Too Hot to Hold Still
Cal Tjader and a Latin-leaning band turn up the heat on Demasiado caliente.
Demasiado caliente came out in 1960, a year when Cal Tjader was already one of the busiest and most inventive figures in Latin jazz. The band on the record leans on the rhythm section that gave his small-group work its drive: Mongo Santamaría on congas anchors the percussion, and the bass chair features Al McKibbon and Victor Venegas. Eddie Cano and Lonnie Hewitt cover the keyboard duties, and the horn and flute voicings bring in Anthony Terran, Modesto Briseno, and José Calazan Rolando Lozano. It is a tight, practiced group, and the playing shows it.
What you hear is Tjader doing what he did best in this period: keeping the groove loose and forward-moving while the ensemble trades phrases with plenty of room to breathe. The percussion sits high in the mix and does most of the talking. The arrangements are not showy, and that is the appeal. The tunes feel like they were played to be danced to as much as listened to, and the band never loses the pulse.
As a place in his catalog, this is a solid, enjoyable entry rather than a landmark. If you want the strongest sense of his Latin work, start with a more celebrated record from the same stretch. For listeners already into Tjader, it is a fine, warm example of the sound he was known for at the time.
Who's playing
Al McKibbonbass
Victor Venegasbass
Eddie Canopiano
Lonnie Hewittpiano
Anthony Terrantrumpet
Modesto Brisenoflute
José Calazan Rolando Lozanoflute
Mongo Santamaríacongas
