In the late 50s and early 60s Sonny Clark functioned as the de facto house pianist for the fabled Blue Note label. Many of his recordings with giants like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Curtis Fuller among many others are considered classics of the hard bop genre. Unfortunately, this Bud Powell-influenced pianist suffered from drug and alcohol addictions and his career was cut tragically short at the age of 31. As a result, Sonny’s output as a leader, Dial S for Sonny, Sonny's Crib, Leapin’ and Lopin’, Cool Struttin' are prime examples, was rather meager. My Conception was recorded in 1959 and until now has only been readily available in Japan. The CD features Sonny working out on eight original compositions (there are two versions of Minor Meeting) with illustrious guests Donald Byrd (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor), Paul Chambers (bass), Clifford Jordan (tenor), Kenny Burrell (guitar) and drummers Art Blakey and Pete La Roca. A “typical” Blue Note hard bop session that is a welcome addition to the Blue Note Connoisseur Series and Clark’s discography. ####

Sonny Clark at All About Jazz.
Visit Sonny Clark on the web.

Style: Mainstream/Bop/Hard Bop/Cool
Published: April 01, 2000

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