New York, NY (TOP40 Charts/ Blue Note Records) -- �Among the best new jazz albums to be released this year�
�Mike Clark seems to create something new every time he sits down at the drums, and there is a tremendous sense of play on Carnival Of Soul. This is not just a first class jazz/fusion/funk album; it's an album alive with the joy of the players practicing their craft at its apex�
�Showing his prodigious chops in bebop and organ combo soul-jazz�-- �the overall music hefty and fatback or hard swinging and exuberant�
Rave reviews continue to roll in for Mike Clark�s �Carnival of Soul� on the Owl Studios record label, with critics describing the collection as �one of the best jazz albums to be released this year.� Radio has embraced the music as well, as the new JazzWeek chart sees the album jumping to #8! Look for upcoming coverage in print editions of Jazziz, JazzTimes, All About Jazz NY and elsewhere!
Upcoming events include an appearance in Italy at the Ichia Jazz Festival with Antonio Farao quartet featuring Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Buster Williams on bass and Clark on drums. Clark will also be in the studio doing final mixes on a new Headhunters CD, which will feature some very special guests (details will be announced soon!) Clark will perform in Boston next month with the Richie Goods band Nuclear Fusion, and he�ll headline an All-Star line-up Oct 28th at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York �featuring Christian McBride, Antonio Farao, Donald Harrison, Nicholas Peyton and Clark. Visit https://www.mikeclarkmusic.com/events.html for an up-to-date itinerary.
Owl Studios is an award-winning, independent record label, with an artist roster that includes a Grammy-nominated artist, two Independent Music Award winners, an American Pianists Association Jazz Fellowship recipient, and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Performer Award recipient. In the short time since its inception, Owl Studios has become a well-respected, artist-friendly record label in the genres of Jazz, R&B, Neo Soul, Jazz Fusion and Jam Band. Learn more about Owl Studios, here: https://www.owlstudios.com/
ALL MUSIC CD Review
7/10 BY MICHAEL G. NASTOS
CARNIVAL OF SOUL (OWL)
Mike Clark's funk and jazz drumming is put to the ultimate test on this, his ninth recording as a leader, also showing his prodigious chops in bebop and organ combo soul-jazz. Various bands supply the accompaniment on selected tracks, with organists Jerry Z, Jeff Pittson, or Delbert Bump (a pseudonym?) at the center of the groupings. While not known as a composer, Clark's name does show up on four tracks, with the overall music hefty and fatback or hard swinging and exuberant. Where "T's Boogaloo" might be a signature tune in its hip chunky funk, Clark also enjoys angular melodies as in Thelonious Monk's "Monk's Dream" and the bopping "Turok Son of Stone." Going through continual countermoves of easy swing and fast, furious bop, R&B, or rock, Clark's ever-changing bands provide plenty of fuel for his imagination. Electric guitarist Rez Abbasi is most surprising; known for his ethnic fusion style, here he is squarely in the pocket. Rob Dixon is the constant, as his brawny, developing saxophone sound comes straight out of the Texas tenor tradition. Delbert McClinton even makes a guest appearance, singing the bluesy "Cry Me a River." The drummer turns more heads than normal with a perfect Max Roach imitation before launching into an electrified rip-snorting Head Hunters-like "Catlett Outta the Bag." Where Clark's previous album, Blueprints of Jazz, is a superior item, Carnival of Soul fits nicely with all of the work Clark has done, and further synthesizes his potpourri expertise in many idioms and subgenres of progressive modern jazz.
https://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jjfixzysldfe
WILDY�S WORLD � CD review
Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)
7/17/10
Mike Clark - Carnival Of Soul
2010, Owl Studios
Mike Clark is something of a legend. Coming to prominence as Herbie Hancock's drummer in the early 1970's, Clark has gone on to play with the likes of Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Gil Evans, Brand X and a host of other names in jazz music. Clark teaches regularly at camps, colleges and music shops but still finds time to create, as vividly displayed on his latest album, Carnival Of Soul. A tribute to B-3 trios, Clark finds the freedom to let go and play with a youthful energy on Carnival Of Soul, assisted by the likes of Delbert McClinton, Rez Abbasi, Delbert Bump, Jerry Z and Jeff Pittson among others.
Carnival Of Soul opens with "T's Boogaloo", a tribute to Al Tanner where Clark and friends challenge you to sit still. It's a pure mix of boogie and funk that's absolutely irresistible. "Monk's Dream" mixes bop and blues with a modern twist while Clark provides quiet pyrotechnics on the skins. " Multiple GRAMMY winner Delbert McClinton sits in on vocals for "Cry Me A River", providing a dynamic vocal line to balance the uniquely subtle and compact arrangement cooked up here. Clark shows off his New York swing style on "Water On The Moon" and channels a bit of Max Roach on "Turok Son Of Stone". The latter is pure bop with a modern twist.
Stay tuned for Clark & company's rendition of "Angel Eyes"; a classic read with electric solo work from both Delbert Bump and Steve Homan. For the true drum aficionados out there nothing will beat "Bookin'". Clark conjures rhythms that are difficult to imagine and nearly impossible to copy, treading the sort of polyrhythmic ground tread by Buddy Rich and more recently by Neil Peart. Things take a funky turn on "Zoyd", a fun little nugget that seems a tad out of place here but sounds like it was too fun to play to leave off the album. Carnival Of Soul closes with a tribute to Sid Catlett entitled "Catlett Outta My Bag". Lenny White sits in, and the ensemble invokes thoughts of Miles Davis, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock before the album fades away into musical aether.
Mike Clark seems to create something new every time he sits down at the drums, and there is a tremendous sense of play on Carnival Of Soul. This is not just a first class jazz/fusion/funk album; it's an album alive with the joy of the players practicing their craft at its apex. Carnival Of Soul is likely to be truly enjoyed by a narrow demographic of jazz fans, but that doesn't change the fact that at the halfway point of 2010 it's among the best new jazz albums to be released this year.
https://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2010/07/mike-clark-carnival-of-soul.html
JAZZIZ.COM PREVIEW: https://www.jazziz.com/news/2010/06/10/mike-clark�s-carnival-of-soul/
Modern Drummer � FIRST PERSON ESSAY/BLOG � 6/10
https://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummer-blogs/Mike%20Clark/
NUVO WEEKLY REVIEW and EDITOR�S PICK
https://www.nuvo.net/MusicBlog/archives/2010/06/15/mike-clarks-carnival-of-soul
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR PREVIEW 6/10: https://blogs.indystar.com/upstage/2010/06/headhunters_eng.html
MELODIC INTERVIEW: https://www.melodic.net/interviewsOne.asp?interviewId=316
More about Mike Clark:
Mike Clark gained worldwide recognition as one of America�s foremost jazz and funk drummers while playing with Herbie Hancock�s group in the early 1970�s. Mike became known as a major innovator through his incisive playing on Hancock�s �Thrust� album, which garnered him an international cult following. Mike has performed with jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw, Larry Coryell, Jack Wilkins, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Billy Childs, James Genus, Bob Hurst, Chris Potter, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Dave Liebman, Nat Adderly, Oscar Brown Jr., Bill Doggett, Mose Allison, Maxine Brown, Gil Evans and his orchestra, and did a stint with Brand X, the acclaimed British fusion band, founded by Phil Collins. He has performed throughout the world at all of the major jazz venues and festivals.
Here is Owl Studio�s official press release on the 12/09 signing of Mike Clark: https://www.owlstudios.com/artists/articles/Mike%20Clark/MikeClarkPR.htm
Here is Owl Studio�s Blog Q&A with Mike Clark:
https://blog.owlstudios.com/blog/owl-studios-blog/0/0/owl-artist-questionnaire-9
Visit https://www.owlstudios.com/
Visit https://www.mikeclarkmusic.com/
