Sonny Clark – born Conrad Clark on July 21, 1931, in Herminie, Pennsylvania –
was a jazz pianist best known for his work in the hard bop subgenre. He began
learning the piano at the age of four, and studied vibraphone while in school.
In 1945, he discovered jazz music after hearing Fats Waller and Art Tatum on the
radio and seeing the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Count Basie Orchestra on TV.
Deciding to pursue jazz piano, Sonny Clark moved to California in 1951 and
performed with artists such as bassist Oscar Pettiford and clarinetist Buddy
DeFranco, who mentored him and took him...