Not much is really new on veteran drummer Mike Clark’s 2026 album, Kuon Ganjo (Time Without Beginning), which encompasses a series of nine hard-bop themes performed by Clark’s able quintet. Having said that, the most reasonable question is, do they do it well? And the answer to that is an unequivocal yes.
Clark, who has been around the block more than a few times during his decades-long career as a jazz/funk timekeeper and is perhaps best known for his several-year alliance with pianist Herbie Hancock, has more than a dozen albums as leader under his belt and knows who can play — which is apparently why he chose trumpeter Eddie Henderson and tenor saxophonist Craig Handy to share front-line duties, backed by pianist…
Tag Archive: Mike Clark
Bringing new life to jazz standards is a longtime tradition in jazz, whether it be on the bandstand or in the studio. With their latest Sunnyside recording, Standard Deviations, the iconic drummer Mike Clark and Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist Michael Zilber venture there once again, following Mike Drop, their 2021 Sunnyside release. The result is a swinging session of jazz pearls in quartet mode, with pianist Joe Davis and bassist Alex Claffey joining in the fun.
Clark, for his part, seems to be pigeonholed into the fusion and funk categories of jazz drumming, even as he enters his mid-to-late-70s. It is an unfair characterization, though, considering his immense history in the music, and his marvelous sense of swing. This particular union…