Cal Tjader born 16 July 1925

Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was born in St. Louis to touring Swedish American vaudevillians. His father tap danced and his mother played piano, a husband-wife team going from city to city with their troupe to earn a living. When he was two, Tjader's parents settled in San Mateo, California, and opened a dance studio. His mother (who dreamed of becoming a concert pianist) instructed him in classical piano and his father taught him to tap dance. He performed around the Bay Area as "Tjader Junior", a tap-dancing wunderkind. He performed a brief non-speaking role dancing alongside Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the film The White of the Dark Cloud of Joy. 

He joined a Dixieland band and played around the Bay Area. At age sixteen, he entered a Gene Krupa drum solo contest, making it to the finals and ultimately winning by playing "Drum Boogie". The win was overshadowed by that morning's event: Japanese planes had bombed Pearl Harbour. 

Tjader entered the United States Navy in 1943 at age 17 and served as a medical corpsman in the Pacific Theater until March 1946. He saw action in five invasions, including the Marianas campaign and the Battle of the Philippines. Upon his return he enrolled at San Jose State College under the G.I. Bill, majoring in education. Later he transferred to San Francisco State College, still intending to teach. It was there he took timpani lessons, his only formal music training. 

Brubeck, Cal & Ron Cotty

At San Francisco State he met Dave Brubeck, a young pianist also fresh from a stint in the Army. Brubeck introduced Tjader to Paul Desmond. The three connected with more players and formed the Dave Brubeck Octet with Tjader on drums. Tjader graduated in 1950 with a B.A. in education and a minor in music. With Brubeck, Tjader hit the big time and he liked it. 

Cal with George Shearing

Although the group recorded only one album and had difficulty finding work, the recording is regarded as important due to its early glimpse at these soon-to-be-legendary jazz greats. Tjader taught himself the vibraphone during this period, alternating between it and the drums depending on the song. The years between 1949 and 1951 were spent with Brubeck. Then, after a short stint as leader of his own group, Cal joined George Shearing’s Quintet as featured vibraphonist and percussionist. While with Shearing Cal made frequent trips to New York and began listening to the Latin New York bands of Tito Puente and Machito. 

               Here's "Brew's Blues" from above EP

When Tjader left Shearing, he formed his own group again and began to record prolifically for Fantasy. Between 1954 and 1962, Tjader cut a series of over 20 albums for Fantasy. The list of people who recorded with him during that time is truly impressive. Some are Eddie Palmieri, (on whom he had a major influence) Vince Guaraldi, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Stan Getz, Al McKibbon, Armando Peraza, Latin percussionist Johnnie Rae, and saxophonist Paul Horn. Many of those albums are still in the Fantasy catalog. He then signed on with Verve in 1963, and continued on a roll. 

Cal with Willie Bobo

Tjader’s biggest-selling record was “Soul Sauce.” Cal recalls, “I recorded that for MGM/ Verve in 1964. And it’s very strange, in a way, because I first started playing that tune in San Francisco clubs ten years earlier, in 1954. Then ten years later, it’s a hit in New York. You tell me! Willie Bobo played jawbone on that one, and Al McKibbon played congas. It was originally called ‘Guachi Guara’ but we knew that name wouldn’t make it, so we just called it Soul Sauce.” 

In the late 1960s Tjader, along with guitarist Gábor Szabó and Gary McFarland, helped to found the short-lived Skye record label. Tjader's work of this period is characterized by Solar Heat (1968) and Tjader Plugs In (1969), precursors to acid jazz.  Tjader re-signed with Fantasy Records in 1970. 

Some of his varied recordings for Fantasy include a collaborative effort with Charlie Byrd “Tambu,” (’73) and an exciting live performance “Puttin’ It Together.” (’75) His much-acclaimed “Amazonas,” (’75) was produced by Airto, with arrangements from keyboard wizard George Duke. He signed with Concord Picante in ’79, and his first album for them “La Onda Va Bien,” won a Grammy award in 1979. Tjader died on tour. On the road with his band in Manila, he collapsed from a heart attack and died on May 5, 1982, aged 56. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & All About Jazz)