Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alto saxophonistThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by the Belgian instrument designer in 1841 Adolphe Sax. The alto, with the tenor, is the most common size of saxophone...
and
flautist-Naming controversy:The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of vicious dispute among players of the instrument...
. He played
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
in
Stan KentonStanley Newcomb Kenton was a pianist who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator.- Early life :...
's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, on various recording sessions including
The Zodiac : Cosmic SoundsThe Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds was an innovative collaborative concept album on the theme of the signs of the Zodiac...
, and occasionally in live performances (as with
The L.A. FourThe L.A. Four was a jazz quartet that performed in Los Angeles California from 1974 to 1982. Its members were guitarist Laurindo Almeida, saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne, replaced by Jeff Hamilton after 1977...
) until he gave it up later in his career to focus exclusively on the alto saxophone. He also recorded one album playing only
tenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, is the most common type of saxophone. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef,...
.
Bud Shank was born in
DaytonDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
.
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alto saxophonistThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by the Belgian instrument designer in 1841 Adolphe Sax. The alto, with the tenor, is the most common size of saxophone...
and
flautist-Naming controversy:The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of vicious dispute among players of the instrument...
. He played
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
in
Stan KentonStanley Newcomb Kenton was a pianist who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator.- Early life :...
's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, on various recording sessions including
The Zodiac : Cosmic SoundsThe Zodiac : Cosmic Sounds was an innovative collaborative concept album on the theme of the signs of the Zodiac...
, and occasionally in live performances (as with
The L.A. FourThe L.A. Four was a jazz quartet that performed in Los Angeles California from 1974 to 1982. Its members were guitarist Laurindo Almeida, saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne, replaced by Jeff Hamilton after 1977...
) until he gave it up later in his career to focus exclusively on the alto saxophone. He also recorded one album playing only
tenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, is the most common type of saxophone. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef,...
.
Biography
Bud Shank was born in
DaytonDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
. He began with
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
in
Vandalia, OhioVandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 14,603 during the 2000 census. The James M. Cox Dayton International Airport is located in the city. Vandalia is a sister city to Lichtenfels, Germany and Prestwick, Scotland...
, but had switched to saxophone before attending the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
. While at UNC, Shank was initiated into the
Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity is an international secret social Greek-letter college fraternity. It was founded at 47 West Range at the University of Virginia in the United States on Sunday evening, March 1 1868.-History:...
Fraternity. In 1946 he worked with
Charlie BarnetCharles Daly Barnet was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", and "Southland Shuffle".-Early life:...
before moving on to Kenton and the
West coast jazzWest Coast jazz is a form of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco at about the same time as hard bop jazz was developing in New York City, in the 1950s and 1960s. West Coast jazz was generally seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz. West Coast jazz also often contains elements...
scene. He also had a strong interest in what might now be termed
world musicWorld music is the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians that is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.-Terminology:...
, playing
bossa novaBossa nova is a style of Brazilian music popularized by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto. Bossa nova acquired a large following, initially by young musicians and college students...
in the early 1950s (years before it became a craze), and in 1962 fusing jazz with Indian traditions in collaboration with Indian composer and sitar-player
Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian classical musician and composer who plays the sitar. He was described as "the most famous Indian musician on the planet" by Ken Hunt of Allmusic....
.
In the first decades of his career Shank played the flute as a second instrument, but during the 1980s dropped it and became purely an alto saxophonist. In 2005 he formed the Bud Shank Big Band in Los Angeles to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Stan Kenton's Neophonic Orchestra.
A documentary film about Bud Shank,
Bud Shank "Against the Tide" Portrait of a Jazz Legend, was produced and directed by Graham Carter of Jazzed Media and released by Jazzed Media as a DVD (with a companion CD) in 2008. To date the documentary film has been awarded 4 indie film awards including an Aurora Awards Gold.
Shank died on April 2, 2009, of a
pulmonary embolismPulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
at his home in Tucson, AZ, one day after returning from San Diego, CA where he was recording a new album.
As leader
- Brazilliance, Volumes 1 and 2 (1953) early bossa nova with Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian classical guitarist.Prior to being invited to the United States in 1947 by Stan Kenton, Laurindo Almeida played guitar in Rio de Janeiro where he was known for his classical Spanish guitar playing...
- Bud Shank with Shorty Rogers (1954) - Pacific Jazz
- Bud Shank and Bill Perkins (1955-58) - Pacific Jazz
- Cool Fool (1954 and 1955) joined by Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
and Bob BrookmeyerRobert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, and arranger.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957...
- Theme Music from The James Dean Story (1957) - with Chet Baker
- Blowin' Country (1958) - Pacific Jazz with Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper was a West Coast jazz musician known primarily for playing tenor saxophone, but also for being one of the first to play solos on oboe. He worked in Stan Kenton's band starting in 1945 and married the band's singer June Christy...
- Crystal Comments (1979) flute and two pianos with Alan Broadbent
- Drifting Timelessly (1990) with the Roumanis String Quartet
- A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing (1992) with Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper was a West Coast jazz musician known primarily for playing tenor saxophone, but also for being one of the first to play solos on oboe. He worked in Stan Kenton's band starting in 1945 and married the band's singer June Christy...
and the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra
- By Request: Bud Shank Meets the Rhythm Section (1997)- Muse Records quartet led by Shank on alto
- Taking the Long Way Home on Jazzed Media (2006) his first album as a big band leader, with arrangements by Bob Florence
Bob Florence was an American jazz arranger and pianist. He began taking piano lessons at five and initially intended to be a concert pianist. However, on taking classes with Bob McDonald he changed direction toward jazz.At the beginning of his career Florence worked as a pianist and arranger with...
and others. Shank's alto is the featured instrument.
- Beyond the Red Door on Jazzed Media (2007) Shank playing alto saxophone in duet with pianist Bill Mays.
As sideman
With Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian classical musician and composer who plays the sitar. He was described as "the most famous Indian musician on the planet" by Ken Hunt of Allmusic....
- Improvisations
Improvisations is a 1962 album released by Ravi Shankar. The opening piece is based on music from Shankar's score for Satyajit Ray's 1955 film classic, Pather Panchali . The composition "Fire Night," inspired by the L.A...
(1962)
With The Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group of the 1960s. The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
- "California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
"
With
Hugo MontenegroHugo Montenegro was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best known work is derived from interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of the main theme from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.-Biography:Hugo Mario...
(flute)
With
Boz ScaggsBoz Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 Hits in the United States along with the #2 album Silk Degrees...
- Silk Degrees
Silk Degrees is the seventh album by Boz Scaggs, released on the Columbia Records label in 1976. The album reached #2 on the U.S. pop albums chart.The album marked Scaggs' commercial zenith, mainly spearheaded by the R&B/Soul hit "Lowdown"...
(1976)
With
Harry NilssonHarry Edward Nilsson III was an American songwriter, singer, pianist, and guitarist who achieved the height of his fame during the 1960s and 1970s...
With
Gene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
- Roadmaster
Roadmaster is a Country rock album by Gene Clark from 1973. The musicians on this album include former bandmates from The Byrds: David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. The Album was put together with recording sessions from 1970-1972...
(1972)
External links