NAME(S) ON TILE:                 KENNY CLARKE

1999 MELLON JAZZ FESTIVAL

HONOREE

DONOR NAME(S):                   MELLON BANK

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1914, Kenny “Klook” Clarke is widely acclaimed as the founder of bebop drumming and the embodiment of straight-ahead playing.  After playing locally, his professional career began with Roy Eldridge and the Jeter-Pillars Band.  After briefly serving in the U.S. Army, Clarke toured Europe with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band in 1943.

Clarke was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet that was led to formation by the recordings of Milt Jackson.  He left the group in 1955 and recorded more than 100 freelance albums in the space of one year during the jazz record boom of the mid-1950s.

The nickname “Klook” was abbreviated from “Klookmop,” which describes a rim-shot on the snare followed by the bass-drum.  He was known for using these sounds as a punctuation of other musical phrases instead of having them stand as their own statement.

Clarke died in Paris on January 26, 1985.  He was characterized as a superior big band drummer who was never flashy or even noisy, but always appropriate.