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Clark Sommers

Clark Sommers is a Grammy Award winning bassist steeped in the jazz tradition. Sommers, born September 7th, 1977, raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, is an artist dedicated to cultivating his own unique sound by expanding on the work of past masters while keeping an ear towards the future. Over the last 15 years Clark has performed all over the world and is featured on more than 40 albums with renowned artists such as Kurt Elling, Cedar Walton, Ernie Watts, The Mighty Blue Kings, Marilyn McCoo, Marvin Hamlisch, Kevin Mahogany, Peter Bernstein, Michael Weiss, Ira Sullivan, Frank Wess and Charles McPherson among others. ”Clark Sommers rings true and honest in tone. The golden color pours a solid foundation to the timber of the group.” – All About Jazz.

Clark began his musical career in 1990 when his parents bought him a drum set for Christmas. He made the switch to electric bass when his seventh grade buddies formed a rock band that didn’t have a bassist. Only after hearing the slinky bass lines on Led Zeppelin and James Brown records did he realize the power of bass in music. Early in high school Clark had the opportunity to study with James Cammack; long time bassist of the iconic pianist Ahmad Jamal. “I learned so much from Jim. He had a definitive personality on the bass…it was like he was speaking through the instrument, really communicating. He had an infectious groove that was undeniable. He taught me the role of the bass and how paramount it was in every musical context.” Six months after intense study with Cammack, Clark was playing with local musicians more than twice his age. Shortly after that he made the transition to the upright-bass and began spending his lunch hour practicing on a school bass in the orchestra room. By his junior year, Clark was playing jazz at clubs, private parties and restaurants throughout the suburbs of Chicago. Occasionally, Cammack would let Clark sit in on his gigs with some of Chicago’s finest musicians. During his senior year in high school, Clark was chosen as the bassist for the Midwest Grammy band and was nominated for the All-American Grammy band.

After high school Sommers enrolled at DePaul University in Chicago where he quickly began playing around town with many older, professional musicians. “Being an aspiring bassist at that particular time in Chicago offered so many opportunities for growth. One night I’d play jazz. The next night I’d play with a singer-songwriter. The next night, American roots music or a Latin Folk band…it was all music to me. There was so much work and I was hungry to play as much as I possibly could.” In addition to studying bass with Larry Gray at DePaul, Clark was mentored by another of Chicago’s great bassists, Kelly Sill. “Kelly had a profound effect on how I listened to music and his truly original style of playing really influenced the way I play. He encouraged a deeper investigation in to my own way of accompanying a band by being yself. He also taught me a lot about piano harmony.” At that time Clark was fortunate to play regularly with the likes of saxophone giant Lin Hallidy and Chicago piano greats: Jodie Christian and Ron Perrillo. “It was the first time I had the chance to play with authentic jazz musicians on that level-it was the real thing. Playing with Ron illustrated a world of possibilities for me in music. I would say that playing with him was the closest ‘spiritual’ experience I had playing music. He also profoundly influenced my writing” Due to a busy gig schedule Sommers withdrew from DePaul in June of 1997 to focus his energy exclusively on playing the bass. In late summer of 1997 Clark joined an acclaimed local rhythm and blues band called the Mighty Blue Kings and toured the U.S. and Europe for the ensuing two years.

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7
Album Review

Scott Hesse Trio: Intention

Read "Intention" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Guitarist Scott Hesse self-released his debut album, Intuition, in 1998, but he has been criminally under-recorded since then. At least, that is the conclusion many will draw after listening to his superb trio disc, Intention, recorded live in Chicago in 2023. His most recent date as a leader since 2015's The Stillness of Motion (Origin Records), here he is partnered with bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall, with an opportunity to showcase his formidable talents in a way sure ...

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Album Review

Geof Bradfield Quintet: Quaver

Read "Quaver" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield's versatile Chicago-based quintet does not play “free jazz" on Quaver-- customary rhythmic and harmonic precepts underline every number--the music is explicitly adventurous and forward-looking, as Bradfield and his mates seize every chance to take flight within prescribed boundaries. All the compositions are Bradfield's, and they range from powerful to placid, none of which seems to faze any members of the group, three of whom --Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers, drummer Dana Hall--have been ...

30
Album Review

Scott Burns / John Wojciechowski / Geof Bradfield: Tenor Time

Read "Tenor Time" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Tenor Time unveils the talents of a trio of Chicago-area tenor saxophonists, each of whom--presumably—solos on each of the album's eight numbers. The qualifier is necessary because the solo order is not given and, skillful as they are, the tenors sound much like triplets at the same workbench. That is to say that in terms of tone, technique and improvisation, they more closely resemble Tweedledee and Tweedledum than, say, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Hank Mobley. If ...

7
Album Review

Tito Carrillo: Urbanessence

Read "Urbanessence" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Trumpeter Tito Carillo's second bite of the apple on Origin was more than a decade in the making, following up his outstanding first release, Opening Statement (Origin, 2011). With Urbanessence (Origin, 2022), the Chicago-based artist is truly up to the task, producing a work which is an homage to everyday life in the city. The narrative makes the point that cities are home to creators, visionaries and an army of people who are motivated by the hope they provide. Cities ...

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Album Review

Tito Carrillo: Urbanessence

Read "Urbanessence" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Urbanessence, the second album as leader from Chicago-area trumpeter, composer and educator Tito Carrillo, is a rhythmic showcase for ten of his buoyant original compositions, all of which embody his love of BAM (Black American Music) and the lyric legacy of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Peru. Carrillo, a bold and burnished improviser from the Freddie Hubbard-Lee Morgan-Donald Byrd school of hard bop, shares the front line with the energetic and versatile saxophonist Troy Roberts (who plays ...

4
Album Review

Darrell Grant: The New Black

Read "The New Black" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Pianist Darrell Grant's debut album Black Art (Criss Cross) was released in 1994, and became acclaimed as one of the definitive statements of New York jazz in the 1990s. It featured bassist Christian McBride, drummer Brian Blade, and the late, great Wallace Roney on trumpet—all of whom would go on to make major statements of their own in the music. In 2019, some twenty five years later, Grant had the opportunity to revisit the album repertoire at Birdland, convening bassist ...

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Album Review

Darren Johnston: Life in Time

Read "Life in Time" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Brooklyn-based trumpeter Darren Johnston traveled to Chicago in May 2021 to record Life in Time with three of his favorite musicians: saxophonist Geof Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall who form their own working trio in the Windy City. The generally charming studio date encompasses ten original compositions, six by Johnston, four by Bradfield. Technically and musically, the foursome is splendid. What is missing—and it takes a tune or two to sink in—is the welcome ...

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Old Souls

Calligram Records
2024

buy

Quaver

Calligram Records
2023

buy

Four Windows

Self Produced
2023

buy

Moods & Spirits of...

Self Produced
2023

buy

Intention

Calligram Records
2023

buy

The Assumption

Self Produced
2022

buy

Some of the Things You Are

From: Four Windows
By Clark Sommers

Momentum

From: Urbanessence
By Clark Sommers

Little Gold Fish

From: Life in Time
By Clark Sommers

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