Cal Tjader

Soul Sauce

Personnel:

Vibes: Cal Tjader
Piano: Lennie Hewitt
Bass: John Hilliard
Drums: Johnny Rae
Percussion: Armado Pereza and Alberto Valdes (add Willie Bobo on Soul Sauce)
Afro-Blue, arranged by Gary McFarland
Vibes: Cal Tjader
Guitar: Kenny Burrel
Bass: Bob Bushnell & Richard Davis
Trumpet: Donald Byrd
Tenor sax: Jimmy Heath
Drums: Grady Tate
Percussion: Armande Peraza & Alberto Valdes

"Guachi Guaro!" Like a grunt from a Perez Prado mambo, these sounds have long anchored the Dizzy Gillespie-Chano Pozo classic. It was no different in 1958 when vibraphonist/drummer Cal Tjader covered it on Tjader Plays Mambo for Fantasy Records. It became a signature for Tjader’s bands, and as the years wore on and band personnel came and went, it got funkier and greasier – so that by the time it was recorded for Verve in 1964 producer Creed Taylor dubbed it “Soul Sauce.” The single was a bigger hit than it had ever been, and the LP became an instant classic.

Produced by

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios
November 1964

Format: CD

Personnel includes: Cal Tjader, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell. SOUL SAUCE contains 4 previously unreleased tracks. Upon the 1964 release of SOUL SAUCE, Cal Tjader was catapulted to the top of the Latin jazz world. Taking its title from Tjader's version of a Dizzy Gillespie tune, the album set a new standard for jazz fusion. Tjader's rich vibes give a new warmth to the title track. Other notable tracks include Mongo Santamaria's "Afro-Blue," a song that has never sounded the same without vibes since. Also included on the album is the smoking "Pantano," and Rodgers and Hart's "Spring Is Here"--a fabulous song that was nonetheless uncool until Tjader's version. The reissue of SOUL SAUCE also features three bonus tracks, including the only Tjader original, "Mamblues." If you've never experienced the music of Cal Tjader, or if your record collection could use a little touch of Latin cool, then do yourself a favor and pick up SOUL SAUCE

Customer Reviews

"Timeless" Soul Sauce
For me, "Soul Sauce" is an opportunity to recall the powerful impact Cal Tjader made during his short lifetime. It still sounds fresh 36 years later.
Submitted by a reviewer in Boston, Mass.