Breeze From the East

Cal Tjader's Breeze from the East combined the vibist's Latin lounge style with kitschy Asian touches. In lieu of the Asian-born material and Lalo Schifrin's airy arrangements found on its predecessor Several Shades of Jade, though, Tjader opted here for Stan Applebaum's self-penned go-go charts. On "Sake and Greens," "Cha," and "Shoji," mod-rock guitar lines shadow Tjader's solos on pat-sounding Oriental scales, while pianist Lonnie Hewitt keeps up a soul-jazz rhythm — picture '60s-era James Bond on a wild chase through the heart of Tokyo. Tjader's traditionally light, Latin combo approach — sans much of the Eastern ornamentation — is still used on standards like "Stardust" and "East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)" and even worked to somewhat sublime heights on "Fuji" and "Black Orchid." The ultra-smooth Latin jazz sound Tjader favored has always been more infectious than demanding and Breeze from the East's commercialized mod/eastern elements only end up expanding the pop exotica mix.