Kenny Clarke
b. 9 January 1914, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 26 January 1985. Clarke began playing drums as a child and while in his teens played in several bands in his home town. He later joined Roy Eldridge and also played in the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and in those led by Edgar Hayes, Claude Hopkins and Teddy Hill. In Hill's band at the time (1939) was Dizzy Gillespie, in whom Clarke found a kindred revolutionary spirit. Both in the band and at after-hours sessions at Minton's Playhouse, Clarke began to develop new concepts of jazz drumming. His seemingly eccentric playing, ‘dropping bombs’ (see below), confused many musicians but was greeted with enthusiasm by the more radical newcomers. During this period, Clarke worked with leading jazzmen such as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Charlie Christian. After a mid-40s hiatus for military service, Clarke was soon active in recording studios with Gillespie and other modernists, but his skills were also in demand for other, more orthodox sessions and he recorded with stalwarts of the traditional scene such as Sidney Bechet. In 1951 he was a member of Milt Jackson's quartet, a group which later evolved into the Modern Jazz Quartet. In the mid-50s he appeared on scores of albums, playing in different contexts and styles but usually favouring contemporary sounds. In 1956 Clarke relocated to Paris, France, where he worked with Powell and other visiting Americans, including Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon. From 1961 he co-led the impressive Clarke-Boland Big Band with Francy Boland. This band stayed in existence for over a decade, playing as often as was possible given its international personnel. In the '70s and early '80s he continued to live and work in Europe, in demand for concerts, recording dates, as a writer for films and as a tutor. The founding father of bop drumming, Clarke was almost single-handedly responsible for the shift away from strict-tempoed drumming which harnessed the 4/4 beat to the bass drum. Clarke maintained the pulse on the ride cymbal, using bass and snare drums for explosive bursts of sound, as effective punctuation for the soloists. This style established the pattern and set the standards for all other bop drummers. His technique was comprehensive and he seldom allowed his enthusiasm for his work to run away with what he saw as an essentially supportive role. Despite his importance in establishing bop drumming, by the late '50s and especially during his period with the big band he co-led in Europe, Clarke had abandoned that style to concentrate upon hard-swinging drumming which reflected his admiration for the earlier work of Jo Jones. Clarke was a major contributor to jazz and one of the few jazz innovators on his chosen instrument.