Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin' UHQCD

Blue Note, 1963

UHQCD Japanese import. Specially remastered from originals by Kevin Gray. Presented in a UHQCD jewel case with obi-strip and the original sleeve notes. Catalog Number: UCCQ-9690.

Conrad Yeatis Clark, otherwise known as Sonny Clark, was in many ways the quintessential hard bop pianist. Possessed of an enviable lyrical flow and a wealth of inventive melodic ideas that unfurled with clarity and without fuss, Clark had a deeply rooted feeling for the blues.

After moving from his hometown of Pittsburgh to New York, Clark emerged as a ubiquitous presence on Blue Note starting in 1957. It was on his fifth Blue Note date as a leader that Clark arrived at his masterwork, Cool Struttin’, recorded in January 1958 with a top-shelf quintet featuring Art Farmer on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Paul Chambers on bass, and ‘Philly’ Joe Jones on drums. The album has only grown in stature as a timeless hard bop classic since Clark’s premature death at age 31 in 1963.