Biography
Like Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker before him, Sonny Clark’s life was short but it burned with musical intensity. Influenced deeply by Bud Powell, Clark nonetheless developed an intricate and hard-swinging harmonic sensibility that was full of nuance and detail. Regarded as the quintessential hard bop pianist, Clark never got his due before he passed away in 1963 at the age of 31, despite the fact that it can be argued that he never played a bad recording date either as a sideman or as a leader. Known mainly for seven records on the Blue Note label with a host of players including such luminaries as John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, Paul Chambers, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones, and others, Clark actually made his recording debut with Teddy Charles and Wardell Gray, but left soon after to join Buddy DeFranco. His work with the great clarinetist has been documented in full in a Mosaic set that is now sadly out of print. Clark also backed Dinah Washington, Serge Chaloff, and Sonny Criss before assuming his role as a leader in 1957. Clark’s classic is regarded as Cool Struttin’ but each date he led on Blue Note qualifies as a classic, including his final date, Sonny’s Crib with John Coltrane. And though commercial success always eluded him, he was in demand as a sideman and played dozens of Alfred Lion-produced dates, including Tina Brooks’ Minor Move. Luckily, Clark’s contribution is well documented by Alfred Lion; he has achieved far more critical, musical, and popular acclaim than he ever did in life.
Releases
Leapin’ And Lopin’ - Sonny Clark
My Conception - Sonny Clark
Standards - Sonny Clark
Cool Struttin’ - Sonny Clark
Sonny Clark Trio - Sonny Clark
Sonny’s Crib - Sonny Clark
Dial “S” For Sonny - Sonny Clark
News
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CLASSIC VINYL REISSUE SERIES 2025 TITLES ANNOUNCED
Blue Note Records has announced the next run of titles in the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series, which presents all-analog 180g vinyl reissues that are mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and manufactured at Optimal. Curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman, the series continues its exploration of the... read more
TONE POET AUDIOPHILE VINYL REISSUE SERIES 2023 LINE-UP
Blue Note Records has announced the upcoming 2023 line-up for the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. The acclaimed series is produced by the “Tone Poet” Joe Harley and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone... read more
NEW CLASSIC VINYL REISSUE SERIES TITLES ANNOUNCED
Blue Note Records has announced the next run of titles in the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series, which presents affordable 180g all-analog vinyl reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and manufactured at Optimal. Curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman, the series... read more
BLUE NOTE & UNIQLO COLLABORATE ON A NEW UT T-SHIRT COLLECTION
Blue Note Records and UNIQLO have announced a new UT t-shirt collection collaboration featuring seven designs based on iconic Blue Note album covers that were selected by GRAMMY-winning producer and Blue Note President Don Was. The new UT collection is on sale today in UNIQLO stores worldwide and online at... read more
TONE POET AUDIOPHILE VINYL REISSUE SERIES 2021-2022 LINE-UP
Blue Note Records has announced the upcoming 2021-2022 line-up for the acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, which will kick off March 12 with Charles Lloyd & The Marvels’ new album Tone Poem, the first-ever new release to be included in the series. Fittingly, it was Lloyd who first dubbed Harley... read more
PRESENTING THE BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL REISSUE SERIES
We're proud to present the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series, a continuation of our acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series which was launched in celebration of our 80th anniversary in 2019. The Classic Series will once again feature all-analog 180g vinyl pressings in standard packaging that are mastered by... read more
APPLE MUSIC LAUNCHES NEW FEATURE “BLUE NOTE: THE 1500 SERIES”
On January 6, 1939, a German Jewish immigrant and passionate Jazz fan named Alfred Lion produced his first recording session in New York City with two Boogie Woogie pianists—Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis—founding what would become the most-respected and longest-running Jazz label in the world. Blue Note... read more
BLUE NOTE LAUNCHES NEW SERIES OF FRAMED WALL ART FEATURING THE LABEL’S CLASSIC IMAGERY
In honor of Blue Note Records’ 80th Anniversary in 2019, the legendary Jazz label has launched a new series of limited-edition wall art that celebrates the iconic imagery of Blue Note’s classic era. For the first time ever, Blue Note is offering archival-quality, framed canvas prints in dynamic scale... read more
