Birth name Conrad Yeatis Clark Labels Blue Note Occupation(s) Musician Name Sonny Clark | Instruments Piano Role Jazz Pianist Years active 1953–1962 Genres Jazz, Hard bop | |
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Born July 21, 1931
Herminie, Pennsylvania, United States ( 1931-07-21 ) Associated acts Curtis Fuller, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Serge Chaloff, Max Roach, George Duvivier, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Wardell Gray, Bennie Green, Clifford Jordan, Buddy DeFranco, Oscar Pettiford Died January 13, 1963, New York City, New York, United States Albums Cool Struttin', Leapin' and Lopin', Sonny's Crib, Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark Quintets | ||
Sonny Clark - Leapin´ And Lopin´ (1961) (Full Album)
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.
Contents
- Sonny Clark Leapin And Lopin 1961 Full Album
- Early life
- Later life and career
- Legacy
- As leader
- As sideman
- References
Early life
Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pittsburgh. His parents were originally from Stone Mountain, Georgia. His miner father, Emory Clark, died of a lung disease two weeks after Sonny was born. Sonny was the youngest of eight children. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh.
Later life and career
When visiting an aunt in California at age 20, Clark decided to stay and began working with saxophonist Wardell Gray. Clark went to San Francisco with Oscar Pettiford and after a couple months, was working with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco in 1953. Clark toured the United States and Europe with DeFranco until January 1956, when he joined The Lighthouse All-Stars, led by bassist Howard Rumsey.
Wishing to return to the east coast, Clark served as accompanist for singer Dinah Washington in February 1957 in order to relocate to New York City. In New York, Clark was often requested as a sideman by many musicians, partly because of his rhythmic comping. He frequently recorded for Blue Note Records, playing as a sideman with many hard bop players, including Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Clifford Jordan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, and Wilbur Ware. He also recorded sessions with Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Stanley Turrentine, and Lee Morgan.
As a band leader, Clark recorded albums Dial "S" for Sonny (1957), Sonny's Crib (1957), Sonny Clark Trio (1957), with Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, and Cool Struttin' (1958). Sonny Clark Trio, with George Duvivier and Max Roach was released in 1960.
Clark died in New York City; the official cause was listed as a heart attack, but the likely cause was a heroin overdose.
Legacy
Close friend and fellow jazz pianist Bill Evans dedicated the composition "NYC's No Lark" (an anagram of "Sonny Clark") to him after his death, included on Evans' Conversations with Myself (1963). John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond, and Bobby Previte recorded an album of Clark's compositions, Voodoo (1985), as the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet. Zorn also recorded several of Clark's compositions with Bill Frisell and George Lewis on News for Lulu (1988) and More News for Lulu (1992).
As leader
Compilations
As sideman
With Tina Brooks
With Serge Chaloff
With Sonny Criss
With Buddy DeFranco
With Lou Donaldson
With Curtis Fuller
With Dexter Gordon
With Bennie Green
With Grant Green
These albums were recorded in 1961-62 for Blue Note, but not released until 1980. They have since been reissued as The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark.
With Johnny Griffin
With John Jenkins
With Philly Joe Jones
With Clifford Jordan
With Jackie McLean
With Hank Mobley
With Lee Morgan
With Ike Quebec
With Sonny Rollins
With Frank Rosolino
With Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse
With Louis Smith
With Stanley Turrentine
With Don Wilkerson