Cal Tjader : NPR

Remembering Armando Peraza, An Afro-Cuban Percussion Giant

Armando Peraza, center, was a key member of Santana for nearly three decades. Bruno Marzi/Splash News/Corbis hide caption

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Bruno Marzi/Splash News/Corbis

A Blog Supreme

Remembering Armando Peraza, An Afro-Cuban Percussion Giant

May 1, 2014 • It's hard to imagine a musical career that included musicians as varied as Charlie Parker and Carlos Santana. But such was the resumé of Armando Peraza after almost 70 years of making music.

Mambo! Afro-Cuban Takes On Jazz Classics

Conguero Poncho Sanchez gave Frank Foster's swing classic, "Shiny Stockings," a new identity as a mambo. Charley Gallay/Getty Images Entertainment hide caption

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Charley Gallay/Getty Images Entertainment

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Mambo! Afro-Cuban Takes On Jazz Classics

February 22, 2010 • Jazz musicians have long mined Broadway, the Great American Songbook, and even pop music for material. Here are five Latin interpretations of songs written by jazz musicians, a process that isn't as easy as playing the chords of a jazz composition over a mambo rhythm.

Give The Drummer Some: Conga/Timbal Duos

Tito Puente, above playing in London, was one of the best percussionists of any era. Simon Ritter/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Simon Ritter/Redferns/Getty Images

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Give The Drummer Some: Conga/Timbal Duos

May 26, 2009 • Want a great conversation-starter with a fan of Latin jazz? Ask, "What's your favorite pairing of conga and timbales?" Many long-standing percussion duos display seemingly telepathic interplay — the intensity of a runaway train mixed with the kind of swing that makes hips move by themselves. Picking five was a chore, but here they are.

West Coast Cool: The Jazz Sound Of '50s California

A classic West Coast jazz quartet: saxophonist Paul Desmond, drummer Joe Dodge, pianist Dave Brubeck, bassist Bob Bates. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

West Coast Cool: The Jazz Sound Of '50s California

Jazz24

October 14, 2008 • As opposed to the hard-bop sound dominant on the East Coast during the '50s, the West Coast sound was a bit mellower and more lyrical, with blended harmonies and more interest in composition and arrangement than improvisation. In these five songs, you'll hear all the definitive aspects of the West Coast jazz sound.

Road Trip: Songs to Drive By

Teenage Dreams and Divine Wonder: Carrie Brownstein's Top 5 Driving Songs

May 22, 2008 • Summer road trips are a time for both celebration and meditation. There's an urgent need to be free and explore, while also blocking out the rest of the world and getting lost in wistful daydreams. For Carrie Brownstein, former guitarist for Sleater-Kinney and host of NPR's Monitor Mix blog, nothing captures those moments better than these five songs.

Shadow Classics

Latin Jazz at Its Most Thoughtful and Thrilling

April 4, 2007 • In the world of Latin music, vibraphonist Cal Tjader commanded respect: He was considered one of the few Anglos who could hang with the heavyweights. Tjader recorded Latin jazz, bossa nova, salsa and boogaloo for more than three decades, and his titles are uniformly strong.

Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Cal Tjader: 'Monterey Concerts'

August 1, 2001 • Swedish-American Cal Tjader is ironically one of the icons of Afro-Cuban jazz. The versatile vibraphonist successfully navigated the worlds of both Latin jazz and mainstream bop, influencing Carlos Santana and other artists. This album was recorded at the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival.

Cal Tjader: 'Monterey Concerts'

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