Sonny Clark
Like Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker before him, Sonny Clark's life was short but it burned with musical intensity. Influenced deeply by Bud Powell, Clark nonetheless developed an intricate and hard-swinging harmonic sensibility that was full of nuance and detail. Regarded as the quintessential hard bop pianist, Clark never got his due before he passed away in 1963 at the age of 31, despite the fact that it can be argued that he never played a bad recording date either as a sideman or as a leader. Known mainly for seven records on the Blue Note label with a host of players including such luminaries as John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, Paul Chambers, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones, and others, Clark actually made his recording debut with Teddy Charles and Wardell Gray, but left soon after to join Buddy DeFranco. His work with the great clarinetist has been documented in full in a Mosaic set that is now sadly out of print. Clark also backed Dinah Washington, Serge Chaloff, and Sonny Criss before assuming his role as a leader in 1957. Clark's classic is regarded as Cool Struttin' but each date he led on Blue Note qualifies as a classic, including his final date, Sonny's Crib with John Coltrane. And though commercial success always eluded him, he was in demand as a sideman and played dozens of Alfred Lion-produced dates, including Tina Brooks' Minor Move. Luckily, Clark's contribution is well documented by Alfred Lion; he has achieved far more critical, musical, and popular acclaim than he ever did in life.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Sonny's Crib / Cool Struttin
Jazz - Released by Universe Remasterings on 13 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Speak Low
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Impressions on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Minor Meeting
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Impressions on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hard-Swinging Style
Jazz - Released by Bela Records on 7 Dec 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Jazz Collection: It's a Sonny Day
Jazz - Released by Top Tracks on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Crashing: Music from the Television Series
Jazz - Released by Time Records on 8 Mar 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Essential Jazz Collection: Dial "S" For Sonny
Jazz - Released by Top Tracks on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Essential Jazz Collection: My Conception
Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic Sonny Clark, Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Speak Low, Vol. 4
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Speak Low, Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Speak Low, Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cool Struttin'
Jazz - Released by Lumi Entertainment on 5 Jan 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonny Clark Trio
Jazz - Released by Lumi Entertainment on 27 Jan 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -