Callen (Cal) Tjader was born on July 16, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents were vaudeville performers. His father tap danced and his mother played the piano. His family moved from city to city performing until his was 7. They settled in  San Mateo, California and opened a dance studio. His mother taught him to play the piano and his father taught him how to tap. When he was 13 Tjader taught himself how to play the drums.

In 1943, Tjader joined the Army where he served as a medic for 3 years. When he got out of the Army, he started attending San Jose State College. Later he transferred to San Francisco State College. In San Francisco, he performed with Dave Brubeck. While playing with Burbeck, Tjader began to teach himself to play vibes. He would alternate playing vibes and drums on gigs.

In 1951, Brubeck suffered injuries in an accident and stopped playing for a while. Tjader continued to work with trios and recorded his first album as a band leader at this time. In 1953, he started playing with George Shearing. That same year he was voted New Star by Down Beat Magazine.

Through the 1950’s, Tjader continued to perform and record with many big names in jazz. His most famous recording was the 1964 album Soul Sauce.

Tjader died on tour of a heart attack on May 5, 1982.