“The vibraphone invites overplaying almost by its very nature. … Unlike a horn player, the vibraphonist is unable to sustain notes for very long, even with the help of vibrato and pedal. The vibes invite overplaying to compensate for such limitations. Added to these difficulties is the fact that … [they are played with] a hitting motion powered by the wrists. With the mastery of a steady drum roll, the aspiring vibraphonist is already capable of flinging out a flurry of notes and, given the repetitive motions used to build up drum technique, the vibes player is tempted to lock into a ‘steady stream’… [of notes].
Tjader’s playing, however, was nothing like this. Although he was a drummer and percussionist by background, he seemed to draw on the instincts of a horn player in shaping his improvised lines. They did breathe.”
“The disparate strains in his playing [influences ranging from Lionel Hampton to Milt Jackson; one a banger the other a bopper] came out most clearly in his Jazz work. Where Tjader melded them into a melodic, often introspective style that was very much his own. Even when playing more high-energy Latin numbers Tjader kept a low-key demeanor, building off the intensity of the rhythm section rather than trying to supplant it. For the most part, he came across as an introvert on an instrument meant for extroverts.” - Ted Gioia, West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960, pp.103-104].
"No matter how extensive the ear's training or experience," … "there is in Tjader's art a kind of hypnotic sophistication rare in any music. For those who can experience it, he is 'Tjader le Grand.' - Heuwell Tircuit, Music Critic, 1973
“Cal was a very sophisticated musician, a real jazz player. He had a lot of feeling. There are a lot of vibe players out there that aren't really playing on that level. There are very few of them that can play a ballad the way that Cal did. By the time I met Cal, there were certainly [lots] of guys who could do unheard of things with the instrument technically. But there were not very many people that were interested in just expressing themselves in an artistic fashion."
- Scott Hamilton, Jazz tenor saxophonist
"[Cal had] a wonderful sense of rhythm, harmony and time.... He was 100 percent into the music.... His musical ideas flowed so effortlessly.... [Following the early pioneers], Cal set the standard by which all vibe players would be measured.... He was a great teacher, but not of the classroom type. He taught by example and I think that's probably the greatest way to teach.... I believe I would have been much the greater musician if I had worked more with Cal." - Hank Jones, Jazz pianist
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