Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Associate Vice President, Marketing Communications, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

9/21/09
Story by Peggy Graham

Chris Clarke Trio plays Oct. 20 Jazz Series

Chris Clarke

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Chris Clarke Trio will play at noon Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the Recital Hall of the Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College, as part of the free 2009 fall Jazz Series featuring local musicians. Joining Clarke on piano are Tyrone Clark, bass, and Mike Warren, drums.

A native Jamaican, Clarke was raised and educated in New York, where he studied classical piano at Juilliard and jazz at The Manhattan School of Music. He later attended the Berklee School of Music, Boston, before joining the U.S. Army. Settling in Kansas City, Clarke learned Kansas City-style jazz at the Charlie Parker Institute, mentored by K.C. greats like Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Frank Smith, Coots Dye and Ahmaad Alaadeen, among many others. He started playing at The Mutual Musicians Foundation in 1993, where he has been playing ever since performing with noted greats such as Bobby Watson, Alaadeen, Carmell Jones, Art Frank and Stanley Turrentine.

Clarke has performed and recorded with numerous artists and was filmed in Robert Altman’s Kansas City and Ken Burns’ Jazz. As well as performing with others, Clarke has his own groups — Connect, The Chris Clarke Trio, BMW Contemporary Jazz and Cascade.

Warren is a regular member of the Jazz Disciples and is the “on-call” drummer for a number of other Kansas City groups.

Clark, acoustic jazz bassist, has a career spanning nearly 35 years. Although adept in a variety of musical genres, Clark’s concept and interpretation of playing is stylistically rooted in the Kansas City jazz tradition. His proficiency has placed Clark on stage and in studio alongside such talents as Arthur Prysock, Hank Crawford, Eddie Harris, Luqman Hamza, Lisa Henry, the Pete Eye Trio and the Madden Brothers. Clark was among the musicians featured in the soundtrack for Robert Altman’s Kansas City and its follow-up release, The Music of Kansas City.

The Jazz Series continues at noon Tuesday in the Recital Hall unless otherwise noted:

The series is cosponsored by the JCCC music departments, Community Services and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts. Seating is available first-come, first-served.

For information, call 913-469-8500, ext. 3605.