'''RudolphClifford Everett''' "'''Bud" Shank Jr.''' (born" '''Clifford Everett Shank, Jr.''', (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009)<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bud-shank-mn0000636382/biography|title=Bud Shank | Biography & History|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He 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 (band)|the L. A. Four]]. Shank ultimately abandoned the flute to focus exclusively on playing jazz on the alto saxophone. 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 (1984 TV series)|''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thescl.com/articles/memoirs-of-a-famous-composer/|title=Memoirs of a Famous Composer|date=October 29, 2009|website=Thescl.com|access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> He is also well known for the [[alto flute]] solo on the song "[[California Dreamin']]" recorded by [[The Mamas & the Papas]] in 1965.
