Catch The Groove＜限定盤＞

カル・ジェイダーの1960年代の貴重ライヴ録音集。シアトルのジャズ・クラブ、ペントハウスでのライヴを収録した音源でオリジナルテープ、リールから転送され、バーニー・グランドマンによってヴァイナル用にマスタリングされた180g重量盤LP3枚組。
ヴィブラフォンの伝説的奏者、カル・ジェイダーが、ピアニストのクレア・フィッシャー、ロニー・ヒューイット、アル・ズライカ、ベーシストのフレッド・シュライバー、テリー・ヒリアード、モンク・モンゴメリー、スタン・ギルバート、ドラマーのジョニー・レイ、カール・バーネット、パーカッショニストのビル・フィッチ、アルマンド・ペラザら、さまざまなクインテットと共演。

Arriving on Record Store Day in 2023, Catch The Groove: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1967 by vibraphonist, composer and badleader Cal Tjader is an event. Despite a catalogue spanning four decades, Tjader seems almost a marginal figure in the 21st century. He was arguably the first non-Latin musician to complertely devote himself to establishing Latin jazz as a genre and commercial success from the 1950s until his death in 1982. Between 1967s Along Comes Cal through 1977s Guarabe, Tjader melded cool jazz, hard bop, bugalu, salsa, guaracha, Latin funk, and fusion on fine recordings such as The Prophet, Cal Tjader Plugs In, Agua Dulce, Primo, and Amazonas. That said, the tide may be blowing in his direction again. In January, electronic producer Chris Bangs featured Tjaders "Samba Sueno" as the lead cut on Firebird. In April, the vibraphonists Huracan, an obscure but star studded 1978 direct-to-disc LP was remastered and reissued. In May, esteemed critic Tom Moon published a review of it and celebrated his seventies recordings. Catch The Groove is presented by Zev Feldmans Jazz Detective label. It offers 27 unreleased performances from Tjaders headline stints at Seattles Penthouse, They were engineered and recorded by Jim Wilke, a local DJ who also broadcast some of these performances. Among Tjaders sidemen on these dates are pianists Clare Fischer, Lonnie Hewitt and Al Zulaica, percussionist Armando Peraza, bassist Monk Montgomery, and drummer Carl Burnett, and more. Disc one reveals Tjader, a serious jazz vibraphonist, opens his 1963 gig by swinging Duke Ellingtons "Take the A-Train," followed by Dave Brubecks "In Your Own Sweet Way" and Rodgers and Harts "It Never Entered My Mind" before delving into samba on Braziliasn standard "Manha De Carnaval," and driving descarga on his "Insight." The entire collection is shot through with excellent, joyful performances of jazz standards juxtaposed with Latin and pop fare. From the middle to the end of disc one are a trio of Latin jazz jams with Eugene Holleys cooking son "Pantano" sandwiched between Tjaders lithely grooving "Davito" and breezy "Leyte." His playing is crystalline, it circles outward from the root melody rhythmically and harmonically. Thats easily heard on wonderful, fingerpopping standard reading of "Love For Sale," "Lush Life," "I Cant Get Started"and Ray Bryants enduring "Cuban Fantasy." While his own compostions "Fuji" and "Soul Burst" reflect that through a breezier approach. The readings of Perazas Maramoor Mambo," and Edu Lobos samba "O Morro Nao Tem Vez," and Mario Bauzas "Mambo Inn" reflect an developed approach to Latin jazz. Even the pop tunes here, Johnny Mandels "The Shadow of Your Smile." and a Cubano approach to the Associations "Along Comes Mary" transforming it into burning Latin jazz . The sound throughout is balanced and warm, though some tracks are prematurely faded at their peaks to make room for others. The booklet contains rare photos and liner essays by Greg Casseus, and interviews with Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, and musical evaluations by Gary Burton and Joe Locke. This fantastic reissue is an elemental portrait of Tjader the innovatorforging a singularapth through jazz. ~ Thom Jurek