Buddaheads

BB Chung King & The Buddaheads are back on the LA scene after returning from a tour of Asia and the U.S. Taking a year and a half off, Alan Mirikitani (aka BB Chung King) established his own 24 track recording studio "Dawghouse Studios" in Burbank California.

BB's music is a mix of roots rock with a blues base. BB has always claimed blues to be his first love, but comes from a generation that loves to rock. Their first CD "Blues Had A Baby", was released in 1994 on RCA/BMB and received generous support from radio fans. If you have to categorize the music, it is somewhere between newer artists Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Blues Travelers. But make no mistake, BB Chung King & The Buddaheads are the original LA version!

BB keeps quite busy with the Buddaheads, but also finds time to write, record and produce music for other artists. BB has written songs for blues legends such as Lonnie Brooks, Tinsley Ellis and recently helped Ruth Brown receive a Grammy for her performance of his song "Too Little, Too Late". Then he produced, wrote, engineered and played on B.J. Sharp's Grammy nominated CD "Never Felt No Blues". Her CD reached number 4 in the charts in Europe, without being issued there!

You can also hear the Buddaheads paying tribute to Lowell George. Together with Eddie Money, they perform the title track to the tribute album titled "Rock and Roll Doctor" (a song which appears as a bonus track on the Buddaheads "Live Japan" CD).

"Play Hard", the third full length album, was released in Japan by Kiagan Records. Here in the US, the band is negotiating a new contract and distribution deal. To please the demand of the rest of their fans around the world, they have added some recent songs and the now re-titled, selfmanufactured limited edition CD "In The Mirror", is available and will no doubt become a collectors item.

"Go For Broke" is a breathtaking collection of Rockin' Blues and power packed ballads.
 
Buddaheads songs can also be heard in the following films:
MY COUSIN VINNY • HEAVEN & EARTH • ROBO COP II • CONTACT • BRING DOWN THE STARS • GREAT EXPECTATIONS & • CHUCK NORRIS' FOREST WARRIOR. And on the TV shows: E.R., The Young & The Restless & Melrose Place.

BB himself also had a small acting role in the movie BOYS ON THE SIDE staring Whoopi Goldberg.

Source: Buddaheads.com.

Bud Shank

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.