Curtis Clark

Curtis Clark
Born	23 April 1950 (1950-04-23)
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	jazz
Instruments	piano
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	Nimbus

Curtis Clark (born 23 April 1950) is a jazz pianist from Chicago, United States.

Life and career

Clark was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950, but moved to Los Angeles where he spent his student years and started composing and playing the piano. After Clark graduated in music theory and composition from the California Institute of Arts in Valencia, he set out for New York City. There he began working and recording with David Murray.

Influenced by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Horace Tapscott, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, Clark was based in Amsterdam for many years until his return to the U.S. He is now situated in New England.

While working with various groups, Clark has played with musicians including Oscar Brown, Jr., Julian Priester, Art Taylor, Billy Bang, Richard Davis, Abbey Lincoln, Charles Tyler, John Tchicai and Han Bennink.

He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.

Reviews

Clark performs as if he’s a combination of Bill Evans and Red Garland with tingling arpeggios falling from his fingers.

...a style that bridges the modernist gap between Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor.

—JazzWord Reviews

Discography

As leader

• Phantasmagoria (1984, Nimbus 3368)
• Amsterdam Sunshine (1987, Nimbus 3691)
• Letter to South Africa (c. 1987, Nimbus 501)
• Live at the Bimhuis (1988, Nimbus 505)

As sideman

With Billy Bang

• Invitation (Soul Note, 1982)

With M. Cook

• Trance (1979, Circle Records (Germany) RK20-31279/20)

With Julian Priester

• Polarization (ECM, 1977)

With J. C. Tans

• Around the World (1989, BVHaast 8905)

References

• Kennedy, Gary W.. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J537700. Retrieved 8 March 2009. (subscription required)