CAL TJADER’S 1976 FUSION TOUR-DE-FORCE

AMAZONAS RETURNS TO VINYL

AS PART OF JAZZ DISPENSARY’S TOP SHELF SERIES

 

The long out-of-print album was cut (AAA) from its original tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI,

and features arrangements by George Duke, with an all-star lineup of Brazilian talent, including producer Airto Moreira

Click here to visit the online media kit
Click here to pre-order/stream Amazonas

 

Los Angeles, CA (May 28, 2025)—Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary are gearing up for summer with the first-ever vinyl reissue of Amazonas—the 1976 fusion album from influential vibraphonist Cal Tjader. Bridging the gap between California and Rio de Janeiro, this innovative LP pairs the jazz star with top talent from Brazil (including producer Airto Moreira, flutist Hermeto Pascoal, and trombonist Raul de Souza) and features arrangements by legendary musician, singer-songwriter, and producer George Duke. The result is a spectacular blend of joyful melodies, funky basslines, and space-age synths, as heard in tracks like “Mindoro,” “Amazonas,” and “Corine.”

 

Returning to vinyl for the first time in five decades as part of Jazz Dispensary’s Top Shelf reissue series on July 25, Amazonas was cut (AAA) from its original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Rounding out the package is a stylish tip-on jacket replicating the album’s classic cover art. Click here to pre-order/stream today.

 

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Perhaps the most influential Latin bandleader of non-Latin descent, vibraphonist Cal Tjader (1925–1982) integrated Afro-Caribbean rhythms, bop, and a variety of other influences to create a sound that was fresh, modern, and utterly unique. Raised in the Bay Area, Tjader began his career as a drummer, playing alongside the likes of Dave Brubeck before breaking out on his own as a leader. By the mid-’50s, Tjader was primarily focused on the vibraphone and, with his own quintet, had established himself in the hugely popular mambo scene. Significant success followed in the ’60s with a string of popular and stylistically varied albums for Verve Records, including Several Shades of Jade (1963), Soul Sauce (1964), Soul Bird: Whiffenpoof (1965), and The Prophet (1968). In addition to exploring sounds from around the globe, Tjader was also broadening his circle of collaborators, including such luminaries as Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell, and Willie Bobo.

 

By the turn of the ’70s, as Tjader returned to his original label, Fantasy Records, his ever-evolving style was significantly influenced by the burgeoning fusion scene. While this period is often overshadowed by Tjader’s earlier works, his sonic voyages during this time were among his most creative, as he experimented with electronic instrumentation, funkified rhythms, and even elements of rock music. Amazonas, released in 1976, stands as the pinnacle of this era.

 

Recorded at Wally Heider’s storied Los Angeles studio in the summer of ’75, Amazonas featured an incredible collective of talent. At the helm was Brazilian percussionist and composer Airto Moreira, who served as producer. A key player in the fusion scene, Moreira was fresh off high-profile stints with Miles Davis, Return to Forever, and Weather Report, and had released several bestselling jazz titles under his own name.

 

Arranging the album was singer-songwriter, musician, and producer George Duke—another sonic shapeshifter who, in a testament to his versatility, was also splitting time between Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and Cannonball Adderley’s band. While Duke’s complex arrangements (and moments of synth-driven flair, under the pseudonym “Dawilli Gonga”) brought a spirited funk to the tracks, Moreira oversaw an ensemble of rising Brazilian stars, including Egberto Gismonti (keyboards), Robertinho Silva (percussion), Hermeto Pascoal (flute), and Raul de Souza (trombone)—all of whom would become legends in their own right.

 

Tjader, who alternates between the vibraphone and marimba, leads the group through a refreshingly dynamic selection of tracks, including “Mindoro” (co-written with Pascoal); the João Donato-penned “Amazonas;” and “Noa Noa” by the great Sérgio Mendes. The highly collaborative session also features selections by Moreira (“Cahuenga” and “Xibaba”), Duke (the smooth-as-silk “Corine”), and prolific session musician David Amaro (“Flying”), who performs guitar on the album.

 

Over the years, Amazonas has become a highly respected title in Tjader’s catalog as well as the fusion canon. In a retrospective, AllMusic hailed, “Tjader los[es] himself in the complex mix of Afro-Brazilian rhythms, American funk, and ’70s-era electronics, integrating his own identity for the sake of the ensemble.” In his EchoLocator newsletter, veteran music journalist Tom Moon wrote, “Amazonas…is on my shortlist of albums that transcend genre categories so completely as to define an entire zone of creativity… It stands among his most ambitious and fully realized projects overall, envisioning fusion as a basis for elastic, sometimes frenetic interactivity.”

 

Click here to stream/pre-order Amazonas.

 

Tracklist (vinyl):

 

Side A:

1. Amazonas
2. Xibaba
3. Mindoro
4. Flying

Side B:

1. Corine
2. Noa Noa
3. Tamanco No Samba
4. Cahuenga

 

About Jazz Dispensary:

Jazz Dispensary is a homegrown label celebrating mind-expanding, high-grade selections drawn from the finest original sources of funk, jazz, and all the areas they intersect. With knowledgeable sound sommeliers as guides, Jazz Dispensary brings deep catalog gems to the table, offering bespoke selections to match every mood and inspire an elevated conversation. A funky good time, a mystic journey, a powerful inspiration, Jazz Dispensary has the medicine that will spark things off. One hit and you’re hooked!

 

About Craft Recordings:

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Celia Cruz, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Isaac Hayes, John Coltrane, John Lee Hooker, Joan Baez, Joan Sebastian, Little Richard, Miles Davis, R.E.M., and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Alison Krauss, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation— ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.

 

Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

 

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Should we list these in order of release year (move Soul Sauce after Several Shades of Jade)?