Mike Clark has performed with Herbie Hancock , Christian McBride, Chet Baker, John Scofield, Gil Evans, Nicholas Payton, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Vince Guaraldi, Woody Shaw, Donald Harrison, Albert King, Larry Coryell, Michael Wolff, Wallace Roney, Billy Childs, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Chris Potter, Bobby McFerrin, , Nat Adderley , Oscar Brown Jr., and many others. Mike has also recorded numerous albums as a leader.
“Like many of us, I was pondering Tony Williams' effect on the music world.
I remember how we all sounded before Tony and after. Very Different... Most of us were trying to sound like Max Roach, or Philly Joe Jones but then 'Four and More' came out. Within a year on the West Coast if you wanted to work with guys like Bobby Hutcherson or Woody Shaw - you had to have some sort of answer for this 'new and modern' type of playing. Tony turned the jazz drumming world upside down.
Most guys started adding some of his things that they could play to their performances. For some, it was an addiction, a statement of change, a revolution, a political statement. I just remember it was a 'BIG DEAL'. You were either into it, or you weren't - and the two camps seemed to not like each other ha-ha-ha.
It seems crazy now but I remember it clearly. When I listen to Tony on the Miles Davis records today - sounding brand-new and mysterious with lots of enduring modernity. Other than Elvin, I haven't heard anything that has caught my attention like that since.
First of all I love all things Tony Williams. He was a huge influence on me even though I don't try to play like him. My favorite Tony is all the stuff before the big yellow drum set. I love all of that also, but for me... The early stuff still sounds modern, fresh, and thoughtful.
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