Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke was a highly influential if subtle drummer who helped to define bebop drumming. He was the first to shift the time-keeping rhythm from the bass drum to the ride cymbal, an innovation that has been copied and utilized by a countless number of drummers since the early '40s.
Clarke played vibes, piano and trombone in addition to drums while in school. After stints with Roy Eldridge (1935) and the Jeter-Pillars band, Clarke joined Edgar Hayes' Big Band (1937-38). He made his recording debut with Hayes (which is available on a Classics CD) and showed that he was one of the most swinging drummers of the era. A European tour with Hayes gave Clarke an opportunity to lead his own session, but doubling on vibes was a definite mistake! Stints with the orchestras of Claude Hopkins (1939) and Teddy Hill (1940-41) followed and then Clarke led the house band at Minton's Playhouse (which also included Thelonious Monk). The legendary after-hours sessions led to the formation of bop and it was during this time that Clarke modernized his style and received the nickname "Klook-Mop" (later shortened to "Klook") due to the irregular "bombs" he would play behind soloists. A flexible drummer, Clarke was still able to uplift the more traditional orchestras of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald (1941) and the combos of Benny Carter (1941-42), Red Allen and Coleman Hawkins; he also recorded with Sidney Bechet. However after spending time in the military, Clarke stayed in the bop field, working with Dizzy Gillespie's big band and leading his own modern sessions; he co-wrote "Epistrophy" with Monk and "Salt Peanuts" with Gillespie. Clarke spent the late '40s in Europe, was with Billy Eckstine in the U.S. in 1951 and became an original member of the Modern Jazz Quartet (1951-55). However he felt confined by the music and quit the MJQ to freelance, performing on an enormous amount of records during 1955-56.
In 1956 Clarke moved to France where he did studio work, was hired by touring American all-stars and played with Bud Powell and Oscar Pettiford in a trio called the Three Bosses (1959-60). Clarke was co-leader with Francy Boland of a legendary all-star big band (1961-72), one that had Kenny Clarke playing second drums! Other than a few short visits home, Kenny Clarke worked in France for the remainder of his life and was a major figure on the European jazz scene.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Ensadinado
Fats Sadi, Francy Boland, Jimmy Woode, Kenny Clarke
Jazz - Erschienen bei MPS am 11.09.2006
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Essen, Grugahalle, 1960 (Live)
Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Coleman Hawkins
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazzline am 26.11.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kenny Clarke - a Life in Jazz
Jazz - Erschienen bei We Love Jazz am 26.02.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Songs & Songs
Jazz - Erschienen bei Beat Machine Records am 17.10.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rhoda Scott + Kenny Clarke
Jazz - Erschienen bei Universal Music Division Decca Records France am 01.01.1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Best
Jazz - Erschienen bei Vintage Jukebox am 23.08.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bohemia
Kenny Clarke, Cannonball Adderley
Jazz - Erschienen bei CoolNote am 01.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Trio
Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall, Kenny Clarke
Jazz - Erschienen bei Fresh Sound Records am 04.08.1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Plays Andre Hodeir
Jazz - Erschienen bei Universal Music Division Decca Records France am 01.01.1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Django (Bonus Track Version)
John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Modern Jazz Quartet, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke
Jazz - Erschienen bei Icon Jazz Series am 04.08.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
American Swinging In Paris
Jazz - Erschienen bei Parlophone (France) am 01.01.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazzmen: Detroit (Album of 1956)
Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, Kenny Clarke
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz Classics am 30.11.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pieces Of Time
Andrew Cyrille, Don Moye, Kenny Clarke, Milford Graves
Jazz - Erschienen bei Soul Note am 01.01.1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deux Hommes Dans Manhattan - Suivi De L'Integrale Christian Chevallier (Prince du jazz français, 1955-1962)
Kenny Clarke, Christian Chevallier
Jazz - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 07.07.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kenny Clarke's Sextet Plays André Hodeir (Mono Version)
Jazz - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kenny Clarke & Francy Boland Big Band: Now Hear Our Meanin' - The Complete 1963 Recordings
Jazz - Erschienen bei Blue Velvet am 21.07.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Quintessence / Kenny Clarke
Bebop - Erschienen bei Fremeaux Heritage am 30.07.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Telefunken Blues (Bonus Track Version)
Jazz - Erschienen bei The Jazz Corner am 07.10.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zoot Sims - Lost Tapes
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazzhaus am 01.10.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Last Train from Overbrook
Jazz - Erschienen bei Chard am 28.12.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo