Vibrations - Don Elliott & Cal Tjader

 

Sunday Kind Of Love

Stranger In Town

Vibrations (Vib-rations)

Don Elliott, Cal Tjader

Mastered: R. Van Gelder

Production: Ozzie Cadena

Savoy Record Co. MG 12054

1956

From the back cover: Cal Tjader - Following the path of experimentation set by Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo and then Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader, 20 year-old San Franciscan ranks high among today's exponents of the mallet art as applied to Jazz. The two groups featured with Cal on this album give a varied and kicking "boot" to the choice material. All are standards with the exception of "Minority" (incidentally, Cal's own favorite recording to date). Cal's work reflects a great joy in performance, from the humorous sidebars he interpolates into each performance to the vital, swinging enthusiasm projected into the performance of all concerned! His technique is superb and harmonic invention parallels the modern idiom he utilizes. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1925 of show business parents, Cal studied at San Francisco State, graduating with a major in Music and Education. His first break to fame came with the original Dave Brubeck combos, where he played vibes, drums, bongos with the trio and octet, with George Shearing on vibes, and has since returned to San Francisco where he leads his own groups. Of late, his experiments are more towards the Latin American idiom, though retaining the essential jazz flavoring. Al McKibbon is another Shearing-ite. Hank Jones and Kenny Clarke need no introduction to Savoy Record fans. Dick Wyands is a member of the Vernon Alley group in San Francisco and Roy Haines is the well-known modern drum star. I'm sure you'll agree that Cal deserves a high place in the jazz "sun" after listening carefully to the enclosed 7 tracks.

Don Elliott – Versatility is his middle name, so they say. No set of note, article, or discussion of Don Elliott would be complete without some reference to his amazing abilities on such a diverse collections of musical instruments. Contrary to the usual vaudeville picture of the/character playing the harmonica strapped to his mouth while one foot plays drums and the other picks chords with its toes on a piano and the elbow plucking a bass... Don really IS the one-man band! Vibes, Trumpet, baritone horn, mellophone, bongos, accordion, piano, and singer... all in one good-looking young man of 29 from Somerville, New Jersey. This wrier had the good fortune of meeting and playing with Don at Rutgers University Jazz Club Sessions and at al-night sessions with Mort Herbert (heard here), ex-Gillespie trombonist Candy Ross and the late, great blind pianist Tommy Berk in the middle-'40s, and find these new sides a complete Gas! His conception varies from instrument to instrument, yet always Swings! Although the personnel lists are large on this set, all solo work is by Don, so check the lists for the solo instrument he's using on which track. Use of multi-tracking permitted the overlapping of mellophone solos into vibes, etc. By the way of background, Don's professional background includes stints with George Shearing, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson and Terry Gibbs units on vibes. The past few years have found him free-lancing or fronting his own combo on all instruments, including a stylized, yet interesting vocal experimentation. – H. Alan Stein

Cal Tjader - Vibes

Hank McKibbon - Bass

Kenny Clarke - Drums

Love Me Or Leave Me

Minority

Tangerine

I Want To Be Happy

–––

Cal Tjader - Vibes

Richard Wyands - Piano

Al McKibbon - Bass

Roy Haines - Drums

After You've Gone

Sunday Kind Of Love

It's You Or No One

–––

Don Elliott - Vibes, Trumpet, Mellophone

Kai Winding - Sax

Phil Urso - Tenor & Baritone

Danny Bank - Baritone & Clarinet

Jimmy Lyons - Piano

Arnold Fishkind - Bass

Sid Bulkin - Drums

Darn That Dream

Jeepers Creepers

Oh, Look At Me Now

Mighty Like A Rose 

–––

Don Elliott, Vibes, Trumpet, Mellophone

Doug Duke - Organ

Mort Herbert - Bass

Sid Bulkin - Drums

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Stranger In Town

Where Or When