Army Times
Tom Scanlan : 01/26/1957

A different kind of modern jazz, the kind that swings, is offered by the Bud Shank Quartet on Jazz at Cal-Tech. The music was recorded during a jazz concert at the California Institute of Technology in January, 1956.

The Shank group includes Bud on alto and flute, pianist Claude Williamson, bassman Don Prell and drummer Chuck Flores. Also on this record is Bob Cooper, who plays oboe as well as tenor sax during this session.

The bass seems to have under-recorded, but this is nevertheless a fine side. Dig Bud’s alto on When Lights Are Low or pianist Williamson on Somebody Loves Me. And if you like new sounds, hear the pleasant flute-oboe combination on Nearness of You. Probably the swingingest thing here is Count Basie‘s The King.

Scientists will probably enjoy the liner notes. All about scientist-types, or something.

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Audio
Charles A. Robertson : April, 1957

In concert at the California Institute of Technology at a Thursday morning assembly on January 19, 1956, Bob Cooper, tenor and oboe, joins the Bud Shank quartet for a diverting rundown of nine standards. Benny Carter‘s When Lights Are Low, a favorite of mine since it was first recorded in England twenty years ago, is refurbished to start things off. On The Nearness of You and Lullaby of Birdland, Shank turns from alto to flute to be joined by Cooper’s oboe in some virtuoso passages. Don Prell, bass, solos on Old Devil Moon, and Claude Williamson, piano, on Somebody Loves Me. Basie‘s The King provides a rousing ending, just as the session begins to jell.

This has the best sound of any on-the-spot recording I have yet heard. When drummer Chuck Flores kicks off a bomb it reverberates about the hall a bit on the way to the microphone. The balance between the flute and oboe might have been improved, but engineer Phil Turetsky is to be congratulated, as is the audience for respectfully restraining its enthusiasm until the end of each number.

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Billboard : 02/09/1957
Spotlight on… selection

This first “concert” package by Bud Shank, with Bob Cooper spotlighted on tenor and oboe, should have wide appeal to all schools of jazz, with particular attention to the wide and ever-growing campus set. The contrasts in such selections as Lullaby of Birdland and Moonlight in Vermont are startling and provocative, and show an amazing degree of ingenuity in arrangement. Shank and Cooper are ably aided by Claude Williamson, piano, Don Press, bass and the popular Chuck Flores on drums. Cover art is an eye-catcher and makes for excellent window display material.

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Miami Herald
Fred Sherman : 03/10/1957

The campus has yielded another hit album for Pacific Jazz. This one is Jazz at Cal-Tech by the Bud Shank Quartet with Bob Cooper.

The LP concert opens on a high note with When Lights are Low. The piano overture leads you quickly to the saxy heart of the matter. Shank’s alto and Cooper’s tenor really romp on this Miles Davis composition, with sharp punctuation from Chuck Flores‘ drums. There’s a fat middle section left open for Claude Williamson‘s piano with a walking bass by Don Prell. It’s seven and a half minutes of excellence.

There’s little not to like in the album. Have to agree with the lucid notes which question flute and oboe as tools for Lullaby of Birdland. Too milktoasty.

Tremendous bit on the album is Cooper’s work on How Long Has This Been Going On A thoughtful and searching jazz excercise.

Highly recommended.

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Providence Journal
Philip C. Gunion : 02/10/1957

Bud Shank, an ever-developing jazz musician who might be said to be typical of the West Coast school’s best features, is back on a new Pacific Jazz album called Jazz at Cal-Tech.

This is a delightfully varied program with Bud playing his alto sax and – good news to a great many people – his truly excellent flute, an instrument which does not always shine in jazz.

With Shank are Bob Cooper, tenor sax and oboe; Claude Williamson, piano; Don Prell, bass and Chuck Flores, drums.

The record comes from a tape made at a concert at California Institute of Technology and you will be able to tell that the students there do not spend all their atomic energy in the lab.

The program is perfect for the group, and vice versa. Included are The Nearness of You, Lullaby of Birdland, The King, from the Basie book; Moonlight in Vermont, Old Devil Moon, and other good ones.

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Down Beat : 03/04/1957
Ralph J. Gleason : 2 stars

If this was designed for pleasant, cocktail-style jazz, the rating would be higher, but as a straight jazz LP it never gets off the ground. Not that the men aren’t good players, they are. But somehow they never seem to get any message across to me.

The device of oboe and flute (as on Nearness and Lullaby) becomes cloying after a bit, and Shank‘s own inventions never seem to lack spark.

The most satisfactory tracks are How Long and Tea, on which Cooper blows some fine, swinging tenor.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact things wrong in this case; the choice of tunes is excellent, the tempos good, the musicianship excellent. It only remains to be said that somehow the ultimate effect is less than the necessary vitality for good jazz; the swinging is too light, the playing too much on a line for my taste.

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Liner Notes by Robert Stewart

How deep is the ocean?

How high is the sky?

If you really want to know, the place to go is Pasadena. There, among the Rose Queens and wisteria vines, you will find the California Institute of Technology, world center of scientific research. It is also the temporary home of about five hundred students who aspire to careers in science and engineering; who, in line with this, have submitted themselves to an extremely rigorous training course.

11 o’clock Thursday morning is assembly time for this student body, and is usually reserved for such things as politicking by the campus politicos, announcements by the Dean of new policies intended to discourage repetition of unpleasant behavior among the students, or perhaps just a few stout yells for dear old Tech.

But at 11o’clock, Thursday, January 19th, 1956, an entirely different type of program was presented; since it promised to be an exciting one, Pacific Jazz made arrangements to record this program, the Bud Shank Quartet in Concert.

The intense interest of this audience in Bud Shank’s playing is evident from the response you will hear on the record. This may come as somewhat of a shock to those who have been thinking all along that they had the Scientist-Type neatly pigeon-holed once and for all, along with shoes, ships, sealing-wax and the like. It also tempts me to express a few personal interpretations of this remarkable instance of empathy between audience and performer. All qualities of contemporary music which could be reasonably expected to appeal to the sense of a young, prospective student… to his primitive side, – the simplicity and order of rhythm, tone and harmony… to his spirit, – the freedom and variety of expression within very loose constraints… to his respect for theory – the existence of a pure construct of the mind… to his inquisitiveness and curiosity about the nature of man – a clear exposé of the inner mind and a reflection of the most fundamental aspects of the world it lives in… to his delight in surprise – comparisons and contrasts, both subtle and unexpectedly obvious… to his ability to recognize and appreciate the order which frequently comes from disorder – the intricacies of good improvisation… to his desire to understand processes of creation, growth, organization, and survival – the evolution of jazz through the years, through an outstanding career, or just through a song… and finally, to his need for diversions – an exciting, refreshing breath of life in what is a demanding and seldom rewarding routine.

If you like this record, there are some others you should also hears: Bud feels that his best studio effort to date is the quartet album (Pacific Jazz PJ-1215) while Coop recommends his recent Capitol release (Capitol T-6513).

The serious listener has jaded tastes by ordinary standards, and the performer is thus faced with a minor dilemma in trying, at one playing, to satisfy both a one-time audience and a repeat-hearing audience via records. But this is music that can stand listening. Ideally, live presentations such as this should be as available as your record player; if not, here is the next best thing – a record of Bud Shank and four confederates playing with a very receptive and enthusiastic audience.

When Lights Are Low
A very pretty tune associated with an old master of modern sounds, Miles Davis. The bridge echoes the first eight up a fourth and, in the last chorus, gives Bud a chance to show off his transparent tone.

Old Devil Moon
A stimulating bass figure introduces this number and continues as background music. Shades of Charlie Parker dot Bud’s second jazz chorus.

The Nearness Of You
Bud demonstrates nicely his continually improving virtuosity on the flute; alone and with oboe accompaniment.

How Long Has This Been Going On & Tea For Two
Bob Cooper matches his considerable talents against two well-tested standards. Second tempo is just right for ex-Hermanite Flores and bassist Don Prell.

Lullaby Of Birdland
A modern-day standard by George Shearing. With complete disregard for their own personal safety, Bud and Coop play oboe respectively on this one. For “courage beyond the call of duty,” a gold star.

Somebody Love Me
Featuring Claude Williamson, the West Coast’s brightest new piano practitioner A nicely voiced first chorus drives straight through into a firmly tempoed single-finger second chorus.

Moonlight In Vermont
With “Good-Time Charley” Flores taking care of continuity, this builds slowly – the early suggestions of double-time become full blown when Bud comes back in and carries on to a fast waltz before the end.

The King
A tune from the old Basie book, written by the Count himself. Harmonically, it’s I Got Rhythm with a Honeysuckle bridge.