Buck Clarke
- Contemporary jazz
- cool jazz
- soul jazz
- Percussionist
- composer
- Bongos
- congas
- Argo
- Offbeat
- Full Circle
Herbie Hancock
Freddie Hubbard
Russ Freeman
Jimmy Smith
William Lewis "Buck" Clarke[1][2] (October 2,[3] 1933[4] – October 11, 1988[3]) was an American jazz percussionist. His many musical styles included soul, funk and contemporary jazz, with an Afrocentric perspective.[5]
Early life
Clarke was born in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1933.[2][5] At 15, he started working at a display sign store. The father of one of his bosses was a cousin to Duke Ellington,[5] so Clarke began to listen to jazz records by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Allen Jones and Dizzy Gillespie during lunch breaks and weekends,[6][5] and he became "hooked on jazz."[7] He eventually had a job offer at a D.C. club where he learned to play the congas.[5]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Buck_Clark_in_the_1980%27s.jpg/220px-Buck_Clark_in_the_1980%27s.jpg)
One of his very first gigs was at a show called "Jig Show", which featured dancers and comedians.[5] Clarke would travel throughout the world, going to places such as New Orleans, where he first discovered rumba music.[5] Many others tried to encourage young Clarke to play "real instruments", but his position was the bongo drums.[5]
When he was 16 or 17 years old, he played with Charlie Parker.[5] Clarke expressed his feelings about performing with Wess Anderson's band The Washingtonians which included Eddie Jones and Charlie Parker, saying it had him "shook up" and describing it as "mind blowing".[5] He played with Art Blakey's The Jazz Messengers at the age of 19 or 20.[5] He was a member of an eight-piece band which furthered his musical education.[5] He also played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968.[2]Clarke played with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Smith and others.
Clarke was an accomplished freelance painter.[6] Some of his early artwork is displayed here on his Facebook page.
Clarke suffered from diabetes that cost him his leg in 1986.[8] He died on October 11, 1988, in Los Angeles.[3]
Personal life
He was married to his wife, Memory Russell.[citation needed]
Discography
As leader
Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | Cool Hands | Offbeat | Charles Hampton on (clarinet), (alto saxophone), (wood flute), (piano), Don McKenzie on (vibes), Fred Williams on (bass), Roscoe Hunter on (drums) |
1961 | Drum Sum | Argo | Charles Hampton on (clarinet), (alto saxophone), (wood flute), (piano), Don McKenzie on (vibes), Fred Williams on (bass), Roscoe Hunter on (drums) |
1963 | The Buck Clarke Sound | Argo | Dwayne Austin on (bass), Billy Hart on (drums), Charles Hampton on (flute), (alto saxophone), (piano), Jimmy Crawford on (piano) (tracks: 2, 3, 5), Lennie Cujé on (vibraphone), (marimba) |
1988 | Hot Stuff | Full Circle |
As sideman
With Les McCann
- Second Movement (Atlantic, 1971) – with Eddie Harris
- Invitation to Openness (Atlantic, 1972)
- Talk to the People (Atlantic, 1972)
- Live at Montreux (Atlantic, 1972)
- Layers (Atlantic, 1972)
- Another Beginning (Atlantic, 1974)
With Willis Jackson
- Blue Gator (Prestige, 1960)
- Cookin' Sherry (Prestige, 1961)
- Together Again! (Prestige, 1965) – "This'll Get To Ya'" & "It Might As Well Be Spring"
- Together Again, Again (Prestige, 1967)
With Eugene McDaniels
- Outlaw (Prestige, 1960)
With Dave Hubbard
- Dave Hubbard (Mainstream, 1971)
With Cannonball Adderley
- Black Messiah (Capitol, 1971)
With The Isley Brothers
- Givin' It Back – "Love The One You're With" (T-Neck, 1971)
With Nina Simone
- The Great Show Live in Paris (Disques Festival, 1975)
With Jimmy Smith
- Root Down – Jimmy Smith Live! (Verve, 1972)
- Paid In Full (Mojo, 1974)
- Jimmy Smith '75 (Mojo, 1975)
- It's Necessary (Mercury, 1977)
With John Mayall
- A Banquet In Blues (ABC, 1976)
With Herbie Hancock
- Sextant (Columbia, 1973)
With Freddie Hubbard
- Liquid Love (Columbia, 1975)
- Gleam (CBS/Sony, 1975)
- Splash (Fantasy, 1981)
- Born to Be Blue (Pablo, 1982)
With Ron Escheté
- Stump Jumper (Bainbridge, 1986)
With Thelonious Monster
- Stormy Weather (Relativity, 1989)
See also
Gallery
References
- ^ a b "William Lewis Clarke Artwork for Sale at Online Auction | William Lewis Clarke Biography & Info".
- ^ a b c "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c "William Buck Clarke". familysearch.org. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016.
- ^ "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Night Journey Rewind with Percussionist Buck Clarke". Nightjourneyrewind.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Afro American – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ "Night Journey Rewind with Percussionist Buck Clarke – NJR". Nightjourneyrewind.com. March 31, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
- ^ "Jazz Reviews: Musicians Pay Tribute To Buck Clarke". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1986. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Buck Clarke discography at Discogs
- Buck Clarke at AllMusic
- Buck Clarke on Facebook
- Buck Clarke (Biography from NightJourneyRewind.com)
- Many Buck's Earliest Recordings (Discography from JazzDiscography.com)
- Buck Clarke interview in 1988 in his Los Angeles home before his death
- Buck Clarke discography at Jazzdisco.org
- v
- t
- e
- Dale Barlow
- Mickey Bass
- Terence Blanchard
- Joanne Brackeen
- Cameron Brown
- Donald Brown
- Bobby Broom
- Donald Byrd
- George Cables
- Buck Clarke
- Chick Corea
- Steve Davis
- Spanky DeBrest
- Sam Dockery
- Kenny Dorham
- Essiet Essiet
- Robin Eubanks
- Charles Fambrough
- Curtis Fuller
- Carlos Garnett
- John Gilmore
- Benny Golson
- Benny Green
- Johnny Griffin
- Bill Hardman
- Donald Harrison
- Philip Harper
- John Hicks
- Freddie Hubbard
- Dennis Irwin
- Javon Jackson
- Carter Jefferson
- Geoffrey Keezer
- Frank Lacy
- Brian Lynch
- Branford Marsalis
- Wynton Marsalis
- Jackie McLean
- Jymie Merritt
- Mulgrew Miller
- Hank Mobley
- Lee Morgan
- Billy Pierce
- Lonnie Plaxico
- Valery Ponomarev
- Wallace Roney
- Gregory Charles Royal
- David Schnitter
- Woody Shaw
- Clarence Seay
- Wayne Shorter
- Horace Silver
- Victor Sproles
- Bobby Timmons
- Jean Toussaint
- McCoy Tyner
- Cedar Walton
- Peter Washington
- Doug Watkins
- Bobby Watson
- James Williams
- Reggie Workman
albums
- The Jazz Messengers (1956)
- Hard Bop (1957)
- Ritual (1957)
- Selections from Lerner and Loewe's... (1957)
- Cu-Bop (1957)
- Hard Drive (1957)
- A Night in Tunisia (1958)
- Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (1958)
- Moanin' (1959)
- The Big Beat (1960)
- A Night in Tunisia (1961)
- Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1961)
- Mosaic (1962)
- Buhaina's Delight (1963)
- Caravan (1963)
- The Freedom Rider (1964)
- Free for All (1964)
- Kyoto (1964)
- Golden Boy (1964)
- Indestructible (1965)
- 'S Make It (1965)
- Soul Finger (1965)
- Tough! (1966)
- Like Someone in Love (1967)
- The Witch Doctor (1969)
- Roots & Herbs (1970)
- Child's Dance (1972)
- Buhaina (1973)
- Anthenagin (1973)
- In Walked Sonny (1975)
- Backgammon (1976)
- Gypsy Folk Tales (1977)
- In My Prime Vol. 1 (1978)
- In My Prime Vol. 2 (1978)
- Reflections in Blue (1979)
- Night in Tunisia: Digital Recording (1979)
- Album of the Year (1981)
- Oh-By the Way (1984)
- Blue Night (1985)
- Feeling Good (1986)
- Not Yet (1988)
- I Get a Kick Out of Bu (1988)
- Chippin' In (1990)
- One for All (1990)
albums
- At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 (1956)
- At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 2 (1956)
- A Midnight Session with the Jazz Messengers (1957)
- 1958 – Paris Olympia (1959)
- At the Jazz Corner of the World, Vols. 1 & 2 (1959)
- Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1960)
- Paris Jam Session (1960)
- Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World, Vols. 1 and 2 (1960)
- A Jazz Hour with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers: Blues March (1961)
- Three Blind Mice (1962)
- Ugetsu (1963)
- Buttercorn Lady (1966)
- Jazz Messengers '70 (1970)
- In This Korner (1978)
- Live at Montreux and Northsea (1980)
- One by One (1981)
- Art Blakey in Sweden (1981)
- Straight Ahead (1981)
- Keystone 3 (1982)
- Live at Kimball's (1985)
- The Art of Jazz: Live in Leverkusen (1989)
albums
- Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (1956)
- The Cool Voice of Rita Reys (1956)
- Drum Suite (1957)
- Pisces (1979)
- Africaine (1981)
- Originally (1982)
albums
- Des Femmes Disparaissent (1959)
- Les liaisons dangereuses 1960 (1960)
solo albums
- Blakey (1954)*
- A Night at Birdland Vol. 1, Vol. 2 & Vol. 3 (1954)
- Orgy in Rhythm (1957)
- Art Blakey Big Band (1957)
- Holiday for Skins (1958)
- Drums Around the Corner (1959)
- The African Beat (1962)
- A Jazz Message (1963)
- Hold On, I'm Coming (1966)
- Killer Joe (1981)
- Bluesiana Triangle (1990)