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Bud Shank

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Clifford Everett Bud Shank Jr. (1926 to 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist, born in Dayton, Ohio. He began on clarinet, switched to saxophone and in 1946 moved to California, where he played with Charlie Barnet. In 1949 he joined Stan Kenton and broke through as lead alto and flute in Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra. In 1951 he left Kenton and worked as a sideman in small jazz groups, including those of Shorty Rogers, Maynard Ferguson and Shelly Manne, and from 1952 with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars. In this way he became one of the faces of jazz on the American West Coast.

Music and breakthrough

In 1953 and 1954 he played Brazilian-tinged jazz with Laurindo Almeida. The album Brazilliance was a great success and brought him awards from DownBeat and Metronome. In the 1960s he was a regular studio musician in Hollywood. Almost everyone knows his flute solo on California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas from 1965. He also made the music for Bruce Brown's surf films with his group and played Harlem Nocturne as the theme music of Mike Hammer. In the 1970s and 1980s he played with the L.A. Four. In the late 1980s he gave up the flute and played only alto saxophone.

Influence

Shank shows how jazz, film, pop and world music ran together on the West Coast, with a light, clear tone on alto saxophone and flute.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the flute solo in California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas. Notice the soft, woody sound of the alto flute between the vocals.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists