Bud Shank

• Genre: Cool/West Coast Jazz
• Hometown: Dayton
• Bud Shank Website

About

Bud Shank's footprints on jazz and popular music are far deeper than his name recognition with the general public. Shank was part of the L.A.'s West Coast scene in the ‘50s and his sly sax sound was alive with a breezy sense of swing. Shank also brought his flute along to sessions and really put that instrument on the map in jazz and popular music. In 1953, he got together with guitarist Laurindo Almeida and their album of Cool/Brazilian music was a great inspiration to the young Antonio Carlos Jobim and the creation of Bossa Nova. Since his salad days, Shank's sound has gotten increasingly more aggressive and experimental, and he now sounds more like an angry young man than a sentimental senior.

- Nick Dedina