Saturday, May 24, 2008

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Bud Shank & Bill Perkins


Artist:Bud Shank & Bill Perkins

Song:Out Of This World

Album:Blues In The Night:The Jazz Giants Play Harold Arlen





This various artists comp is pretty good value for jazz neophytes. For ten bucks you 75 minutes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Count Basie and others from the Prestige Records catalog. This excellent version of Out Of This World is from two mainstays of the West Coast jazz scene who worked together frequently since the 50s. Alto sax player Bud Shank was born May 27, 1926 in Toledo, OH. Baritone sax player Bill Perkins was born July 22, 1924 in San Francisco. Both guys were an integral part of the West Coast jazz movement of the 50s. The music was considered less frenetic and cooler than the East Coast bebop sound. Shank was better known because he recorded as a leader for World Pacific Records in the 50s. Perkins was a member of that band but both guys worked tons of sessions in Los Angeles. Perkins was also a long time member of the Tonight Show Band. This version of Out Of This World is from a 1986 album on Contemporary Records called Serious Swingers. Other musicians are Alan Broadbent on piano, John Heard on bass and Sherman Ferguson on drums. Bill Perkins died on Aug. 9, 2003 at age 79 but Bud Shank is still around and in 2007 released a CD with Bill Mays called Beyond The Red Door. As I said, this various artists comp is worthwhile for beginners and solid guys like Shank & Perkins are always worth checking out. Here's Bud Shank on alto sax & Bill Perkins on baritone sax with Shorty Rogers on flugelhorn, Jimmy Giuffre & Bob Cooper on tenor sax, Pete Jolly on piano, Monty Ludwig on bass and Shelley Manne on drums performing What Is This Thing Called Love at the Aurex Jazz Festival in Tokyo Sept. 2, 1983.

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