Personnel:
Bud Shank (as, fl), Billy Bean (g), Gary Peacock (b), Chuck Flores (d)
Reference: FSRCD 606
Bar code: 8427328606066
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Until 1958 jazz scores in movies had been mostly confined to setting the moody backdrop for crime and delinquency. But that summer photographer-producer Bruce Brown shot a film about surfboarders cavorting in Hawaii and decided he wanted a jazz score to capture the outdoor, summery mood, full of movement and action.
He chose the Bud Shank Quartet to create the musical backdrop to the surfboarders and the waves, with Shank, alternating on alto sax and flute, fluidly confident and purposeful, mostly backed by the excellent pairing of the gifted Peacock and Flores, with Billy Bean's guitar in support.
The music that resulted produced a fine, swinging selection of modern jazz that perfectly caught the feel of the subject.
"In 1966, Bruce Brown made the definitive movie about surfing, The Endless Summer, but in 1958 he was a lifeguard by day who at night swept up a surfboard shop owned by a guy named Dale Velzy. Brown also had an 8mm movie camera and had made someamateur movies of fellow surfers in action; Velzy liked Brown's work and decided to bankroll him in his first effort to make a feature film. On a budget of $5,000, Brown flew to Hawaii with a 16mm camera, 50 rolls of film, and five surfers (Del Cannon, Freddy Pfhaler, Dick Thomas, Kemp Aaberg, and Henry Ford), and along the way learned how to make the first "professional" surfing documentary, Slippery When Wet. Along with priceless vintage surf footage from Oahu, Slippery When Wet features an original score from jazz artist Bud Shank. "Mark Deming, All Movie Guide So, what Brown actually did was to approach Bud Shank about providing music to accompany the movie, and this is what Shank did; he later expanded these themes for a quartet recording, which is this very one here. Bud pretty much just stays with the flute on this session. Billy Bean only grabs a few measures of solo on must tunes, but kicks it when he does get his chance. This is a rather pleasant session, if I do say so, yes indeed quite good."
—Rick (March, 2010)
https://oldhippierick.blogspot.com
