Sonny Clark Trio 1957 Rar
Jazz history tends to favor the great musical innovators whose stylistic leaps have formed the ever-changing vocabulary of jazz: the improvisational wonder of, the free flight of, the chameleon-like transformations of, and the singular piano world of. For long a time, Monk, along with, has been seen as one of the architects of bop piano, and while this is certainly true, it can be interesting to hear those bop pianists who in their own way glow with a personal voice, and yet have received a less prominent place in the annals of jazz. Pianists like. Add to this list:.He was born Conrad Yeatis Clark, but became known in jazz as Sonny Clark. His life was short, but during his time on earth, 31 years in all, he made an amazing amount of music as a sideman and leader.Clark's early musical life was formed by listening to broadcasts in the forties of and, but he was also influenced early on by pianists and Art Tatum.
Sonny Clark, I was work - ing as a waiter at the Five Spot club in Cooper Square in Manhattan in 1957,” said jazz bass player Bob Whiteside. “At the time, Sonny was working as the chauffeur for Nica Pannonica de Koenigswarter, a wealthy patron of jazz musicians, and he came in with her and Thelonious Monk.
Clark was in touch with the West Coast scene, playing with clarinetist 's Quartet, but was not particularly interested in moving in the direction of third stream music whose experiments with classical music was too far away from the pure sound of jazz. Instead, Clark gained prominence as a prime bop pianist with many sessions for Blue Note as a sideman and leader.While Clark's canon has been constructed around his Blue Note-recordings, he also released a noteworthy album on Bob Shad's Time label in 1960. It is simply called Sonny Clark Trio, but should not be confused with the Blue Note- release from 1957 where he played with bassist. The 1960-version of the trio consists of bassist and the drum-phenomena.
Together they form an organic unity that allows Clark's musicality to shine in a perfect setting.The thing that is immediately noticeable about Clark is the clarity and playfulness of his lines combined with emotional depth and a wide register of rhythms and harmonies. Clark simply makes the piano sing.
This is evident from the beginning on 'Minor Meeting,' one of eight tunes on an album consisting of all originals, and what sparkling music it is. The possibility of hearing two alternate takes of 'Minor Meeting' shows that Clark was in the zone every time. Music simply poured out of him and Roach, whether he plays with dancing sticks or shuffling brushes, follows him every step of the way in the deep pocket-groove of Duvivier.Clark's gift as a composer is evident throughout the album from the catchy licks of the opener to the hummable melody of 'Nica,' an homage to jazz-baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and 'Blues Mambo' and 'Blues Blue' whose titles reveal all about their musical origin.
Then there is the beautiful ballad 'My Conception' that surprisingly echoes ' 'Waltz for Debby,' just listen to the first minute of the tune and it is tempting to think that Evans got a solid dose of inspiration from Clark. In fact, Evans was an admirer of Clark, as stated in Ben Ratliff's liner notes, and 'Waltz for Debby' was premiered on the iconic Evans album of the same name at a time when Clark's composition had been around for some time. It was already on a Blue Note-session from 1959.No matter what, there is no doubt that Sonny Clark was highly esteemed among musicians and listeners. Time has only done Clark a favor and confirms this particular album as the jewel it is. The complete trio session is re- released on Tompkins Square as a limited edition 2LP set for Record Store Day with the album and an additional LP of alternate takes. The sound is warm, crisp and clear, just like Clark's piano and the original notes from Nat Hentoff supplemented by Ben Ratliff's eloquent and detailed notes. This is the way jazz re-releases should be done and one can only hope that Tompkins Square will do more jazz re-releases like this in the future.
Conrad Yeatis “Sonny” Clark was born on July 21, 1931 in Herminie, Pennsylvannia and passed away on January 13, 1963 in New York City.Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town southeast of Pittsburgh. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh.
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 U.S.
Sonny Clark Trio 1957
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.
Sonny Clark Trio 1957 Rar Edition
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 of a heart attack in New York City in 1963.Clark’s albums are generally upbeat affairs. His solos crackle with electricity, while he lends solid support to the horns (Clark stated in interviews that he enjoyed comping almost as much as he enjoyed soloing). On only a few occasions did Clark record in a trio setting, the most notable of which was the Sonny Clark Trio album.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).