Song:Cool Struttin'
Album:Four Classic Albums
Blue Note is not only known for jazz but also iconic album covers. And this cover of the 1958 album Cool Struttin' is one of the most popular album covers. Other than that pianist Conrad "Sonny" Clark would be forgotten because he died young. The Cool Struttin' album cover has kept his memory alive. He was born July 21, 1931 in the coal mining town of Herminie, PA. It's near Pittsburgh. His parents were originally from Stone Mountain, GA. His dad died from lung disease two weeks after Clark was born. He was the youngest of eight kids. There was a black owned hotel in the town and Clark played piano there as a child and he also played in church. Clark's main influence was Bud Powell. He moved to California and played with Wardell Gray and Oscar Pettiford. He joined clarinetist Buddy DeFranco's band in 1953 and stayed for three years. He was also in Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars. Clark toured with Dinah Washington so he could move to New York. He became part of the Blue Note Records house band. He was a very popular sideman. He made his debut as a leader with the 1957 album Dial "S" For Sonny. But his most popular album is Cool Struttin'. This is mostly because of the album cover. The legs belong to Blue Note founder Alfred Lion's wife. The photo was taken by Blue Note staff photographer Francis Wolff and it was designed by Reid Miles who designed many Blue Note covers. Fortunately Cool Struttin' is a great album with Jackie McLean on alto sax, Art Farmer on trumpet, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Avid has released four Sonny Clark albums in one package and it's available as a budget CD. The albums are Dial "S" For Sonny (1957) with Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller and Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark Trio with Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones and Leapin' and Lopin' (1961) with Tommy Turrentine and Charlie Rouse. That was Clark's final Blue Note album. Sonny Clark died on Jan. 13, 1963 at age 31. The official cause of death was a heart attack but it is likely that he died from a heroin overdose as he was an addict. Here's a video of Cool Struttin' by Sonny Clark.
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