Bud Shank - Michelle

Celebrated alto saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank (1926-2009) rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton s Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first call studio musician in Hollywood. In the 1970s and 1980s he performed regularly with the L. A. Four. Shank ultimately abandoned the flute to focus exclusively on playing jazz on the alto saxophone. He is also well known for the alto flute solo on the song 'California Dreamin ' recorded by The Mamas & the Papas in 1965. Michelle is one of the few Shank recorded with the great Chet Baker, here playing flugelhorn instead of the usual trumpet.