Buck Clarke

Buck Clarke
Buck Clarke
Background information
Birth name William (Buck) Clarke
Born (1933-10-02)October 2, 1933
Washington, D.C., Maryland United States
Died October 11, 1988(1988-10-11) (aged 55)
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Genres Contemporary Jazz, cool jazz, soul jazz
Occupation(s) Percussionist, Artist, composer
Instruments Bongos, Congas
Years active 1960-1988
Labels Argo
Offbeat
Full Circle
Associated acts Les McCann
Herbie Hancock
Freddie Hubbard
Russ Freeman
Jimmy Smith

William "Buck" Clarke[1] (October 2,[2] 1933[3] — October 11, 1988 in Los Angeles[2]) is an American jazz percussionist who played with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Smith and others. He also played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968.[1] Clarke's many musical styles include soul, funk and contemporary jazz, with an Afrocentric perspective.[4]

Biography

He was born in Washington, DC on October 2, 1933.[1][4] At 15, he started working at a display sign store, where the father of one of his bosses was a cousin to Duke Ellington.[4] His boss began to play him records by Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Allen Jones and Dizzy Gillespie.[4] Clarke became "hooked on Jazz",[5] he eventually had a job offer at D.C. club where he learned how to play the congas.[4] One of his very first gigs was at a show called "Jig Show", where as Clarke would perform as well as dancers and comedians.[4] He would travel thought the world, going to places such as New Orleans, where he first discovered to play rumba music for the first time.[4] . Many others tried to encourage young Clarke to play "real instruments", but his position was the bongo drums.[4]

When he was 16 or 17 years old, he played with the late Charlie Parker[4]. Clarke express his feelings in ever performing with Wess Anderson's band The Washingtonians which included, Eddie Jones and Charlie Parker, saying it had Clarke "shook up and mind blowing". [4] He played with Art Blakey's and New York Jazz Messengers at 19 or 20 years old.[4]. He was also a member of eight piece band to be part of his education on learning how to play in a band.[4].

Clarke suffered from diabetes that cost him his leg.[6] He died on October 11, 1988 in Los Angeles.[2]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Les McCann

With Willis Jackson

With Eugene McDaniels

  • Outlaw (Prestige, 1960)

With Dave Hubbard

  • Dave Hubbard (Mainstream, 1971)

With Cannonball Adderley

With The Isley Brothers

With Nina Simone

With Jimmy Smith

With John Mayall

  • A Banquet In Blues (ABC, 1976)

With Herbie Hancock

With Freddie Hubbard

With Ron Escheté

  • Stump Jumper (Bainbridge, 1986)

With Thelonious Monster

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Archived 2016-12-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Night Journey Rewind with Percussionist Buck Clarke". Nightjourneyrewind.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Night Journey Rewind with Percussionist Buck Clarke - NJR". Nightjourneyrewind.com. 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  6. ↑ "Jazz Reviews: Musicians Pay Tribute To Buck Clarke". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1986. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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