Buck Clarke


William Lewis "Buck" Clarke was an American jazz percussionist. His many musical styles included soul, funk and contemporary jazz, with an Afrocentric perspective.

Early life

Clarke was born in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1933. At 15, he started working at a display sign store. The father of one of his bosses was a cousin to Duke Ellington, 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, and he became "hooked on jazz." He eventually had a job offer at a D.C. club where he learned to play the congas.

Career

One of his very first gigs was at a show called "Jig Show", which featured dancers and comedians. Clarke would travel throughout the world, going to places such as New Orleans, where he first discovered rumba music. Many others tried to encourage young Clarke to play "real instruments", but his position was the bongo drums.
When he was 16 or 17 years old, he played with Charlie Parker. 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". He played with Art Blakey's The Jazz Messengers at the age of 19 or 20. He was a member of an eight-piece band which furthered his musical education. He also played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968.Clarke played with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Smith and others.
Clarke was an accomplished freelance painter. Some of his early artwork is displayed on his Facebook page.
Clarke suffered from diabetes that cost him his leg in 1986. He died on October 11, 1988, in Los Angeles.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Les McCann
  • Second Movement – with Eddie Harris
  • Invitation to Openness
  • Talk to the People
  • Live at Montreux
  • Layers
  • Another Beginning
With Willis Jackson
  • Blue Gator
  • Cookin' Sherry
  • Together Again! – "This'll Get To Ya'" & "It Might As Well Be Spring"
  • Together Again, Again
With Eugene McDaniels
  • Outlaw
With Dave Hubbard
  • Dave Hubbard
With Cannonball Adderley
  • Black Messiah
With The Isley Brothers
  • Givin' It Back – "Love The One You're With"
With Nina Simone
With Jimmy Smith
  • Root Down – Jimmy Smith Live!
  • Paid In Full
  • Jimmy Smith '75
  • It's Necessary
With John Mayall
With Herbie Hancock
  • Sextant
With Freddie Hubbard
With Ron Escheté
  • Stump Jumper
With Thelonious Monster
  • ''Stormy Weather''