Ritmo Caliente
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Ritmo Caliente: Breaking 1950s Dichotomies and Cal Tjader’s “Latin Jazz” by Ian Rollins, M.M. A Dissertation In FINE ARTS: MUSICOLOGY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Dr. Christopher Smith/chair Angela Mariani-Smith Dr. Michael Borshuk Dr. Bill Gelber Dr. Dennis Fehr Dr. Michael Stoune Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School August 2009 Copyright 2009, Ian Rollins Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 Acknowledgments There are so many people responsible for helping me get to this point, and I am thankful to all of them. I would first like to acknowledge the people directly related to the course of this writing. Without Dr. Christopher Smith’s encouragement and help in the process of this writing, I feel that it would be a completely different document than what it is today. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Borshuk for taking the reins in Dr. Smith’s absence. His knowledge on the subject matter was indespensible. I found many new sources of information through his guidance, and it contributed to an entire chapter within the document. I would also like to thank the rest of the committee members for taking the time and effort to work on this document: Dr. Dennis Fehr, Dr. Bill Gelber, and Angela Mariani-Smith. One committee member left before finishing the document, but Mr. Brad Leali’s comments in the early stages were helpful. I would also like to thank Dr. Lisa Rogers, for without her I might have never pursued this subject. She was the catalyst for the publication of an early research document on Cal Tjader that was published through Percussive Notes. I want to thank Armando Peraza, Bayardo “Benny” Velarde, and Poncho Sanchez for taking the time to talk with me. Their knowledge was invaluable. I would also like to thank Cal Tjader’s daughter, Elizabeth Tjader, for assuring me that I was on the right track. I really have to thank Duncan Reid, somebody who has spent countless hours finding more information about Cal Tjader than anybody I know. ii Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 I would like to thank my wife Joy for hanging in there all these years. I would also like to thank my mother and stepfather, Elaine and Les Salles for their immense support. I want to thank the rest of my family for all of their moral support throughout the years. I am lucky to have been surrounded by so much love: my father and his wife, Russell and Mary Rollins, the ‘other’ parental types, Maggie and Dennis James, and my brother Bart Rollins. I would also like to thank my wife’s parents for their support of this endeavor, James and Marianne Rodgers. I would like to thank the percussionists that instructed, mentored, and eventually became peers and friends throughout the years: Steve Shields, Mike Lefebvre, Sr., Ray Dillard, James Metcalfe, Michael Mizma, Alan Shinn, Dr. Lisa Rogers, Mark Ford, Dr. Robert Schietroma and Ed Smith. During the course of my tenure at Texas Tech I was miles away from my ailing grandmother, Cepha Bryant, who passed away. I would like to dedicate this document to the grandmothers: Cepha Bryant (Nana), Nell Gonsoulin (Granny), and Peggy (Grandma) Hughes. iii Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 Table of Contents Acknowledgments................................................................................................. ii List of Figures ...................................................................................................... vi Preface .................................................................................................................1 Literature Review..................................................................................................3 Introduction ...........................................................................................................8 1. Entertainment in the 1950s...........................................................................11 Music Crosses the Color Bar .............................................................................14 Television and Race ..........................................................................................15 Transistor radio..................................................................................................20 Anglo Dominance in California Entertainment Industries....................................21 2. East and West in 1950s Jazz Criticism.........................................................22 Bebop, Charlie Parker and California.................................................................34 3. Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza and Willie Bobo: The Impact of the Afro-Cuban Diaspora ...................................................................................36 Mongo Santamaria ............................................................................................43 Armando Peraza................................................................................................46 Willie Bobo.........................................................................................................50 Working with Anglo-Americans ..........................................................................53 4. Pivotal Jazz Recordings in 1959...................................................................55 5. Cal Tjader’s Afro-Cuban Impact on the West Coast.....................................63 6. Cal Tjader’s Latin Experiments of the 1950s................................................69 Ritmo Caliente “Hot Rhythm” .............................................................................69 Concert By The Sea and Concert By the Sea, Volume Two ..............................79 iv Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 Latino.................................................................................................................86 Soul Sauce ........................................................................................................89 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................95 Bibliography ........................................................................................................98 Appendix A Interview with Armando Peraza...................................................102 Appendix B Phone Interviews with Poncho Sanchez......................................106 Appendix C Phone Interview with Bayardo “Benny” Velarde ..........................117 v Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 List of Figures 2.1: Time Magazine November 8, 1954, Volume 64, Number 19. ......................32 2.2: Joe Morello, Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck and Gene Wright.....................33 4.1: John Coltrane, Giant Steps album cover .....................................................57 4.2: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue album cover.........................................................58 4.3: Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out album cover ............................................60 6.1: Cubano Chant introduction. .........................................................................70 6.2: Mambo bell pattern. .....................................................................................71 6.3: Cubano Chant tumbao, third section introduction. .......................................71 6.4: Cubano Chant solo chord progression.........................................................72 6.5: Vibraphone montuno pattern........................................................................74 6.6: Mambo Moderno bass introduction..............................................................74 6.7: Nanigo. ........................................................................................................77 6.8: Concert by the Sea album cover..................................................................79 6.9: Doxy.............................................................................................................80 6.10: Afro Blue. ...................................................................................................81 6.11: Tu Crees Que vibraphone montuno...........................................................83 6.12: A Night in Tunisia.......................................................................................84 6.13: Tumbao transition. .....................................................................................85 6.14: Latino album cover.....................................................................................87 6.15: Cha-cha-cha comping pattern....................................................................90 6.16: Columbia with guiro playing cowbell pattern. .............................................91 6.17: Somewhere in the Night bolero pattern......................................................92 vi Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 6.18: Soul Sauce album cover. ...........................................................................94 vii Texas Tech University, Ian Rollins, August 2009 Preface This dissertation topic began as a small writing project for a class. The subject matter was of enough interest to find publication as a cover story in the Percussive Arts Society periodical, Percussive Notes.1 This was a small article covering mainly biographical material on the vibraphonist Cal Tjader. Through the small amount of research in creating the article, I came to the conclusion that Cal Tjader was of more importance