Similar Artists:
Worked With:
Chick Webb,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Louis Armstrong,
John Trueheart ,
Louis Bacon,
Elmer Williams,
Taft Jordan,
Edgar Sampson,
Hilton Jefferson
- Born: 1947
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Sax (Alto), Clarinet
Biography
Pete Clarke, whose last name often appears with the final "e" lopped off, had the makings of a good horn section within his own family. Brothers Dick Clark and Arthur "Babe" Clark played trumpet and saxophones respectively, all of the brothers busy on the Alabama music scene from the mid '20s onward. The subject of this biography first hit the road in 1927 with Montgomery's Collegiate Ramblers and several years later was part of the demanding Wayman Carver's Ramblers. In the following decade he would become associated with big name leaders in the big band world, beginning withChick Webb from 1930 through 1936 and followed in short order by jobs with Duke Ellington and Teddy Wilson, a two year stint in a Louis Armstrong combo sandwiched in between. That series of engagements alone guaranteed that Clarke's discography would be beyond carrying in one trip, at least for a weakling.
He then went on to gig with the great singer Ella Fitzgerald as well as proving himself fully capable of dealing with the sophisticated arrangements of Benny Carter in 1941. Following the second World War he was in action with loud brassmanRex Stewart and went on a European tour with Don Redman in the fall of that year. During the '50s and '60s the easiest place to catch this player was at the Harlem club Small's, where he plied his trade with consistency in the company of like-minded veterans. Perhaps the '60s was the decade in which he displayed the most versatility, covering his swinging roots as a clarinetist in Danny Barker's Band one night while honking at the Apollo crowd the next on his baritone. He performed with soul artists such as Reuben Phillips and was also part of the Jimmy Jones Orchestra. In his final years he was part of the gang holding forth at Jimmy Ryan's. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
