garthsj Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 (edited) I have just received the news that Larry Bunker has died. He was one of the great west coast percussionists, appearing on many important dates. I will post more details when I know them. Edited March 9, 2005 by garthsj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I'm sorry to hear this. My favorite work of his was with the Mulligan/Baker quartet. He also played the vibes on one of my favorite albums, Henry Mancini's Music from Peter Gunn. And of course he played with Bill Evans in the 60s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceW Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Oh man, I've got to let vibists know on the vibe network will miss my man Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DizzySpells Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I love them doorbells. Sorry to hear this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Oh, no! I think he was on every film scoring session I ever attended. I used to love talking to him about his earlier jazz recordings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Very sad to hear this. He was an excellent musician! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Kat Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I just have Bill Evans's track, I Should Care on the Evans's Finest Hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 The man made some great music. RIP, LB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Sorry to hear about this. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Kat Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I think they got a lot on him on the Bill Evans book. (softcover) Where they tell each and every one of Evans's trios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Sad news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 ...what a drag ; I was just watching him on old dvd. I always liked his playing! RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMP Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Listening to Mel Torme's "Comin' Home Baby" album today, wondered who the swinging drummer was on the big band tracks - actually made a trip to the library to check the Tom Lord discography. Larry Bunker! (He gave up a lot of lucrative studio work to go with Bill Evans, but ultimately couldn't deal with the personal problems that haunted Evans, according to the bio mentioned above.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 RIP A real great musician, equally good on vibes or drums, small group or big band. Subtle with Bill Evans, powerful with the Clare Fischer big band. Always tasteful, and a real pro. IIRC he was one of the first to feature Gary Burton on one of his LPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fenohr Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Im sorry to hear about Larry's passing. Mike, if you are referring to the Bunker/Burton dates from Shelly's Mannehole, they are both fine sides. I have one on a Japanese label and one on Vault. I dont know if they ever made it to cd, mine are both vinyl. Larry was one of those players that when you saw his name on a date,either on drums or vibes, you knew you were going to get a nice performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Sorry to hear this! Sad news r.i.p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Mike, if you are referring to the Bunker/Burton dates from Shelly's Mannehole, they are both fine sides. I have one on a Japanese label and one on Vault. I dont know if they ever made it to cd, mine are both vinyl. Larry was one of those players that when you saw his name on a date,either on drums or vibes, you knew you were going to get a nice performance. I have the Fresh Sound LP reissue of the Vault - not sure whether they also released a CD of this. Very collgeial move to feature Burton! Didn't know there was a second LP. Very well said - "a nice performance"! How he fit in with Bill Evans on short notice when he visited California with Cuck Israels is a marvel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fenohr Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Now that i checked my stacks, there are two volumes of the Manne-Hole gig on Interplay records and the Vault lp. I think Larry owned the tapes from that gig and licenced them to Interplay and Vault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Bill, those Manne-Hole discs do sound interesting. Who else were playing on them besides Bunker and Burton? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fenohr Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Daniel, The quartet was Larry on cans, Burton on vibes, Mike Wofford piano and Bob West bass. They were recorded in Nov. & Dec. of 1963. Looking at the Lord Disco i see the Interplay lp's were on cd at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Thanks, Bill! I'll look out for these for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthsj Posted March 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 This was published in today's L A Times: March 17, 2005 Larry Bunker, 76; Respected Drummer By Jon Thurber, Times Staff Writer Larry Bunker, a drummer and percussionist who played with a who's who of jazz giants and fashioned a busy career as a film musician, has died. He was 76. Bunker died March 8 at Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a recent stroke, said his wife, Brandyn. A native of Long Beach, Bunker was musically inclined from an early age and was self-taught on piano, accordion, drums and saxophone. In 1946, he was accepted into the U.S. Army band and played drums and piano while serving at Ft. Ord until his discharge in 1948. In the early 1950s, he played with trombonist Howard Rumsey at the fabled Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach. From then on, he played with the top names in jazz, including saxophonists Stan Getz, Art Pepper and Gerry Mulligan, and guitarist Barney Kessel. He was also a member of singer Peggy Lee's band. He joined Bill Evans in 1964 for one of the pianist's better trios. In an interview with Down Beat magazine in 1964, Evans called Bunker a "marvelous musician." "He plays excellent vibes as well as being an all-round percussionist, and being so musical he just does the right thing because he's listening," Evans said. "He really knows music, feels music - and is a superlative drummer." Throughout his long career, Bunker was a highly sought-after studio musician for movies who worked with a number of leading film composers, including Henry Mancini, Alfred Newman, Miklos Rosza, Jerry Goldsmith, Johnny Mandel and John Williams. His first film was "Stalag 17" in 1953 and his last was "The Incredibles" in 2004. He also was a timpanist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and, according to his family, performed on more than 30 Academy Awards programs, including the 77th in February. In his later life, he listened primarily to classical music. According to the late critic Leonard Feather, Bunker's avocations included collecting and restoring antiques, repairing instruments and making custom instruments. In addition to his wife, Bunker is survived by his daughter, Tracy; his brother, George; and a granddaughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I completely missed this news... heard about it this morning from a friend of mine who works at a health-food co-op here (one of the joys of living in Bloomington--you walk into the downtown grocery store and can talk jazz with the guy behind the counter). Very sad to hear of this... somebody at AAJ said that he was also on Tom Waits' SWORDFISHTROMBONES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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