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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  
(Results 26-50 of 87 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clarke, Kenny," accessed November 6, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.

Clarke, Kenny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.

"Clarke, Kenny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 6 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158

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