Buck Clarke

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Buck Clarke
Buck Clarke in person.jpg
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Lewis Clarke [1]
Born(1933-10-02)October 2, 1933
Washington, D.C., U.S.
DiedOctober 11, 1988(1988-10-11) (aged 55)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Percussionist
  • composer
Instruments
  • Bongos
  • congas
Years active1960–1988
Labels
  • Argo
  • Offbeat
  • Full Circle
Formerly of Les McCann
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]

Contents

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

Clarke drumming in the 1980s Buck Clark in the 1980's.jpg
Clarke drumming in the 1980s

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 recordedTitleLabelNotes
1960 Cool Hands OffbeatCharles 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)
1988Hot StuffFull Circle

As sideman

With Les McCann

With Willis Jackson

With Eugene McDaniels

With Dave Hubbard

With Cannonball Adderley

With The Isley Brothers

With Nina Simone

With Jimmy Smith

With John Mayall

With Herbie Hancock

With Freddie Hubbard

With Ron Escheté

With Thelonious Monster

See also

Related Research Articles

Jerome Richardson was an American jazz musician and woodwind player. He is cited as playing one of the earliest jazz flute recordings with his work on the 1949 Quincy Jones arranged song "Kingfish".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Wess</span> American saxophonist, flutist, composer and arranger (1922–2013)

Frank Wellington Wess was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic Scott Yanow described him as one of the premier proteges of Lester Young, and a leading jazz flutist of his era—using the latter instrument to bring new colors to Basie's music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Hubbard</span> American jazz trumpeter (1938–2008)

Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Heath</span> American jazz bassist (1923–2005)

Percy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout their long history and also worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbie Lewis</span> American jazz musician

Herbie Lewis was an American jazz double bassist and jazz educator. He played or recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Harold Land, Jackie McLean, Archie Shepp, Tete Montoliu and McCoy Tyner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Barretto</span> Puerto Rican jazz musician (1929–2006)

Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz. His first hit, "El Watusi", was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States. In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa. Nonetheless, many of Barretto's recordings would remain rooted in more traditional genres such as son cubano. A master of the descarga, Barretto was a long-time member of the Fania All-Stars. His success continued into the 1970s with songs such as "Cocinando" and "Indestructible". His last album for Fania Records, Soy dichoso, was released in 1990. He then formed the New World Spirit jazz ensemble and continued to tour and record until his death in 2006. He is the father of American vocalist and saxophonist Chris Barretto, best known for his work with Periphery and Monuments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grady Tate</span> American drummer (1932–2017)

Grady Tate was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated Schoolhouse Rock! series. He received two Grammy nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Priester</span> American jazz trombonist

Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David "Fathead" Newman</span> American jazz and R&B saxophonist (1933–2009)

David "Fathead" Newman was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and early 1960s recordings by Ray Charles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Watkins</span> American jazz musician (1921–1977)

Julius Watkins was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the Down Beat critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Miscellaneous Instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Purdie</span> American R&B, soul and funk drummer (born 1939)

Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time-keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie Shuffle." He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Jemmott</span> American bassist

Gerald Stenhouse Jemmott is an American bass guitarist. He was one of the chief session bassists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with many of the period's well-known soul, blues, and jazz artists. He has won two Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Bailey</span> American jazz trumpeter (1925–2005)

Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey was an American jazz trumpeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Jones (musician)</span> American jazz double bassist, cellist, and composer

Samuel Jones was an American jazz double bassist, cellist, and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chick Corea discography</span> American pianist and composer

Chick Corea (1941–2021) was an American jazz pianist and composer born on June 12, 1941, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Corea started learning piano at age four. He recorded his first album, Tones for Joan's Bones, in 1966. Corea performed with Blue Mitchell, Willie Bobo, Cal Tjader and Herbie Mann in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he performed with Stan Getz and Miles Davis. The National Endowment for the Arts states, "He ranked with Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett as one of the leading piano stylists to emerge after Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, and he composed such notable jazz standards as 'Spain', 'La Fiesta', and 'Windows'."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Butler (guitarist)</span> American soul jazz guitarist

William Butler Jr. was an American soul jazz guitarist.

Wendell Marshall was an American jazz double-bassist.

Oscar Brashear was an American jazz trumpeter and session musician from Chicago, Illinois.

Gene Orloff was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician.

<i>Live at Montreux</i> (Les McCann album) 1973 live album by Les McCann

Live at Montreux is an album by pianist Les McCann recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972 and released on the Atlantic label.

References

  1. 1 2 "William Lewis Clarke Artwork for Sale at Online Auction | William Lewis Clarke Biography & Info".
  2. 1 2 3 "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "William Buck Clarke". familysearch.org. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016.
  4. "Buck Clarke". Facebook.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Night Journey Rewind with Percussionist Buck Clarke". Nightjourneyrewind.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "The Afro American – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  7. "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.
  8. "Jazz Reviews: Musicians Pay Tribute To Buck Clarke". Los Angeles Times . April 28, 1986. Retrieved December 24, 2016.