CLARINET
A single-reed woodwind instrument, popular in early jazz and played by Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and Artie Shaw, among others. See also BASS CLARINET; BATISTE, ALVIN (1932–2007); DANIELS, EDDIE (1941–); DAVERN, KENNY (1935–2006); DODDS, WARREN “BABY” (1898–1959); HUCKO, MICHAEL ANDREW “PEANUTS” (1918–2003); NOONE, JIMMIE (1895–1944); PROCOPE, RUSSELL (1908–1981); RUSSELL, CHARLES ELLSWORTH “PEE WEE” (1906–1969); SWEATMAN, WILBUR (1882–1961).
CLARKE, KENNY (1914–1985)
American drummer who was instrumental in the bebop movement. Clarke got his start playing with Roy Eldridge in Philadelphia, then moved to New York by way of St. Louis. While in New York he played in the house band at Minton’s Playhouse and, along with Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, and Bud Powell, helped lay the foundation for the bebop style. Central to his playing were moving the timekeeping role on the drum set from the bass drum to the ride cymbal, which freed up the snare and bass drum to be used in his trademark “dropping bombs,” or adding offbeat accents. After a brief stint in the military, Clarke became a founding member of the Milt Jackson Quartet (the forerunner to the Modern Jazz Quartet) in 1951 and also made many recordings with Miles Davis, including the seminal recording Birth of the Cool. After his association with the Modern Jazz Quartet ended in 1955, he moved to Paris and performed with Bud Powell’s trio, among many other groups. He continued to live and work in Europe until his death in 1985.
CLARKE, STANLEY (1951–)
Settling on the bass guitar only after learning the accordion, violin, cello, and bass, Stanley Clarke got his first notable jazz gigs working first with Horace Silver, Pharoah Sanders, and Joe Henderson during the early 1970s. During a tour with Stan Getz, he founded the group Return to Forever with pianist Chick Corea. It was as a member of this group that Clarke’s amazing technique on the bass guitar was recognized, and Clarke was influential in the years before the discovery of bassist Jaco Pastorius. After his time in Return to Forever, Clarke moved mostly away from jazz and into the realm of commercial music. In the early 1980s, Clarke and his longtime friend and colleague, keyboardist George Duke, teamed up to form the Clarke/Duke Project. The duo scored a Top 20 pop hit with “Sweet Baby,” recorded three albums, and toured internationally. As a composer, orchestrator, and conductor and performer, Clarke has over 70 film and television credits to his name and provided the orchestral scoring for such films as Boyz ’N the Hood, What’s Love Got to Do with It?, and Romeo Must Die, among others. He was honored as Rolling Stone magazine’s first Jazzman of the Year and has been voted Best Electric Bass Player numerous times in DownBeat magazine’s reader and critic polls. Clarke and his wife, Sofia, established the Stanley Clarke Foundation, a charitable organization that awards scholarships to talented young musicians each year. Clarke is a four-time Grammy Award winner.
CLARKE, TERRY (1944–)
A Canadian drum set player, Terry Clarke worked with various local groups and visiting American musicians until he toured the United States with alto saxophonist John Handy from 1965 to 1967. He spent 1967 to 1969 as a member of the pop group the Fifth Dimension before settling in Toronto in 1970. While in Toronto he freelanced and recorded with many musicians, including Ted Moses, Frank Rosolino, Chet Baker, Blue Mitchell, Herb Ellis, and Art Pepper. Clarke was a regular member of Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass and toured internationally with Oscar Peterson. In 1985 Clarke moved to New York, where he continued to work with Hall, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, and Helen Merrill, among many others. He returned to Toronto in 1999 where he joined the Rob McConnell Tentet. Clarke’s 2009 debut album, It’s About Time (Blue Music Group), won a Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year and featured guitarist Jim Hall, alto saxophonist Greg Osby, and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano.
CLARKE-BOLAND BIG BAND
Big band formed by Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland. The band was based mostly in Europe, recording its first album in 1961 and disbanding in 1973.
CLAVE
A rhythmic concept underpinning salsa and other related jazz styles, the clave holds the rhythm together in Afro-Cuban music. See also AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ.
CLAXTONOLA RECORDS
A record label and company founded in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1918 and active until 1925.
CLAYTON, JEFF (1954–)
A multi-reed instrumentalist, Clayton studio oboe and English horn while a student at California State University, Northridge. He was asked to join the band of Stevie Wonder while still in college and spent three years recording and touring as an alto saxophonist with the group. He formed the Clayton-Hamilton Big Band along with his brother, bassist John Clayton, in 1986. During his career, Clayton served as a jazz faculty member at institutions including the University of Southern California, UCLA, and California State University, Long Beach.
CLAYTON, JOHN (1952–)
Clayton is a composer, arranger, conductor, educator, and bassist. After playing in string programs during his early school years, Clayton began studying bass with Ray Brown at the age of 16. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in bass performance in 1975. Clayton then toured with the Monty Alexander Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra before accepting the position as principal bassist with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 1980. After returning to the United States, he cofounded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra in 1986 along with his brother Jeff Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California, where he taught until 2009. He has performed with a large number of jazz artists, including Milt Jackson and vocalist Diana Krall, among others. He has served as artistic director for numerous jazz festivals, including the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, the Sarasota Jazz Festival, and the Santa Fe Jazz Party, and he served as president of the International Society of Bassists. He has garnered one Grammy Award and eight additional nominations. See also BIG BAND.
CLAYTON, WILBUR DORSEY “BUCK” (1911–1991)
A trumpet player, Buck Clayton got his start in California in 1934 when he formed a big band and played in Shanghai, China, for two years. Upon returning to California in 1936, he was invited to join the Count Basie Orchestra to replace “Hot Lips” Page and was a member of Count Basie’s band until he was drafted into military service in 1943. During his time with the Basie band, he achieved notoriety for his solo work and also participated in sessions with Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, and Billie Holiday. While with Basie he also became an arranger; after his return from military service in 1946, he wrote arrangements for Basie, Benny Goodman, and Harry James. In the late 1940s Clayton led his own sextet on a tour through Europe, and in the mid-1950s he recorded some memorable jam sessions organized by John Hammond for Columbia, in addition to touring with Mezz Mezzrow and Eddie Condon and appearing at festivals with Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, and J. J. Johnson.