While often associated with the cool school of 1950s and `60s West Coast jazz, alto saxophonist Bud Shank is also one of the many worthy adherents to the le jazz hot bebop of alto icon Charlie Parker. Simply put, Shank can be both coolly smooth and yet burn with the best. On TOLD YOU SO (originally issued in 1992), Shank communes with some hard bop aces--the great, underrated pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Victor Lewis--and goes to town on some familiar and not-so-familiar standards.
Bud Shank is among the senior practitioners of the horn and he just seems to get better and better with the years. The man from Ohio who became a leader of West Coast Jazz has done most of his prolific list of recordings in California. However, following
Recorded live at Birdland, New York on June 26 & 27, 1992. Includes liner notes by Mark Gardner.
JazzTimes (12/94, p.158) - "...Now playing his alto with a raunchy, growly sound far removed from his more familiar work with the L. A. Four...the one time exemplar of low-cal west coast cool, is here heard with a cooking east coast rhythm section..." |