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 51-75 of 87 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 73497 | 4/9/1946 | Baby, I don't cry over you | Billie Holiday | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 73498 | 4/9/1946 | I'll look around | Billie Holiday | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 73987 | 7/1/1947 | This train | Sister Rosetta Tharpe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 73988 | 7/1/1947 | Oh, when I come to the end of my journey | Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 73989 | 7/1/1947 | Didn't it rain | Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 73990 | 7/1/1947 | Stretch out | Mary (Marie) Knight ; Sister Rosetta Tharpe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 74006 | 7/16/1947 | Another woman's man | Monette Moore | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 74007 | 7/16/1947 | Please Mr. Blues | Monette Moore | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 74008 | 7/16/1947 | Bad luck blues | Cousin Joe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 74009 | 7/16/1947 | Box car shorty | Cousin Joe | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84368 | 4/29/1953 | Owl eyes-1 | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84369 | 4/29/1953 | Study in purple-1 | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84370 | 4/29/1953 | There's a small hotel | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84371 | 4/29/1953 | Laura-1 | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84813 | 7/6/1953 | Maya | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84814 | 7/3/1953 | Night and day | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84815 | 7/6/1953 | The nearness of you | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84816 | 7/6/1953 | Bags' groove | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84885 | 7/20/1953 | My kinda love | Jackie Paris ; Tony Scott Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84886 | 7/20/1953 | Time to go | Tony Scott Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84887 | 7/20/1953 | Opus one | Jackie Paris ; Tony Scott Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 84888 | 7/20/1953 | The blues have got me | Tony Scott Orchestra | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 85766 | 1/25/1954 | Lullaby of the leaves-1 | Mat Mathews Quintet | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 88140 | 6/14/1955 | Just one of those things | Carmen McRae | instrumentalist, drums | |||
Decca | 88141 | 6/14/1955 | Sometimes I'm happy | Carmen McRae | instrumentalist, drums |
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
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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