Buck Clarke

Buck Clarke
Buck Clarke
Background information
Birth name	William Lewis Clarke
Born	October 2, 1933; Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	October 11, 1988 (aged 55); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Contemporary jazz; cool jazz; soul jazz;
Occupation(s)	Percussionist; composer;
Instruments	Bongos; congas;
Years active	1960–1988
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]

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

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