Fantasy Records is to be commended for re-releasing so many of their classic Cal Tjader albums in the budget-priced two-for-one CD format, even if Sentimental Moods features one of their odder pairings. The first ten selections are culled from the dreamy mood music album Latin for Lovers (aka Latin for Lovers With Strings), and the final ten are from San Francisco Moods, a lean and mean West Coast jazz ode to his hometown. While these two sessions don't really go together, they do show you the breadth of what Tjader was recording for Fantasy at the time. While the Latin for Lovers selections aren't really Latin jazz (or even "Latin" or "jazz," for that matter), it is superior mood music with fine string arrangements written by Jack Weeks. If all lounge music was this good, the term couldn't be used as an insult. The soloists don't really stretch out at all, but Tjader, pianist Vince Guaraldi, and flutist Paul Horn each make their presence felt on regal, melodic passages. Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria are on the session, but unlike their sizzling one-track cameo on the next session's "Viva Cepeda," they are only around to keep strict time. So while the first half of the disc is upscale easy listening, those culled from San Francisco Moods show how underrated Tjader was at mainstream small-group jazz. Tjader starts out the session on piano, but on most tracks his vibraphone skills are given a real chance to shine. Tjader was always a giving group leader and guitarist Eddie Duran and the rest of the quartet are featured prominently. San Francisco Moods is an exhilarating session, one that veers from gritty, hard-swinging romps to uptown "chamber jazz" and back again without a hitch. Cal Tjader had such great success with Latin jazz that listeners and critics have tended to forget that he really was a major part of the cool West Coast jazz scene and that he recorded all kinds of music throughout his career. This CD reissue is a must-have for Cal Tjader fans and one that reminds people how far-reaching the vibraphonist's mainstream musical talent really was.-
by Nick Dedina, AMGArtist: Cal Tjader
Album: Sentimental Moods
(originally realised Latin for Lovers [1-10] and San Francisco Moods [11-20])
Year: 1958
Quality:
eac-flac, cue, log, artw.Label: Fantasy (1995)
Total time: 72:52
Tracks:1. I Should Care (Axel Stordahl/Paul Weston/Sammy Cahn) 2:36
2. Spring Is Here (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers) 2:39
3. Time Was (Bob Russell/Gabriel Luna/Manuel Prado) 2:59
4. Star Eyes (Don Raye/Gene DePaul) 3:17
5. Stella By Starlight (Ned Washington/Victor Young) 3:16
6. Alone Together (Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz) 4:29
7. Ode to a Beat Generation (Jack Weeks) 2:20
8. Skylark (Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer) 2:39
9. Martha (Mongo Santamaria) 3:10
10. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Joe Davis/Osvaldo Farrés) 4:01
11. Running Out (Cal Tjader) 3:25
12. Raccoon Strait (Cal Tjader) 2:28
13. The Last Luff (Cal Tjader) 3:41
14. Sigmund Stern Groove (John Mosher) 4:40
15. Coit Tower (Cal Tjader) 1:38
16. Triplet Blues (Cal Tjader) 6:03
17. Union Square (John Markham) 4:23
18. Skyline Waltz (John Mosher) 3:46
19. Viva Cepeda (Cal Tjader) 3:43
20. The Grant Avenue Suite (Jack Weeks) 7:30
Personnel: Cal Tjader (Vibes, Piano 11, 13)
Paul Horn (Flute) 1-10
Vince Guaraldi (Piano) 1-10,19
Al McKibbon (Double Bass) 1-10,19
Mongo Santamaria (Drums, Congas and Percussion) 1-10,19
Willie Bobo (Drums, Congas and Percussion) 1-10,19
Boris Blinder (Strings) 1-10
Harry Moulin (Strings) 1-10
Frances Wiener (Strings) 1-10
Eugene Winkler (Strings) 1-10
John Markham (Drums) 11-18,20
Eddie Duran (Guitar) 11-18,20
John Mosher (Bass) 11-18,20
Jack Weeks (Bass) - 20
