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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 76-85 of 85 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 88144 6/14/1955 I can't get started Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88145 6/14/1955 This will make you laugh Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88146 6/14/1955 Suppertime-2 Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88147 6/16/1955 My one and only love Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88148 6/16/1955 Yardbird suite Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88149 6/16/1955 Give me the simple life Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88150 6/16/1955 I'll remember April Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88151 6/16/1955 You took advantage of me Carmen McRae instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 89232 1/24/1956 Spring it was Mat Mathews Quintet instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 107472 10/20/1949 My man (Mon homme) Sidney Bechet instrumentalist, drums  
(Results 76-85 of 85 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clarke, Kenny," accessed April 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.

Clarke, Kenny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158.

"Clarke, Kenny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103158

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