Home » Jazz Musicians » Dave Shank

Dave Shank

Dave's career began in Las Vegas. After serving in the Armed Forces, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theory and Composition at the University of Nevada. He apprenticed playing headline acts on the Las Vegas Strip and performed with local jazz groups.

In Los Angeles, when not doing sessions for Mike Post, Quincy Jones, Don Piestrup and others, or playing acts like Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Linda Ronstadt, Bette Midler and Luther Vandross, to name a few, he performed percussion duties on many Broadway shows. He could also be heard with the Dennis Dreith, Curt Berg, and Kim Richmond bands, but most prominently with Tim Weston?s jazz quintet, Wishful Thinking.

He played vibraphone and composed as a principal contributor on four recording projects: Wishful Thinking and Think Again for Pausa Records; Way Down West for Pat Williams' label, Soundwings; and That Was Then for Intima, the jazz division of EMI Records.

The band toured extensively doing festivals with the Yellowjackets, John Scofield, Dave Sanborn, Spyro Gyra, Alphonse Mouzon, Billy Childs and others, as well as appearing at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Netherlands.

When Wishful Thinking disbanded, Dave moved to New York, but took a hiatus from the jazz scene to "shed" and write. In NYC he worked extensively on Broadway; in LA he worked and continues to work as a session player on film dates for Walter Murphy at 20th Century Fox.

After being called to play a vibraphone solo on Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, he began in earnest to work on his own project, which became In Due Time, on Rhombus Records, produced by Dave along with Terry Silverlight.

His newest project, a jazz quintet album entitled Soundproof, will be released in August 2011 on the Rhombus label featuring bassist John Patitucci, Barry Miles on piano, drummer Terry Silverlight, and Mike Migliore on saxophones, produced by Tim Weston/Soul Coast Productions, and engineered by the late, great Roger Nichols.

"It's a challenging journey bouncing from one genre to another, but with this quintet record, I really feel like I've finally come home."

Tags

69

Recording

Vibraphonist-composer Dave Shank Assembles Veteran Crew For His Latest Swinging Quintet Offering, "Soundproof"

Vibraphonist-composer Dave Shank Assembles Veteran Crew For His Latest Swinging Quintet Offering, "Soundproof"

Source: Michael Ricci

On Soundproof (to be released September 27th by Rhombus Records), vibraphonist Dave Shank showcases ten new compositions that feature the highly interactive, swinging interplay of a stellar quintet comprised of bassist John Patitucci, pianist Barry Miles, drummer Terry Silverlight and saxophonist Mike Migliore. From start to finish, Shank and his veteran crew exhibit a remarkable chemistry with a penchant for collective improvisation in the moment. Sparks fly on all the solo choruses throughout, but it's the remarkable cohesion of the ...

92

Recording

Dave Shank Quintet - Soundproof (2011)

Dave Shank Quintet - Soundproof (2011)

Source: Something Else!

There is often a West Coast cool this recording, thanks largely to the smoothly energetic phrasings of vibraphonist Dave Shank. That's not to say, however, that Soundproof doesn't have its moments of fiery interplay. Check Saxophonist Mike Migliore (Maynard Ferguson, Bob Belden, Count Basie) as he spars interestingly with Shank on the spiky title track. Shank even flashes a few nifty Milt Jackson-ish bop moves on “Snoopin,'" which was inspired by the late composer-keyboardist Don Grolnick. The suite-like “A Minor ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Soundproof

Rhombus Records
2011

buy

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.