Sonny Clark's soulful piano was a musical delight. His blues playing had a grace and weight unequalled in jazz before or since. Heroin and alcohol problems brought on a premature and tragic death at the age of 31. We follow Sonny's path from early 1954 with early solo performances through to trio tunes from 1960. Along the way we hear Sonny collaborating with the likes of John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Max Roach and other leading lights. This 4 CD set comes with a booklet with Sonny's story and discographical information. There is no other comparable survey of Sonny's career in the marketplace. Sonny Clark was one of the leading pianists in what is commonly known as the hard bop style. Sonny Clark's playing oozed a sense of effortless ease. Many pianists of the hard-bop era sound like they are trying hard to swing, not Sonny, as Art Farmer once commented, "A primary quality in Sonny Clark's playing is that there is no strain in it". Original melodies and variations on standards seemed to flow from his fingers. An essential element of Clark's style was his use of stealthy melodic lines that could extend to several bars at the time and built through surprisingly accentuated melodic turns.
