| Kenny Clare | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1929 Leytonstone, London |
| Died | January 11, 1985 (age 55) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
Kenny Clare edit
Kenny Clare (8 June 1929 - 11 January 1985) was an English jazz drummer in many bands who also worked extensively for radio, television, film, and commercials. Not to be confused with Kenny Clarke.
Born in Leytonstone, London, Clare played with Oscar Rabin on English radio in his early 20s. Following this, he played with Jack Parnell and then with Johnny Dankworth for an extended period in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the latter decade, he played with Ted Heath and Ronnie Stephenson and he also played in the studios as a member of Sounds Orchestral. He played drums for the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band from 1963-66 when Clarke was unavailable. But from 1967 through 1971 (when the band folded), Clare was regularly paired with Clarke in what became a two-drummer band for performances, concerts, and at least 15 recordings issued by several labels. He also accompanied singers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, and Cleo Laine. On 5 December 1971, Clare performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with fellow drummers Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson.[1]
Biography edit
Early Life edit
Clare was born June 8th, 1929 in Leytonstone, London.[2] His father was a drummer and his mother was a pianist.[3] In an interview done in 1976 by The Plug (a trade magazine), Clare said that his father bought him drums when he was three years old and encouraged him to play. However, his three year old self did not enjoy it and was turned off from drums until age thirteen, when he developed an interest after seeing a movie featuring Buddy Rich. In between age three and thirteen, he briefly tried tenor saxophone.[4]
By age eighteen, Clare was a very confident and competent drummer, but then he was drafted into the Air Force due to WWII. In order to keep himself together, he brought drum books along with him to practice. After his time in the Air Force, he went straight to being a professional musician.[5]
Career edit
Clare was in Oscar Rabin’s dance orchestra from 1949 to 1954. He then joined Jack Parnell’s band in September 1954. Also, from September 1955 to September 1960, he performed and recorded with the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra, taking over for Allan Ganley. From 1960 to 1961, Clare was a member of The Dudley Moore trio. In the 1960's, Clare worked as a session musician in big bands led by Ted Heath, Johnny Spence, and others. Between 1967 and 1972, he was second drummer in the Clarke–Boland Big Band. Afterwards, he worked in the big bands of Francy Boland and Peter Herbolzheimer.
As a session musician, Clare worked and recorded with a multitude of notable musicians. He made recordings as the joint leader of a big band with Ronnie Stephenson in 1966 and as a sideman with Milt Buckner from 1968 to 1970. He also worked with Joe Pass in 1970, and Stephane Grappelli, Bobby Lamb and Ray Premru in 1971. Then he worked with Monty Alexander and Herbolzheimer in 1974, Michel Legrand in 1975, Francy Boland in 1976, and later, Shorty Rogers and Bud Shank in 1984.[3]
Additionally, in 1972, Clare was able to play on Conversations, a studio album with Louie Bellson and his inspiration, Buddy Rich.[6] Clare also made several world tours with Dankworth and Cleo Laine, and in May 1980 he played in the Pizza Express All Stars.[3]
Drum Innovation: Premier Resonators edit
Premier Percussion credits Clare for the inspiration of one of their flagship drum lines, the Resonator. This was a new “shell-within-a-shell” concept with an extremely versatile sound suitable from Jazz all the way to Stadium Rock[7].
Clare himself actually credits another person for the invention of the Resonator Drum concept[4]. The inventors name is Alan Gilby.[8] According to Clare, Gilby kept bugging him to send his Premier drums so Gilby could improve the sound. Clare never did this because he was satisfied with the normal Premier sound. One day Gilby showed up at his house and Clare relented, letting him modify one of the drumsets he had. When Clare did a side-by-side comparison, he was blown away by the improved sound of the modified kit. Clare later took the modified drums to Premier where they changed and tweaked a few details, thus the Resonator was born. [4]
Groups/Collaboration[2] edit
- Clarke-Boland Big Band
- Derek Cox Quintet
- Francy Boland and Orchestra
- Frank Barber Percussion Ensemble
- John Dankworth
- Paul Hart Octet
- Knut Kiesewetter
- Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination and Brass
- Ronnie Scott And The Band
- Sounds Orchestral
- The Art Van Damme Quartet
- The Dave Lee Quintet
- The Galactic Light Orchestra
- The Johnny Hawksworth Jazz All Stars
- The Judd Proctor Sexet
- The Mark Murphy Quartet
- The Monty Alexander Quartet
- Time Travellers (5)
- Vic Lewis And His Big Band
References edit
- ^ Eder, Bruce. "Kenny Clare". AllMusic.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Kenny Clare". Discogs.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Skrimshire, N. (2003). Clare, Kenny [Kenneth]. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://doi-org.proxy.library.cpp.edu/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J088600.
- ^ a b c The Selmer Company (1976, Spring) The Education of Kenny Clare. The Plug
- ^ Mattingly, Rick (March 1983). "Kenny Clare — Conservative Accompanist". Modern Drummer.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson*, Kenny Clare With The Bobby Lamb - Ray Premru Orchestra – Conversations - A Drum Spectacular". Discogs.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "An Unrivaled History". Premier Percussion.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hopkin, Nick. "Vintage Drums, Legendary Sounds".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)