Kenny Clarke
Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914 – January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-hat, along with the use of the bass drum for irregular accents ("dropping bombs"). Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was orphaned at the age of about five and began playing the drums when he was eight or nine on the urging of a teacher at his orphanage. Turning professional in 1931 at the age of seventeen, he moved to New York City in 1935 when he began to establish his drumming style and reputation. As the house drummer at Minton's Playhouse in the early 1940s, he participated in the after-hours jams that led to the birth of bebop. After military service in the US and Europe between 1943 and 1946, he returned to New York, but from 1948 to 1951 he was mostly based in Paris. He stayed in New York between 1951 and 1956, performing with the Modern Jazz Quartet and playing on early Miles Davis recordings. He then moved permanently to Paris, where he performed and recorded with European and visiting American musicians and co-led the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band between 1961 and 1972. He continued to perform and record until the month before he died of a heart attack in January 1985. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 9, 1914 (Pittsburgh), Died January 26, 1985 (Montreuil)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1937 - 1956
Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, vibraphone, leader, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 87 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 62575 | 10-in. | 9/7/1937 | So rare | Edgar Hayes Quintet | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 62675 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | Queen Isabella | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 62676 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | Old King Cole | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 62677 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | Shindig | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 62678 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | Let's love | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 62679 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | I know now | Edgar Hayes Quintet | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 62680 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | Sweetheart | Edgar Hayes Quintet | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 62681 | 10-in. | 10/11/1937 | When you and I were young, Maggie | Edgar Hayes Quintet | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63157 | 10-in. | 1/14/1938 | Meet the band | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63158 | 10-in. | 1/14/1938 | Fugitive from a harem | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63159 | 10-in. | 1/14/1938 | Swingin' in the promised land | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63160 | 10-in. | 1/14/1938 | Barbary Coast blues | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63294 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | Help me | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63295 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | Without you | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63296 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | You're my first thought every morning | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63297 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | In the mood | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63298 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | Star dust | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 63299 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | Sophisticated swing | Edgar Hayes Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums, vibraphone | ||
Decca | 69114 | 10-in. | 5/1/1941 | I'm my baby's baby | Buddy Johnson and his Band | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69115 | 10-in. | 5/1/1941 | New Please Mr. Johnson | Buddy Johnson and his Band | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69116 | 10-in. | 5/1/1941 | It's the gold | Buddy Johnson and his Band | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69117 | 10-in. | 5/1/1941 | Troyon Club swing | Buddy Johnson and his Band | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69118 | 10-in. | 5/1/1941 | Southern exposure | Buddy Johnson and his Band | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69784 | 10-in. | 10/6/1941 | Jim | Ella Fitzgerald | instrumentalist, drums | ||
Decca | 69785 | 10-in. | 10/6/1941 | This love of mine | Ella Fitzgerald | instrumentalist, drums |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clarke, Kenny," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.
Clarke, Kenny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.
"Clarke, Kenny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Kenny Clarke
Discogs: Kenny Clarke
Allmusic: Kenny Clarke
Grove: Kenny Clarke
IMDb: Kenny Clarke
Britannica: Kenny Clarke
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Clarke, Kenny, 1914-1985 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81055676
Wikidata: Kenny Clarke - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q346779
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/116335684
MusicBrainz: Kenny Clarke - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/48eaf8a1-6e44-488c-a91a-736867f1ba50
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