The L.A. Four (or The L.A. 4) was a jazz quartet, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1974, that performed until 1982. [1]
Its members were guitarist Laurindo Almeida, saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne, replaced by Jeff Hamilton after 1977. They performed a mixture of straight-ahead jazz on the "cool" side, influenced by European Classical music, and bossa nova and samba (Almeida was born in Brazil). They recorded ten albums before disbanding. Chuck Flores was the group's original drummer but did not record with them. [1]
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist, known for his extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. He was also a founding member of the group that would later develop into the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Mitchell Herbert Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson.
Louie Bellson, often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums.
The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965. The band performed for twelve years in its original incarnation, including a 1972 tour of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The collaboration ended in 1978 with Jones suddenly moving to Copenhagen, Denmark, after which the band became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Since the death of Lewis in 1990 it has been known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. They have maintained a Monday-night residency at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York for five decades. The band won Grammy Awards for the album Live in Munich in 1978 and for the album Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard in 2009.
Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.
Harvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock’s band The Headhunters.
Laurindo Almeida was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He was one of the pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
Monte Rex Budwig was a West Coast jazz double bassist, professionally known as Monty Budwig.
Russell Kunkel is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Bill Withers, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Cass Elliot, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey, Art Garfunkel, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Carole King, Lyle Lovett, Reba McEntire, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, James Taylor, Joe Walsh, Steve Winwood, Neil Young, and Warren Zevon. He was the studio and touring drummer for Crosby & Nash in the 1970s and played on all four of their studio albums.
Chris Karan is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent.
Jeff Hamilton is an American jazz drummer and co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. A former member of the L.A. Four, Hamilton has played with jazz pianist Monty Alexander, bandleader Woody Herman, and singer Rosemary Clooney, and has worked extensively with singer Diana Krall.
Paul Nelson Humphrey was an American jazz and R&B drummer.
Don Menza is an American jazz saxophonist.
Milton Holland was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music, traveling extensively in those regions to collect instruments and learn styles of playing them.
Charles Louis Domanico was an American jazz bassist who played double bass and bass guitar on the West Coast jazz scene.
Charles Walter "Chuck" Flores was an American jazz drummer. One of the relatively small number of musicians associated with West Coast jazz who were actually from the West Coast, Flores was born in Orange, California, and grew up in Santa Ana. He is best known for the work he did with saxophonist Bud Shank in the 1950s, and for his two-year stint with Woody Herman, from 1954 to 1955, but also performed and recorded with such musicians as Carmen McRae, Art Pepper, Maynard Ferguson, Al Cohn, and Shelly Manne, who had been his drum teacher. Manne and others considered Flores an underrated drummer.
Bob Moses is an American jazz drummer.
Jake Hanna was an American jazz drummer.
The recordings of American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz from 1944 to 1991.
Bob Magnusson is an American jazz bassist.