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Clarence Penn

Clarence Penn is one of the busiest jazz drummers in the world, a leader of multiple bands, a composer, a prolific producer, and an educator.

Since 1991, when he arrived in New York City, Penn has placed his unique blend of mega-chops, keen intellect, and heady musicianship at the service of a staggering array of A-list artists—a chronological short-list includes Ellis and Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Stanley Clarke, Steps Ahead, Makoto Ozone, Michael Brecker, Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider, Luciana Souza, Richard Galliano, and Fourplay. Penn’s impressive discography includes several hundred studio albums (including the Grammy-winning recordings 34th and Lex by Randy Brecker and Concert in the Garden and Sky Blue by Maria Schneider) representing a 360-spectrum of jazz expression, and he’s toured extensively throughout the United States, the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. He’s composed music for films and commercials, and produced tracks for numerous singers in the pop and alternative arenas. He earned a “Ten Best of 1997” accolade from the New York Times for his first leader recording, Penn’s Landing.

A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was a protégé of Ellis Marsalis, Penn is active as an educator and drum clinician. From 2004 to 2012, he taught on the faculty of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. He’s also served on faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, Italy, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Intensive Jazz Institute.

Penn currently leads several ensembles. His most recent “rhythmically intoxicating” recording is 2014’s “Monk The Lost Files”arrangements of the music of Thelonious Monk. Released on the Origin record lable, an amazing quartet comprising saxophonist Chad Leftkowitz-Brown, Pianist Gerald Clayton/Donald Vega, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura performing the music of Thelonius Monk with today’s modern jazz sensibility. Near completion is a “world music” studio project of songs and instrumentals that melds background voices—including his own—with a world class band.

Whether Penn is leading his own band or performing as a sideman, he brings to the table unfailing versatility and professionalism, an ability to find creative ways to interpret a global array of styles and idioms, and a stated intention “to play music that’s warm and organic for the people and for myself.”

His motto: “When people hear my name, I want them to think, ‘I don’t know what band he’s playing with tonight or what he’ll be doing, but it’s going to be good, it’s going to be musical.’”

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Album Review

Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark

Read "What to Wear in the Dark" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Being taken for granted is the greatest tribute and worst slight to any artist. Kate McGarry has made music that brilliantly colors outside the lines since her release, Show Me (Palmetto Records) in 2003 (there was a 1992 standards release, Easy To Love (Vital Records) that is out-of-print). Her career has provided five provocatively thoughtful and inventive recordings between that release and 2018's The Subject Tonight Is Love (Binxtown Records). Listeners have come to expect something a little different from ...

9
Album Review

Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark

Read "What to Wear in the Dark" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Let us start with a nod to Steely Dan, the rock/jazz group headed up by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a pair of tunesmiths who hit a career zenith in the early 1970s with albums like Can't Buy A Thrill (1972), Countdown To Ecstasy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974) and Aja (1974), all on ABC Records. The group drew in top jazz artists to help craft their albums—saxophonists Wayne Shorter and Tom Scott, guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour, drummers Steve ...

12
Album Review

Christian Sands: Be Water

Read "Be Water" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


A small opus which rises from within, “Intro," unassuming title and all, begins Be Water, a true wealth of music which pianist Christian Sands has designed to flow not only like the awe-inspiring, fear-inducing title element, but like mercy, freely and without boundary. And so it does. For next is “Sonar," a romping festival of feisty performances from Sands and his core trio of bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn which is meant to assure each other ...

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Album Review

Grégoire Maret / Romain Collin / Bill Frisell: Americana

Read "Americana" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Harmonica player and composer Grégoire Maret is not a familiar name in the U.S. but he should be. The New York-based artist has recorded with Jimmy Scott, Jacky Terrasson, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, Charlie Hunter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Pat Metheny and many others. The very bankable musician has appeared on over seventy-five releases as a sideman and has recorded as a leader on three albums. Americana unites Maret with pianist, composer and label-mate Romain Collin, along with legendary guitarist ...

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Album Review

Andy Milne: The reMission

Read "The reMission" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Ever hear a disc and wonder why the deep-seated beauty of some players' music escapes your radar? Juno Award-winning pianist and composer Andy Milne's The reMission, a challenging, tough, terse and ultimately triumphant recording, is one of those. One of those discs that, after several uninterrupted listens, has one digging into the discography scrambling to catch up. A composer with an agile, far flung curiosity, Milne has held the bench for Ravi Coltrane and Ralph Alessi. He's teamed ...

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Album Review

Kandace Springs: The Women Who Raised Me

Read "The Women Who Raised Me" reviewed by Peter J. Hoetjes


Cover albums tend to sort themselves pretty neatly into two separate bins. One is filled with tiresome stacks of uninspired music soon to be filed away and forgotten. The other, smaller pile is made up of those few in which the artist on the cover managed to do something more than parrot their predecessors. Those who wish to belong to the latter group find a way to add a personal touch to their songs, in such a way that each ...

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Album Review

Gene Ess: Apotheosis

Read "Apotheosis" reviewed by Chris Mosey


The inspiration for Apotheosis, Japanese-American guitarist Gene Ess's fourth album, is taken from mythologist James Campbell's book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces," first published in 1949. In this Campbell describes apotheosis as “the expansion of consciousness a hero experiences when defeating his foe." His theories concerning fictional heroes have been used as a template by many modern writers and artists, including George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars films. Now Ess is applying them to jazz. ...

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Festival

2018 Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle

2018 Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle

Source: All About Jazz

The Ballard Jazz Festival returns with its 16th edition, May 16-19, in Seattle's historic Ballard neighborhood. Clarence Penn & Penn Station, a New York ensemble that includes pianist Geoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura, will headline the festival's Mainstage Concert. Swedish trumpeter Oskar Stenmark will open the concert, which in turn celebrates the Grand Opening of the brand new Nordic Museum Auditorium. Penn Station explores the eclectic world of the compositions of the great Thelonious Monk, with ...

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Recording

Trumpeter Ryan Quigley To Release "What Doesn't Kill You" September 9 Featuring Paul Booth, Steve Hamilton, Michael Janisch, Clarence Penn

Trumpeter Ryan Quigley To Release "What Doesn't Kill You" September 9 Featuring Paul Booth, Steve Hamilton, Michael Janisch, Clarence Penn

Source: Emma Perry Publicity

Enjoying a career which includes key roles with prominent UK symphony orchestras and big bands, plus recording/touring projects with Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Tom Jones and Randy Brecker (to name but a few), trumpeter and composer/arranger Ryan Quigley now unveils his ten-track album What Doesn’t Kill You—a quintet release with Paul Booth (tenor sax, flutes), Steve Hamilton (piano, Fender Rhodes), Michael Janisch (double bass) and Clarence Penn (drums). The album will be supported by a tour featuring special guest pianist ...

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Performance / Tour

Dekel Bor with guest Clarence Penn

Dekel Bor with guest Clarence Penn

Source: All About Jazz


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Performance / Tour

Dekel Bor with guests Clarence Penn and Francois Moutin

Dekel Bor with guests Clarence Penn and Francois Moutin

Source: All About Jazz

Tonight and tomorrow the critically acclaimed dekel bor trio will be sharing the stage with two of the most distinguished musicians on the NYC and international jazz scenes. please come out! Dekel Bor trio with special guest: Francois Moutin (Jean michel pilc, Richie Beirach) - friday night and Clarence Penn (michael brecker , dave douglas) - Saturday night at Smith's jazz room 701 8th ave. at 44th st. fri. march 4th and sat. march 5th 9pm-12 $15 cover The DEKEL ...

"Mr. Penn using brushes might hesitate a minute, like a plane hitting an air pocket, suspending time for a second, then rush back in. It was musical wit, improvisational play at its best." Peter Watrous - New York Times

"He has a way of pushing and filling-in and giving you the right kick to push you to the next level of playing." John Swana, trumpeter

"He's classically trained, and knows a lot of music...he has the total package." Tim Warfield, saxophonist

"A soft drummer, full of thoughtful choices...A revelation." Harriet McLeod - News Leader staff writer

"His use of space was masterful, mind blowing." Ryan Vertner - Indiana Daily News

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Photos

Concerts

May 17 Fri

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ah-Bop

SIMP Records
2022

buy

What to Wear in the...

Resilience Music Alliance
2021

buy

Momenta

Sounderscore
2021

buy

The Women Who Raised...

Blue Note Records
2020

buy

Be Water

Mack Avenue Records
2020

buy

The reMission

Sunnyside Records
2020

buy

Ah-Bop

From: Ah-Bop
By Clarence Penn

Stablemates

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

Straight Talk

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

MR 2

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

Mental Self Defense Fitness

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

Let's Get Tropical

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

Glacier Lake

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

MR 4

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

Trio 3

From: Let's Get Tropical
By Clarence Penn

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