Mike Clark Quartet
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About
Hes a great jazz drummerand he hasnt lost any of the stuff that he brought from Oakland. So now hes totally free to do both, and he does. The solo he played on the album Thrust, on the song Actual Proof, is one of the best drum solos on any of my albums. So many people have remarked about that solo, saying, Incredible. Herbie HancockMIKE CLARK gained worldwide recognition as one of Americas foremost jazz and funk drummers while playing with Herbie Hancocks group in the early 1970s. Mike became known as a major innovator through his incisive playing on Hancocks Thrust album, which garnered him an international cult following.While often referred to as the Tony Williams of funk, Mike considers himself a jazz drummer, and in fact has become one of the most vital to sit behind a set. He's performed with jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker, Vince Guaraldi, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Rob Dixon, Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw, Donald Harrison, Larry Coryell, Jack Wilkins, Mike Wolff, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Billy Childs, James Genus, Bob Hurst, Chris Potter, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Dave Liebman, Nat Adderly, Oscar Brown Jr., Bill Doggett, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Mose Allison, Maxine Brown, Gil Evans and his orchestra and many illuminating etceteras too numerous to list.Born in Sacramento, CA, while growing up Mike had the benefit of traveling around the country with his father, a union man for the railroad. He was also a drummer at one time and had a keen ear, a killing record collection, and a great appreciation for music. This allowed the younger Clark to soak up the diverse regional music of the United States, which he credits as providing an invaluable education. Clark was a prodigy as well, picking up his first sticks at the tender age of five and sitting in--and getting house --with bands in Texas and New Orleans when he was as young as 7 and 8.He continued to play in a variety of blues, R&B, organ trios, and jazz bands, settling in Oakland, CA, until his introduction to Herbie Hancock and his recruitment into the Headhunters in 1973.At the tail end of the 70s and in 1980, shortly before moving to New York City, Mike did a short but remarkable stint with Brand X, the acclaimed British fusion band founded by Phil Collins, doing two tours and recording their seminal Do They Hurt? and Product.The winter of 2000 saw him diversifying his efforts with a foray into the popular jam band scene. His group Prescription Renewal electrified audiences across the country with an eclectic core of cross- generational multi talents, such as Charlie Hunter, Fred Wesley, Skerik, Robert Walter, and DJ Logic, and featured special guests such as George Porter Jr. of Funky Meters fame, Kyle Hollingsworth of String Cheese Incident, Les Claypool, Will Bernard, Larry Goldings and fellow Headhunters alumni, Bill Summers, and proved a hit on the thriving young jam band scene. He followed that with several successful tours of the Roots Funk All Stars, another hot ad hoc association that married Mike with James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley, former Headhunter cohort and funk bassist legend Paul Jackson, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Robben Ford. Next to James Brown's drummer Clyde Stubblefield, Mike's beats with The Headhunters (most notably on "God Make Me Funky") are some of the most sampled in hip hop. Featured in Downbeat, Musician, International Musician & Recording World, Modern Drummer, Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Jazz Is and numerous jazz history and method books, Mike is a former faculty member of Drummers Collective, and is a popular and busy clinician around the country. His book Funk Drumming: Innovative Grooves & Advanced Concepts was published last year by Hal Leonard and is a best seller. His numerous recording credits include albums with Herbie Hancock, the Headhunters, Brand X, Eddie Henderson, Jack Wilkins, Mark Puricelli, Mike Wolff, and Alien Army, a group led by guitar great Jack Wilkins. As a bandleader, his release Give The Drummer Some was very enthusiastically received, earning a rare four and a half stars in Downbeat, as was The Funk Stops Here, a joint effort with Hancock alumni Paul Jackson. In 2001, his solo CD, Actual Proof met with critical acclaim, as did the 2003 acoustic jazz release, Summertime, featuring Chris Potter and Billy Childs, which spent many weeks in the top ten charts.Other efforts included a compilation of his legendary, innovative funk beat samples, Mike ClarkThe Headhunter, a re-release of the widely acclaimed Thrust album, and, in 1998, The Return Of The Headhunters, featuring Herbie Hancock. Next came Herbie Hancocks Box Set, featuring Headhunters classics Actual Proof and Butterfly, from Thrust, a few choice cuts from Manchild, and also some historical tracks from the classic Flood, previously only available in Japan. The Headhunters newest effort, Evolution/Revolution, released in 2003, featured the latest Headhunter configuration, with original founding members Mike, Bill Summers and Paul Jackson, joined by Donald Harrison, Victor Atkins (Los Hombres Caliente), and Nicholas Payton.His 2009 release Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. I produced by Talking House Productions, which featured Christian McBride, Donald Harrison, Patrice Rushen, Jed Levy and Christian Scott, was received with critical acclaim and named one of the best recordings of the decade by Downbeat.His latest effort, Carnival of Soul released June 11th by Owl Records and climbing the charts, was described by the Indianapolis Star as a jazz party with a kaleidoscopic array of players. Those players include guest turns by renowned country blues singer Delbert McClinton, fellow drumming icon Lenny White, tenor player Rob Dixon, and three separate organ-based ensembles offering up some delicious soul-infused jazz.A true original, Mikes work continues to delight and astound his fans around the world.
From the time he arrived in New York at age 23 in 1986, saxophonist Craig Handy was acknoledged as a musician with big, burly tenor sound, sharp wit, and above all, individuality. Over the next few years he would breath life into those accolades through a number of important associations: holding his own on the front line of legendary bebop drummer Roy Haynes' band, working with South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, and weaving sensuous obbligati behind Betty Carter on the kind of tunes most young artist are presumed not to understand.Handy cites each experience as having a profound impact on his development. "Working with Ibrahim taught me a lot about thematic development," states the saxophonist. "He lays down simple melodies that build on each other, and listening to his compositions remind me of great architecture."Recalling the time he spent with Betty Carter describes her as "a wonderful songstress, great mentor, and nurturer who instills confidence." And in Haynes he found a master timekeeper who can teach you when to jump and when not to. "He's like a cat in the jungle," Handy notes. "He judges very carefully, that moment when he can capture an audience, then at just the right time he pounces!"Handy has also contributed a Mingus-like brash and confidence tone to the Mingus Dynasty an association which led to another imporatnt connection. !I was playing with Mingus Dynasty at the Bottom Line when I first met Bill Cosby," Handy recounts. "He came up and introduced himself and said that he was going to call me. I thought yeah, right.'"Cosby did call Handy, and invited him to be the featuerd artist on the recording of the theme for the "Cosby Show" for the 1989-90 season. Handy would also go on to score, produce and perform the music for the 1994-95 season of "The Cosby Mysteries". It wasn't long after the lesson of his New York apprenticeship that Handy made his recording debut as a leader. In 1992 the Arabesque label released "Split Second Timing," an album named after something Handy heard onstage nightly during his tenure in Art Blakey's band in 1989. "Blakey used to sasy the music came from the creator to the artist, direct to you the audience with split-second timing.'" Recalled Handy.Two years later in 1994, also for Arabesque, Handy recorded "Introducing Three For All + One." Featuring the saxophonist primarily in trio with bassist Charles Fambrough and drummmer Ralph Peterson, "Three For All" was acclaimed by CD Review as "one of the leanest, meanest groups playing jazz.""What's most dazzling about his second disc is his individuality," wrote Norman Weinstein for the Boston Phoenix. "Handy soars. He transforms Spinning Wheel' by Blood, Sweat & Tears into cubist calliope music. He empties the sappy sentimentality out of standards by Gordon Jenkins and Marvin Hamlisch, replacing them with taut passion. Already a technical master in his 20s, he has, unlike many of his generation, decided that what comes after technique is haunting communication."Another significant phase in Handy's career was the work he began in the mid-80's with Haitian and salsa bands. "Those bands were killing rhythmically," exclaimed Handy. "The rhythms would loop over each other creating a texture and soundscape that's very sophisticated and funky. The artists in these bands also paid special attention to phrasing and playing together, and these are elements that are common to good musicianship in any idiom."Born in Oakland, California on September 25, 1962, Handy played guitar, trombone, and piano before he fell in love with the saxophone after hearing Dexter Gordon on the radio. "I was captivated by the deepness and the richness, the robustness of Gordon's tone," says Handy. "The directness of his ideas also impressed me."After participating in the renowned Berkeley High School jazz program which also produced David Murray, Peter Apfelbaum, Benny Green, and Joshua Redman Handy earned the highly competitive Charlie Parker Scholarship award which allowed him to study at North Texas State University. He attended North Texas for two and a half years, majoring in psychology and playing in the school's prestigious One O'Clock Lab Band.More recently, Handy appeared on two recordings for the "Chartbusters," a band comprised of Handy, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and drummer Idris Muhammad. Released in 1995 on the NYC label, the group's first disc, the critically acclaimed "Chartbusters! Volume 1," paid homage to the Blue Note records of the late 50s and 60s. "Mating Cal," the groups second album which was co-produced by Handy, has been released by Prestige. In the fall of 1996, Handy can be seen on the big screen in the Robert Altman film titled "Kansan City," portraying a character based on the late Coleman Hawkins. Also in 1996, Handy can be seen touring with one of the most prominent voices in modern jazz pianist Herbie Hancock."Herbie is perfection personified," Handy observes. "He is one of the most modern cats around and has all the weaponry. One of my favorite solos by him is featured on Seven Steps To Heaven.' On that tune, he plays two of the most perfect choruses in jazz history stacking right up there with Charlie Parker. When I hear his compositions, I'm reminded that despite all the negativity in the world, all of humanitiy does share emotions like joy and hope. Herbie's music unites people. He's definitely one of my heroes and to tour with him is like a dream come true."Handy will undoubtedly fulfill many more dreams, as he strives to contribute his own perfect choruses to jazz history.
Pianist Mike LeDonne was born in Bridgeport Connecticut in 1956. He was raised in his parent's music store and by the age of 10 his father, a jazz guitarist, began booking him on gigs. At age 21, Mike graduated from New England Conservatory and moved to New York City with the Widespread Jazz Orchestra.In 1981, he left Widespread to travel to the UK with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans. On returning, he began a two-year stint as the house pianist at Jimmy Ryan's, then one of New York' s oldest jazz clubs. It was there that he came under the influence of and played with many old masters such as Roy Eldridge, Papa Jo Jones and Vic Dickenson. He spent 1982-1983 with the Benny Goodman sextet and went on to play with Buddy Tate, Al Grey, Ruby Braff and many others. Later he worked with the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quintet, went to Paris with Grady Tate, and played with James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Charles McPherson and Sonny Rollins. He also spent time as accompanist to singers Ernestine Anderson, Annie Ross and Etta Jones.In 1988 he started playing with the Milt Jackson Quartet (along with Mickey Roker and Bob Cranshaw). Mr. Jackson recorded Mike's compositions and arrangements. Mike also became the band's musical director. In the fall of 1992, Mike was chosen to be part of a group of top young musicians for the Phillip Morris Superband World Tour. Mike served as musical director for that group, which featured Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone, Jesse Davis on alto saxophone, Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash at the drums. Around this time, Mike toured with the Newport All-Stars in lineups that also featured Harry "Sweets" Edison and Clark Terry. Mike has been playing and recording with Benny Golson since 1997. He has also been leading trios which have included Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Hart, Pete LaRoca and Louis Hayes. Most recently, he has worked with Bobby Hutcherson. Mike has played concerts and clubs around the world since 1981.Along with his many recordings as a sideman, he has five CDs on Criss Cross Jazz and three on Double Time Records. The first two, 'Bout Time and The Feeling of Jazz are quintet projects with Tom Harrell, baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Kenny Washington. His third CD, Common Ground is a trio recording and also features Irwin and Washington. The fourth CD, Soulmates, includes Ryan Kisor, Joshua Redman, and Lewis Nash, with Peter Washington on bass and Jon Gordon on alto saxophone. 'Bout Time was one of the recordings selected as "Record Of The Year" in the 1989 Jazz Journal Critics Poll. The Feeling of Jazz was chosen as one of the "Top Ten Records of 1991 " in the Jazz Times' Critics Poll. Soulmates came in second in the "Best 12 Recordings of 1994" WBGO Poll (WBGO is the leading jazz radio station in the New York area). Waltz For An Urbanite features vibraphonist Steve Nelson and guitarist Peter Bernstein, along with Peter Washington and Kenny Washington. Waltz For An Urbanite won "Record Of The Month" in its first month of release on WBGO in Newark. Mike's sixth CD, To Each His Own, is on the Double Time label. It's a trio featuring Peter Washington and Mickey Roker on drums. This disc received four stars in a Downbeat review. Mike's seventh CD Then And Now, also on Doubletime, is a quintet recording featuring Eric Alexander on tenor sax, Jim Rotondi, trumpet, Peter Washington on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. The latest CD Bags'Groove, is a tribute to Milt Jackson which features Steve Nelson on vibes, along with Jim Snidero on flute, Steve Wilson on alto flute, Jim Rotondi on flugelhorn, Steve Davis on trombone, and a rhythm section including Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker. This CD also received 4 stars in Downbeat magazine.Mike is the co-author of Jim Snidero's Jazz Conception for Piano and Piano Comping books, on Advance Music. In Sept. In 2002 Mike joined the faculty at the Juilliard School of Music. He has won praise not only from critics but from master musicians: Oscar Peterson picked him as one of his favorite pianists of today.weblinks:www.mikeledonne.com
At age 30, bassist Alex Claffy has become one of the most in-demand performers of his generation, both as a sideman working with the biggest names in Jazz and Popular music, and also as a bandleader, composer and producer having just released his fourth album as a leader “Music From Big Orange” in late 2022 with another record on the way ft. Michael “Sonny Step” Stephenson in early 2023. Living in New York City but born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Claffy is the next great Jazz artist in his hometown’s storied lineage, following in the footsteps of Philadelphia bass luminaries such as Christian McBride, Percy Heath and Jimmy Garrison.
His resumé as a sideman reads as a veritable who’s who of Jazz royalty, ranging from Jazz masters such as George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Randy Brecker, Wallace Roney and Louis Hayes, to the top stars of today such as Nicholas Payton, Christian Adjtunde Adjuah, Seamus Blake and Kurt Rosenwinkel - the latter of which he just debuted with at the legendary Village Vanguard in Summer of 2022. His work in more Pop settings with the likes of trumpet icon Chris Botti, the genre-bending songstress Veronica Swift and breakout Hamilton star vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. prove his versatility as a bassist and musician know no bounds. When he’s not touring the world headlining major Jazz festivals and clubs, Claffy can be found in any of the top venues in New York City’s decorated Jazz scene such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, SMOKE and Smalls, as well as frequent trips back to Philadelphia, where he is committed to enriching and enlivening his hometown scene as well. In his spare time he’s an avid vinyl collector, has a voracious appetite for podcasts and the greats of stand-up comedy, as well as his dedication to his work as a clinician and teacher, hosting a private studio of bass students as well as adjunct work at his alma mater, the New School of Jazz.
From the time he arrived in New York at age 23 in 1986, saxophonist Craig Handy was acknoledged as a musician with big, burly tenor sound, sharp wit, and above all, individuality. Over the next few years he would breath life into those accolades through a number of important associations: holding his own on the front line of legendary bebop drummer Roy Haynes' band, working with South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, and weaving sensuous obbligati behind Betty Carter on the kind of tunes most young artist are presumed not to understand.Handy cites each experience as having a profound impact on his development. "Working with Ibrahim taught me a lot about thematic development," states the saxophonist. "He lays down simple melodies that build on each other, and listening to his compositions remind me of great architecture."Recalling the time he spent with Betty Carter describes her as "a wonderful songstress, great mentor, and nurturer who instills confidence." And in Haynes he found a master timekeeper who can teach you when to jump and when not to. "He's like a cat in the jungle," Handy notes. "He judges very carefully, that moment when he can capture an audience, then at just the right time he pounces!"Handy has also contributed a Mingus-like brash and confidence tone to the Mingus Dynasty an association which led to another imporatnt connection. !I was playing with Mingus Dynasty at the Bottom Line when I first met Bill Cosby," Handy recounts. "He came up and introduced himself and said that he was going to call me. I thought yeah, right.'"Cosby did call Handy, and invited him to be the featuerd artist on the recording of the theme for the "Cosby Show" for the 1989-90 season. Handy would also go on to score, produce and perform the music for the 1994-95 season of "The Cosby Mysteries". It wasn't long after the lesson of his New York apprenticeship that Handy made his recording debut as a leader. In 1992 the Arabesque label released "Split Second Timing," an album named after something Handy heard onstage nightly during his tenure in Art Blakey's band in 1989. "Blakey used to sasy the music came from the creator to the artist, direct to you the audience with split-second timing.'" Recalled Handy.Two years later in 1994, also for Arabesque, Handy recorded "Introducing Three For All + One." Featuring the saxophonist primarily in trio with bassist Charles Fambrough and drummmer Ralph Peterson, "Three For All" was acclaimed by CD Review as "one of the leanest, meanest groups playing jazz.""What's most dazzling about his second disc is his individuality," wrote Norman Weinstein for the Boston Phoenix. "Handy soars. He transforms Spinning Wheel' by Blood, Sweat & Tears into cubist calliope music. He empties the sappy sentimentality out of standards by Gordon Jenkins and Marvin Hamlisch, replacing them with taut passion. Already a technical master in his 20s, he has, unlike many of his generation, decided that what comes after technique is haunting communication."Another significant phase in Handy's career was the work he began in the mid-80's with Haitian and salsa bands. "Those bands were killing rhythmically," exclaimed Handy. "The rhythms would loop over each other creating a texture and soundscape that's very sophisticated and funky. The artists in these bands also paid special attention to phrasing and playing together, and these are elements that are common to good musicianship in any idiom."Born in Oakland, California on September 25, 1962, Handy played guitar, trombone, and piano before he fell in love with the saxophone after hearing Dexter Gordon on the radio. "I was captivated by the deepness and the richness, the robustness of Gordon's tone," says Handy. "The directness of his ideas also impressed me."After participating in the renowned Berkeley High School jazz program which also produced David Murray, Peter Apfelbaum, Benny Green, and Joshua Redman Handy earned the highly competitive Charlie Parker Scholarship award which allowed him to study at North Texas State University. He attended North Texas for two and a half years, majoring in psychology and playing in the school's prestigious One O'Clock Lab Band.More recently, Handy appeared on two recordings for the "Chartbusters," a band comprised of Handy, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and drummer Idris Muhammad. Released in 1995 on the NYC label, the group's first disc, the critically acclaimed "Chartbusters! Volume 1," paid homage to the Blue Note records of the late 50s and 60s. "Mating Cal," the groups second album which was co-produced by Handy, has been released by Prestige. In the fall of 1996, Handy can be seen on the big screen in the Robert Altman film titled "Kansan City," portraying a character based on the late Coleman Hawkins. Also in 1996, Handy can be seen touring with one of the most prominent voices in modern jazz pianist Herbie Hancock."Herbie is perfection personified," Handy observes. "He is one of the most modern cats around and has all the weaponry. One of my favorite solos by him is featured on Seven Steps To Heaven.' On that tune, he plays two of the most perfect choruses in jazz history stacking right up there with Charlie Parker. When I hear his compositions, I'm reminded that despite all the negativity in the world, all of humanitiy does share emotions like joy and hope. Herbie's music unites people. He's definitely one of my heroes and to tour with him is like a dream come true."Handy will undoubtedly fulfill many more dreams, as he strives to contribute his own perfect choruses to jazz history.
Pianist Mike LeDonne was born in Bridgeport Connecticut in 1956. He was raised in his parent's music store and by the age of 10 his father, a jazz guitarist, began booking him on gigs. At age 21, Mike graduated from New England Conservatory and moved to New York City with the Widespread Jazz Orchestra.In 1981, he left Widespread to travel to the UK with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans. On returning, he began a two-year stint as the house pianist at Jimmy Ryan's, then one of New York' s oldest jazz clubs. It was there that he came under the influence of and played with many old masters such as Roy Eldridge, Papa Jo Jones and Vic Dickenson. He spent 1982-1983 with the Benny Goodman sextet and went on to play with Buddy Tate, Al Grey, Ruby Braff and many others. Later he worked with the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quintet, went to Paris with Grady Tate, and played with James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Charles McPherson and Sonny Rollins. He also spent time as accompanist to singers Ernestine Anderson, Annie Ross and Etta Jones.In 1988 he started playing with the Milt Jackson Quartet (along with Mickey Roker and Bob Cranshaw). Mr. Jackson recorded Mike's compositions and arrangements. Mike also became the band's musical director. In the fall of 1992, Mike was chosen to be part of a group of top young musicians for the Phillip Morris Superband World Tour. Mike served as musical director for that group, which featured Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone, Jesse Davis on alto saxophone, Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash at the drums. Around this time, Mike toured with the Newport All-Stars in lineups that also featured Harry "Sweets" Edison and Clark Terry. Mike has been playing and recording with Benny Golson since 1997. He has also been leading trios which have included Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Hart, Pete LaRoca and Louis Hayes. Most recently, he has worked with Bobby Hutcherson. Mike has played concerts and clubs around the world since 1981.Along with his many recordings as a sideman, he has five CDs on Criss Cross Jazz and three on Double Time Records. The first two, 'Bout Time and The Feeling of Jazz are quintet projects with Tom Harrell, baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Kenny Washington. His third CD, Common Ground is a trio recording and also features Irwin and Washington. The fourth CD, Soulmates, includes Ryan Kisor, Joshua Redman, and Lewis Nash, with Peter Washington on bass and Jon Gordon on alto saxophone. 'Bout Time was one of the recordings selected as "Record Of The Year" in the 1989 Jazz Journal Critics Poll. The Feeling of Jazz was chosen as one of the "Top Ten Records of 1991 " in the Jazz Times' Critics Poll. Soulmates came in second in the "Best 12 Recordings of 1994" WBGO Poll (WBGO is the leading jazz radio station in the New York area). Waltz For An Urbanite features vibraphonist Steve Nelson and guitarist Peter Bernstein, along with Peter Washington and Kenny Washington. Waltz For An Urbanite won "Record Of The Month" in its first month of release on WBGO in Newark. Mike's sixth CD, To Each His Own, is on the Double Time label. It's a trio featuring Peter Washington and Mickey Roker on drums. This disc received four stars in a Downbeat review. Mike's seventh CD Then And Now, also on Doubletime, is a quintet recording featuring Eric Alexander on tenor sax, Jim Rotondi, trumpet, Peter Washington on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. The latest CD Bags'Groove, is a tribute to Milt Jackson which features Steve Nelson on vibes, along with Jim Snidero on flute, Steve Wilson on alto flute, Jim Rotondi on flugelhorn, Steve Davis on trombone, and a rhythm section including Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker. This CD also received 4 stars in Downbeat magazine.Mike is the co-author of Jim Snidero's Jazz Conception for Piano and Piano Comping books, on Advance Music. In Sept. In 2002 Mike joined the faculty at the Juilliard School of Music. He has won praise not only from critics but from master musicians: Oscar Peterson picked him as one of his favorite pianists of today.weblinks:www.mikeledonne.com
At age 30, bassist Alex Claffy has become one of the most in-demand performers of his generation, both as a sideman working with the biggest names in Jazz and Popular music, and also as a bandleader, composer and producer having just released his fourth album as a leader “Music From Big Orange” in late 2022 with another record on the way ft. Michael “Sonny Step” Stephenson in early 2023. Living in New York City but born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Claffy is the next great Jazz artist in his hometown’s storied lineage, following in the footsteps of Philadelphia bass luminaries such as Christian McBride, Percy Heath and Jimmy Garrison.
His resumé as a sideman reads as a veritable who’s who of Jazz royalty, ranging from Jazz masters such as George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Randy Brecker, Wallace Roney and Louis Hayes, to the top stars of today such as Nicholas Payton, Christian Adjtunde Adjuah, Seamus Blake and Kurt Rosenwinkel - the latter of which he just debuted with at the legendary Village Vanguard in Summer of 2022. His work in more Pop settings with the likes of trumpet icon Chris Botti, the genre-bending songstress Veronica Swift and breakout Hamilton star vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. prove his versatility as a bassist and musician know no bounds. When he’s not touring the world headlining major Jazz festivals and clubs, Claffy can be found in any of the top venues in New York City’s decorated Jazz scene such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, SMOKE and Smalls, as well as frequent trips back to Philadelphia, where he is committed to enriching and enlivening his hometown scene as well. In his spare time he’s an avid vinyl collector, has a voracious appetite for podcasts and the greats of stand-up comedy, as well as his dedication to his work as a clinician and teacher, hosting a private studio of bass students as well as adjunct work at his alma mater, the New School of Jazz.
Lineup
