On March 22 and 23, 1978, vibraphonist Cal Tjader (pronounced JAY-der) recorded Huracán for Crystal Clear Records, a San Francisco company founded in 1976 by Ed Wodenjak and Michael Robert Phillips. The label's focus was producing direct-to-disc audiophile LPs. Most albums at the time were recorded to magnetic tape, which could accommodate overdubs and splicing out mistakes and replacing with better results. Multiple tracks could be recorded along with effects, solos and anything else you could imagine, provided you didn't use up all of the recorder's tracks. Then a master was mixed to produce the desired order and sound of the finished LP. [Photo above of Cal Tjader]
To make a direct-to-disc recording, musicians played one live set of songs lasting 15 to 20 minutes per LP side. The recording was made without a multitrack recorder and without the ability to overdub or splice. During the per-side performance, the audio was recorded directly onto a master LP. The musicians had to be top notch, since errors or a flawed take meant discarding the master LP that was recording the music and starting over again, a costly enterprise. [Photo above of Cal Tjader]
In effect, the direct-to-disc LP was a live recording, but instead of the musicians being on stage performing, they were in the studio. Direct-to-disc albums were cut largely for audiophiles, since their high-end stereo systems could display a majority of the vivid detail captured on the direct recording while lower end systems could not.
Now, Liberation Hall, a label in Kingston, Mass., has reissued Huracán. The sound is stunning. It's a tight Latin-jazz work that's both hot and cool. The heat comes from the musicians and the cool comes from Cal Tjader's vibes and Clare Fischer's Fender Rhodes and arrangements. The band featured Alex Rodriguez and Ron King (tp), Frank Rosolino (tb), Gary Foster (as,fl), Kurt McGettrick (bar), Cal Tjader (vib), Rick Zunigar (el-g), Clare Fischer (el-p), Robb Fisher (b), Willie Bobo (timb), Victor Pantoja (bgo,cowbell) and Poncho Sanchez (cga).
In many respects, this is a concept album, both for how it was recorded and for the material, which explores a range of Latin rhythms. Each song was related to the next, and the feel is one extensive festive and sophisticated expression. Tjader, of course, was a pioneer of Latin-jazz and South American music. His earliest Latin album was Ritmo Caliente in 1954, and over the years he frequently recorded tracks and albums that featured mambo, rumba, cha-cha-cha and other rhythms.
Huracán was and remains a little-known Latin masterpiece. Its power and potency along with its sensuality and sharp twists and turns make it infectious. The music picks up where salsa left off in the 1970s, adding a distinctly jazz feel. We're lucky Liberation Hall decided to reissue the seminal recording. Other than the Tijuana Brass, Tjader was probably the most successful non-Latin Latin musician, and this album was one of his many high points. [Photo above of Cal Tjader in the 1970s]
Cal Tjader died in May 1982 at age 56 while on tour in Manila, the Philippines, after a heart attack.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Cal Tjader's Huracán (Liberation Hall) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Desposado, a cha-cha-cha...
And here's the mambo Ritmo Caliente...
