Bud Shank
has been an integral member of the international jazz scene for 60 years.
A respected saxophonist, composer, and arranger, his soaring dynamic
performances have enlivened countless concerts, festivals, nightclubs,
and recording sessions.
Shank
first came to prominence in the big bands of Charlie Barnet
and Stan
Kenton during the late 1940s. In the 1950s the saxophonist
began a long
tenure with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars, as well as
work with his own quartet. A charter member of the "West Coast" jazz
movement, Shank's cool but always strongly swinging sound has made him
one of a handful of sax players with an instantly recognizable and
always exciting sound. In addition to club and concert dates this period
found the musician producing some 50 diverse albums.
During
the next two decades Shank augmented his club, university, and festival
appearances with
a healthy amount of studio work. A first call alto sax and flute player,
he was a four-time winner of the coveted Most Valuable Player award from
the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).
In the
1970s and 80s Shank joined with Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, and Laurindo
Almeida to form the world-renowned LA Four, who recorded and toured
extensively through the decade. Shank helped to popularize both Latin-flavored
and chamber jazz music, and as a musician's musician also performed
with orchestras as diverse as the Royal Philharmonic, the New American
Orchestra, the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Stan Kenton's Neophonic Orchestra,
and the legendary Duke Ellington.
In the
1990s Shank continued to grow and explore, creating the multi-media
jazz performance, "The Lost Cathedral,"
expanding the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop and Jazz Southwest
Festival in Albuquerque, and touring with his quartet and sextet.
Both bands feature exemplary writing, tight and fiery playing, and a
joyous sense of collaboration.
Today,
Bud Shank juggles a packed schedule of touring, festivals, and teaching
combined with select major club performances and time set aside for
composing and arranging. He is in demand as a clinician, and is available
in a duo, as leader of his own quartet and sextet, and as a feature
soloist with orchestra or big band, or with all star groups. With over
60 years as a professional jazz musician, Bud Shank has more than earned
his status as a legend.
Source: Bud Shank Alto.com.
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