by Stewart Mason
The title of 1962's Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brasil should be taken with a rather large grain of salt -- perhaps best administered as part of an equally large margarita. The po-faced title aside, these tunes, with arrangements by Clare Fischer and production by the ever-slick Creed Taylor, are hardly out of the Nonesuch Explorer series. Heck, they're barely one step above Martin Denny in the authenticity department. Yet they're so delightfully smooth, with Tjader's vibes and percussion surrounded by bits of kitschy exotica like Ardeen DeCamp's wordless cooing on &Que Tristeza,& and so unapologetically melodic that questions of &authenticity& are clearly utterly beside the point. This album is shamelessly false, which actually works in its favor. Cal Tjader made much more demonstrably Latin albums than this, but Cal Tjader Plays the Contemporary Music of Mexico and Brasil is one of his most listenable and fun recordings for anyone with a fondness for the tackier side of '60s pop culture.