Bud Shank

Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flutist. He rose to prominence in the late 1940s into early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra. In 1951, he left Kenton and worked as sideman in various small jazz combos, most notably Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, before forming his own group. 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 in the late 1980s. He also recorded on tenor and baritone sax. His most famous recording is probably the version of "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme song in Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. He is also known for the soundtrack recordings with his group to the surfing films of Bruce Brown in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and for the alto flute solo on the song "California Dreamin'" recorded by the Mamas & the Papas in 1965.