A1, A3 to B4)
Engineer [Director For Verve] – Val Valentin
Engineer [Re-record] – Rudy Van Gelder
Recorded November 19, 20 & 23, 1964
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ and A & R Studios, New York City

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