Bud Shank / soundtrack - Slippery When Wet

2010 CD reissue.

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.