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Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.
Early life
Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pittsburgh. His parents were originally from Stone Mountain, Georgia. His miner father, Emery Clark, died of a lung disease two weeks after Sonny was born. Sonny was the youngest of eight children. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh.
Later life and career
While 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 United States 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 as one of their house musicians, 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. He also recorded sessions with Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Stanley Turrentine, and Lee Morgan.
As a leader, Clark recorded albums Dial "S" for Sonny (1957, Blue Note), Sonny's Crib (1957, Blue Note), Sonny Clark Trio (1957, Blue Note), Cool Struttin' (1958, Blue Note), Blues in the Night (1979, Blue Note, also released on Standards), and a second piano trio album titled Sonny Clark Trio (1960, Time Records).
Clark died in New York City on January 13, 1963 (aged 31). The official cause was listed as a heart attack, but the likely cause was a heroin overdose.
Legacy
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). John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond, and Bobby Previte recorded an album of Clark's compositions, Voodoo (1985), as the Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet. Zorn also recorded several of Clark's compositions with Bill Frisell and George E. Lewis on News for Lulu (1988) and More News for Lulu (1992).
Discography
As leader
| Recording date | Title | Label | Year released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-01 | Oakland, 1955 | Uptown | 1995 | Trio, with Jerry Good (bass), Al Randall (drums); recorded in concert. |
| 1957-07 | Dial "S" for Sonny | Blue Note | 1957 | One track trio, with Wilbur Ware (bass), Louis Hayes (drums); most tracks sextet, with Art Farmer (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax) added |
| 1957-09 | Sonny's Crib | Blue Note | 1958 | Sextet, with Donald Byrd (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums) |
| 1957-10 | Sonny Clark Trio | Blue Note | 1958 | One track solo piano; most tracks trio, with Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1957-12, 1958-01 | Sonny Clark Quintets | Blue Note | 1976 | Quintet with either Clifford Jordan (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Paul Chambers (bass), Pete LaRoca (drums) or Art Farmer (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1958-01 | Cool Struttin' | Blue Note | 1958 | Quintet, with Art Farmer (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1957-10, 1958-11 | The Art of The Trio | Blue Note | 1980 | Some tracks trio with Jymie Merritt (bass), Wes Landers (drums); some tracks trio with Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1958-11, 1958-12 | Blues in the Night | Blue Note | 1979 | Trio, with Paul Chambers (bass), Wes Landers (drums) |
| 1957-12, 1959-03 | My Conception | Blue Note | 1979 | Quintet, with Donald Byrd (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Blakey (drums); reissue added tracks from Sonny Clark Quintets |
| 1960-01 | Sonny Clark Trio also released as The 1960 Time Sessions | Time/Bainbridge/Tompkins Square | 1960 | Trio with George Duvivier (bass), Max Roach (drums) |
| 1961-11 | Leapin' and Lopin' | Blue Note | 1962 | Five tracks quintet, with Tommy Turrentine (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Butch Warren (bass), Billy Higgins (drums); one track quartet, with Ike Quebec (tenor sax) in place of Turrentine and Rouse |
Compilations
- Standards (Blue Note, 1998)
As sideman
