Sax and flute man Bud Shank was every bit as involved in the blossoming of bossa nova during the early 1960s as was Stan Getz. Released in 2000, Ubatuqui's 28-track retrospective Bossa Nova Years draws upon four albums recorded and released between 1962 and 1965. Most of the material comes from the Pacific Jazz/World Pacific catalog, and was originally released on the LPs Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, Brasamba! Bossa Nova, and Bud Shank & His Brazilian Friends. A couple of tunes were pulled from the Capitol Sergio Mendes album Brasil '65, a project that was greatly enhanced by the presence of Bud Shank, a cool character whose laid-back sensibilities made him a natural for bossa nova. This music may serve as the perfect soundtrack for cruising, carousing, lounging, swimming, sunbathing, smoking, playing cribbage, drinking exotic chilled beverages, and pigging out on fresh fruit and spicy entrees. Or you might want to just lay there and groove to it.