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.

The originator of Brazilian Bossa Nova delivered "Amoroso" to the public in 1977. It displayed the ethereal, fine-tuned quality of his vocals and wonderfully complex and daring string arrangements. This spacious, mellow album is now available in 192kHz high definition audio.

On this release, jazz saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank devotes more than half the songs to instrumental covers of Beatles songs, in addition to tunes by Boyce and Hart, Burt Bacharach and more.

Ella Fitzgerald is backed by Marty Paich's Dek-tette on this Grammy-winning 1958 recording of swinging jazz standards. The album features a typical selection of jazz standards from this era, songs from musicals like Frank Loesser's "If I Were a Bell", and a famous jazz instrumental vocalised by Ella, Roy Eldridge's "Little Jazz". This was among several hit albums that Fitzgerald enjoyed in the '50s, when she was reaching the mass audience cutting pre-rock standards.

Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics is a 1960 jazz album by saxophonist Art Pepper and a small big band performing arrangements by Marty Paich, who also directed the ensemble. The recording is one of several dates Pepper made with Paich in 1959 and is the only one with Pepper as leader. The recording focuses on Paich's large group arrangements of modern jazz classics, including Denzil Best's "Move", Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight", Gerry Mulligan's "Walkin' Shoes". Other highlights of the recording are Pepper's clarinet performances on "Anthropology" and the alternate takes of "Walkin'".

American saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank, while best known for his work in jazz, also worked in the pop world and is famous for contributing the improvised flute solo to the 1965 smash hit California Dreamin' by The Mamas & the Papas. This album capitalizes on that successful collaboration and also includes instrumental interpretations of 1960s songs by the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Roger Miller and more.

Acclaimed jazz saxophonist and flutist Bud Shank is joined by trumpet legend Chet Baker on this 1966 album featuring instrumental takes on pop songs, including tunes by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds and more.

Certainly one of the most important sessions in Pepper's entire recording career, if not the history of jazz, this classic 1959 recording features the legendary sax player backed by an astounding big band that includes drummer Mel Lewis and alto sax icon Bud Shank. The album features brilliant arrangements by Marty Paich (who would later orchestrate for artists like Carly Simon and Elton John).

After flirting with bobby-soxer idolatry early in his career, Mel Tormé teamed up with arranger Marty Paich to explore the full range of his artistic potential. Together they conceived the idea of a 10-piece instrumental backing ensemble they dubbed the "Dek-tette". On this reissue of 1956's Bethlehem LP, Tormé is found singing with one of those Dek-tettes. Our featured track is the song that would become a Tormé trademark, "Lulu's Back in Town".

Long considered a jewel in Verve Records' very impressive crown, Fitzgerald's songbook collections of various composers–a series that was started by the success of this set–are all wonderful, but her natural wit and intelligence was at its most perfect with Cole Porter's erudite, urbane songs. While not as scat-oriented as her small group outings, these Porter sets offer her most realized pop performances. Also, the gold remastering does a fine job of bringing out the nuances in the arrangements, making this a treasure for the serious collector and the casual listener alike. A true American music gem.

Proof positive that any well-executed idea translates to the jazz idiom – snobs and purists be damned – The Swing's to TV pairs altoist Bud Shank and tenorist Bob Cooper for a moody, nuanced collection of late-'50s television theme songs…