Bud Shank | |
|---|---|
 Bud Shank in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Clifford Everett Shank Jr. (1926-05-27)May 27, 1926 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 2009(2009-04-02) (aged 82) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Alto saxophone, flute, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone |
| Years active | 1946–2009 |
| Website | www |
Clifford Everett "Bud"Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009)[1] was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute inStan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first-call studio musician in Hollywood. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed regularly withthe L. A. Four. Shank ultimately abandoned the flute to focus exclusively on playing jazz on the alto saxophone. He also recorded on tenor and baritone sax. His most famous recording is probably the version of "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme song inMickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.[2] He is also known for the soundtrack recordings with his group to the surfing films ofBruce Brown in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and for thealto flute solo on the song "California Dreamin'" recorded bythe Mamas & the Papas in 1965.
Bud Shank was born inDayton, Ohio, United States.[1] He began playing theclarinet inVandalia, Ohio, but switched to saxophone before attending theUniversity of North Carolina.[1] While at UNC, Shank was initiated into thePi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 1946, he worked withCharlie Barnet before moving on to Kenton and theWest coast jazz scene.[1] He also had a strong interest in what might now be termedworld music, playing Brazilian-influenced jazz with Laurindo Almeida in 1953 and 1954.[1] In 1958, he became the first American jazz musician to record in Italy, with an Italian jazz orchestra conducted byEzio Leoni (aka Len Mercer), paving the way forChet Baker and others who would follow Shank's tracks recording in Milan with Maestro Leoni. In 1958 and 1960, Shank provided the soundtracks for twoBruce Brown surf movies:Slippery When Wet andBarefoot Adventure. His world music collaborations continued in 1962, fusing jazz with Indian traditions in collaboration with Indian composer and sitar playerRavi Shankar.[3]
In 1974, Shank joined withRay Brown,Shelly Manne (replaced byJeff Hamilton after 1977), andLaurindo Almeida to form the groupthe L.A. Four, who recorded and toured extensively through 1982.[1] Shank helped to popularize both Latin-flavored and chamber jazz music, and as a musician's musician also performed with orchestras as diverse as theRoyal Philharmonic, the New American Orchestra, theGerald Wilson Big Band,Stan Kenton's Neophonic Orchestra, andDuke Ellington.[4]
In 2005, he formed the Bud Shank Big Band in Los Angeles to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Stan Kenton's Neophonic Orchestra.[1]
A documentary film about Shank,Bud Shank: Against the Tide (Portrait of a Jazz Legend), was produced and directed by Graham Carter and released by Jazzed Media as a DVD (with a companion CD) in 2008. The film has been awarded four indie film awards including an Aurora Awards Gold.
Shank died on April 2, 2009, of apulmonary embolism at his home inTucson, Arizona, one day after returning fromSan Diego, California, where he was recording a new album.[5][6]
