Biography All Media Guide Wikipedia
Group Members: Laurindo Almeida, Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride, Laurindo Almeida And Ray Brown, Laurindo Almeida / Charlie Byrd, Bud Shank, Laurindo Almeida, Laurindo Almeida/Martin Ruderman/Salli Terri, Bud Shank & Laurindo Almeida feat. Bud Shank, Jeff Hamilton Trio, Jeff Hamilton Trio feat. Frits Landesbergen, The Jeff Hamilton Trio, Bud Shank, Bill Mays, Alan Broadbent, Bud Shank And Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank And Lou Levy, Bud Shank Quartet With Phil Woods, Bud Shank, Bud Shank & Bob Cooper, The Bud Shank Big Band, Ray Brown, The Ray Brown Trio, Ray Brown, John Clayton & Christian McBride, Ray Brown Trio With Ulf Wakenius, Ray Brown / John Clayton, Ray Brown & Laurindo Almeida, The Ray Brown All Stars, Ray Brown Trio, The Laurindo Almeida Trio
Altoist/flutist Bud Shank and Brazilian acoustic guitarist Laurindo Almeida first teamed up in the 1950s to create music that predated but strongly hinted at bossa nova. In 1974, they reunited to form the L.A. Four with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Chuck Flores. With Shelly Manne and later Jeff Hamilton replacing Flores on drums, the L.A. Four recorded eight albums for Concord through 1982, breaking up shortly afterward. Their mixture of cool-toned bop, Brazilian-oriented music, and ballads was quite attractive.
