Artist Interview- Kim Clarke
Recently we asked Stewart Mckinsey if would do an interview with Kim Clarke for Bass Players United. Stewart Mckinsey attributes Defunkt as a huge influence on his own playing.
SM:How did you start playing, and where did you study bass or are you primarily self-taught?
KC:I had tried guitar for a minute after my play sister dug an old no name electric out of the garage..I had no teacher so didn’t get far…when I got a bass it made more sense..a James Brown line I started playing by ear after buying one from a friend who worked in a music shop for Fifteen dollars. I learned copying bass players on records (while at college in Michigan)–started a band and did a gig and friends told me about Jazzmobile Workshop.I started my formal lessons there workshop..studied there ..got a gig in Barry’s Jazz Cultural Theatre jam session house band and played with some of the most well known names in Jazz like Art Blakey,Tommy Flanagan, Woody Shaw, C Sharpe, Junior Cooke, Eddie Harris, Clifford Jordan, Teri Thornton, Sarah Vaughn( in Finland at a jam session)I was and continue to be blessed
SM:What were some of your inspirations and what have been some of your trials?
KC:My inspirations would first Dad who grew up around Max Roach Tommy Potter Wynton Kelly ( I heard the jazz stories) and he listened to Jazz every morning b4 going to work. His father was a vaudeville trombonist turn bassist.
Trials:
1)Worst Id say was breaking down on the way to a gig alone at nighton a curved interstate..
2)Replacing someones HOMEY on the bandstand( you can never be someone else)
3)Being fired or fined for something you couldn’t control.
4) Playing that best note combination to the only comatose(highly inebriated) man at a bar.
SM:Who or what has been your biggest influence?
KC:Biggest influence to start playing Jimi Hendrix- to keep going and study hard is still Barry Harris–to get an understanding and appreciation of Jazz in general-Ron Carter-who made me write pages about stuff I didn’t know but had to express on paper & made me hang out and listen.Jimmy Owens was also very influential- no nonsense rhythm class and music business class. Gig wise- Joe Henderson-Jazz. Joseph Bowie- Funk- took me all over the world.
SM:Can you describe your gear, strings included?
KC:Fichterbass electric upright, German flatback, Musicman, Elrick &3 basses by Esp
Thomastic for uprights
D’Addario 4 the electrics
SM:What type of music do you enjoy playing most?
KC:The type of music I play matters less to me than the feeling I get or give while playing it- I want to be good and I need to feel and be able to give positive vibes on the bandstand.Joe Henderson said playing music is the closest we can get to talking with God. Jimi Hendrix was said to feel similarly ;as told by the Ghetto Fighters who worked with him.
Music is supposed to be a conversation and the LOVE element is supposed to be a given even if you’re playing monster music for a sound track- united in getting the feeling conveyed should be important.
SM:Do you have a favorite piece of music?
KC:Not really so here’s a loose list – There is a really beautiful piece I heard my friend Jill McCarron play at a wedding- I should have written the title down.I love harmony -some 60′s rock- music, Fela, Allman Brothers,Ray Brown, Fletcher Henderson,Bud Powell, Prince (show and melding of styles.
I like “Come Sunday”; anything by Theolonius Monk , Bird, Sly and Family Stone, Larry Graham, Jimi ‘s Band of Gypsies, Jaco, Stevie Wonders ”Weakness”with Dionne Warwick- I heard some Japanese music in Kyoto once for the celebration of its 2000 years Gamelon. I like bells and Oscar Peterson on a perfectly in tune Bosendorfer, Love Celi Cruz and a Brazilian tune called Vatapa by Dori Caymmi. I also like a band called Umphreys McGee.
SM:What is the biggest thing to recommend any bass player at any level?
KC:LISTEN- ear training READ music slower than slow and hold the notes for the exact value. Posture, breathing ,healthy food, Youtube..gr8 resource. write out some horn solos and learn them.
SM:What types of strings and fingerboard combinations do you like?
KC:Ebony for upright..Rosewood for slapping and a harder wood for soloing.Light gauge steel string
SM:What do you look for in a bass?
KC:Weight- balance…width of fingerboard..neck straightness..sound sensitivity,sustain,pickups,and sound acoustically then through a large amp in a big space(something you cant do in a store unfortunately)Good mid’s frets not like razors.I’m more of a P-bass than a fender jazz- for funk but i believe the jazz maybe easier to access for soloing in the upper register, action, fret buzz..but low enough to be comfortable and execute..Did I say Good pickups?
SM:What projects are you currently working on?
KC:I hope to get a jazz duo project done- in the meantime I freelance-and or book a few band formations- ie duo trio,jazz standard,original , r&b with vocals and very rarely latin project. Ive worked with Kit McClure bands for over 20 years so Ive met a lot of female musicians. For the last 9 years in March I’ve been producing (8yrs of which with the owners of the now defunct JazzSPot Cafe)a celebration of women’s history month with some phenomenal elder women and youth in the arts- jazz – and various styles…visual art and dance.
SM:I have enjoyed the way you bring diverse elements to your music (hearing elements of jazz in funk, or creating bass lines with almost hornlike phrasing). Is this process a conscious decision or is it a part of your musical identity?
KC:Part of my training (light classical)and playing experience many hours on the bandstand behind long winded horn players etc ..I’m trying to be funny..can u reword that? Some of writing is somewhat slightly influenced by Steve Coleman 5 Elements. I have to record these professionally- another project.
SM:How has playing upright bass affected your playing electric and vice versa?
KC:Great for Jazz playing-technique wise classical fingering, etc. I have to undo a bit of that to execute certain things on the electric.I wish I had had guitar lessons in that regard.
SM:Do you favor one, or do you think of yourself as primarily an electric or an upright player?
KC:No I love them like a parent with 2 children. If I only have one I miss the other.You have experience as both a live player and as a recording artist.
SM:How do you think these skills have bolstered one another?
KC:With bass especially upright its all about how well you can hear yourself and staying in tune; feeling comfortable and blocking out inner and outer distractions to focus on what u r trying to say or react to.
SM:What advice do you give your students? What would you like to tell players who are coming up now?
KC:I tell everyone to go to Barry s Class, even if you never play jazz in your life you will learn something that you can work on for years.
SM:Also have a backup plan in life- the music industry is just that…a business and it can be cold in that it is largely FAD oriented here.
KC:Play it because you like it.not because you are trying to use it as a weapon..analyze it and see the behaviors elicited by it- make your choices then.
Kim Clarke is an amazing bassist, composer, website developer and teacher. Her Bass playing is soulful, funky, and shows a diversity of talents with every bass she uses. Kim Clarke preformed on 17Defunkt Cd’s and a three time recipient of the coveted N E A Jazz Study Fellowship.
(Photo Credit-Guy Fonck)
Stewart Mckinsey
” KIM , YOU ARE A BIGGER INFLUENCE ON OTHERS ( MUSICALLY & AS A BEAUTIFUL SPIRIT ) THAN YOU MAY THINK OR FEEL..
THANK YOU FOR BEING AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE ,….AND SHARING YOUR SOUL WITH ME” .
LOVE YOU , SKY
Kim is one of the most aware people I know-and that awareness translates into her music no matter what style she is playing. She is also a teacher ready to help us understand some deeper layers of our lives personally and socially- I am lucky to be a colleague and count her as one of my best friends!!