Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
June 09, 2016
If you're looking for an introduction to West Coast jazz or simply want the pure stuff, Bud Shank's recordings for the Pacific Jazz label in the 1950s are a great place to start. Bud had a sterling, aggressive sound on the alto saxophone, with the feel of a sports car pulling away from the curb. His albums for Pacific Jazz wisely teamed him with top like-minded Los Angeles talent, including Shorty Rogers, Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper, Claude Williamson and others. Yesterday, I spent the day writing while listening to Bud's entire Pacific Jazz output. Each album remains a masterpiece—from a technician's standpoint and from a soul perspective. Bud was always all in—he loved lowering his foot on the proverbial gas pedal—but he also had enormous sensitivity and depth.
The album that stuck in my ear during yesterday's listen was Bud's first leadership date—simply called the Bud Shank Quintet. It featured flugelhornist Shorty Rogers backed by Jimmy Rowles (p) Harry Babasin (b) and Roy Harte (d)—a superb rhythm section. This album was originally recorded for Nocturne as part of its "Jazz in Hollywood" series and reissued later on Pacific Jazz. The enterprising Harte founded both labels as well as Drum City, a leading drum retailer in West Hollywood.
What's fabulous about this album is that all of the songs were composed by Rogers, who had one of the finest lyrical sensibilities of all the West Coast jazz writers-arrangers. We also get to hear Rowles, one of the most elegant and delicate West Coast pianists of the period, and Harte, whose stick and brushwork were terrific. We even get to hear Bud play flute on Lotus Bud. But the real standout on this album was the superb and still underappreciated bassist Harry Babasin. His lines here were meaty, rock-solid confident and smart. So much so that the sound of his bass rises out of the rhythm section to become the third horn. [Photo above of Bud Shank by Roy Harte Jazz Archives/CTSImages]
It's remarkable that 62 years later, this music sounds just as fresh and joyous as it did in 1954. There's no filler. I only wish Bud were still with us so I could call him up to talk about it. For my interviews with Bud, scroll down the right-hand column under JazzWax Interviews for the "Bud Shank" links. [Photo above of Shorty Rogers by Roy Harte Jazz Archives/CTSImages]
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the Bud Shank Quintet playing the compositions of Shorty Rogers as well as three other Bud Shank albums for Pacific Jazz here. If you're feeling flush, spring for the The Pacific Jazz Bud Shank Studio Sessions, a Mosaic box now out of print but available here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Bud Shank and Shorty Rogers on Rogers' ballad Jasmine, which has a These Foolish Things feel...
And here's Just a Few. Dig Bud and Rogers motoring around on this one...
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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