Personnel:
Cal Tjader (vib), Marvin Stamm (flh), Ray Alonge (Frh), Garnett Brown (tb), George Marge, Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Walter Kane (reeds), Lew Del Gatto (oboe), Joseph Grinaldi, George Berg (bassoon), Mike Melvoin (org), James Helms (g), Harvey Newmark (el-b), Jim Keltner (d), Albert Wagner, Henri Aubert (vln), Gary McFarland, Mike Abene, Alan Foust (arr)
Reference: SK 1007 CD
Bar code: 8427328447072
Fantastic -- and about as great as you'd imagine! The cool Latin vibes of Cal Tjader meet the great compositions of Burt Bacharach, and the result is a shimmering set of tracks that forever defines the sound of groovy 60s! Cal's the perfect choice for music like this -- as his sense of space, time, and rhythm jibe perfectly with Burt's magical tunes -- making for incredible instrumental readings of tracks that include "My Little Red Book", "Moneypenny Goes For Broke", "Don't Make Me Over", and "I Say A Little Prayer". Instrumentation includes organ and guitar next to the vibes -- and production is by Gary McFarland, with the same gentle groove as his own best work!
—Dusty Groove, Inc.
"This album is instrumental pop (not Tjader's more typical jazz blowing), and quite well done for what it aims to achieve. The tunes are all from Bacharach's bulletproof 1960s hot streak, and are well chosen. On top of that, a young Jim Keltner is behind the drum kit, and he's killer. And the arrangements are range from great to merely good, with "Moneypenny Goes for Broke" and "I Say a Little Prayer" being standouts. Bacharach is the Mozart of smooth adult contemporary pop, and I get why someone who might have grown up hearing a bit too much of this stuff when it was new, and who really loves jazz first and foremost, might write off this album as commercial coasting on Tjader's part. It's not an album to buy primarily because you like Cal Tjader or jazz vibes. It will be appreciated by people who love the golden age of studio musicians and Brill Building songwriting, and people who enjoy the more creative or "vibey" side of the 1960s-70s instrumental pop (Esquivel, soul jazz and boogaloo, Perrey & Kingsley, Walter Wanderley, and so on). It's feel-good music that is well played, live in the studio, by a group of expert musicians. Analog instruments, memorable tunes, and a hip, old-school feel. We should be so lucky as to live in an age when this was the level of music aimed at middle-aged office workers looking to relax on the weekends."
—Jim Dixon (All Music Guide)
