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Sonny Clark

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sonny Clark was an American jazz pianist and composer who played mainly hard bop. He was born in 1931 in Herminie, a small mining town in Pennsylvania, and moved to Pittsburgh at twelve. At twenty he stayed on in California, where he began playing with the saxophonist Wardell Gray. After that he worked with the clarinettist Buddy DeFranco, among others, with whom he toured the United States and Europe, and in 1956 with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars. In 1957 he accompanied the singer Dinah Washington and so moved to New York.

Music and breakthrough

In New York Clark became a sought-after accompanist, partly because of his rhythmic way of comping. He recorded often for Blue Note, where he played with musicians such as Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Grant Green, Jackie McLean and Hank Mobley. He also contributed to sessions by Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins and Billie Holiday. Under his own name he made albums such as Dial S for Sonny in 1957, Sonny's Crib and Cool Struttin in 1958 and Leapin and Lopin in 1961. Part of his work was released only after his death, such as Blues in the Night and My Conception in 1979.

Influence

Clark died in 1963, at the age of thirty-one, in New York. The official cause was a heart attack, but it was probably a heroin overdose. His friend Bill Evans dedicated the piece NYC's No Lark to him, an anagram of his name. In the 1980s and 1990s John Zorn recorded albums with Clark's compositions, including News for Lulu.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the title track of Cool Struttin. Notice how Clark's right hand lets the melody flow relaxed and bluesy, while the bass and drums lay down a calm, walking pulse.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: ArtistsHard bopBebop