Drummer

Clarence Penn is one of the busiest jazz drummers in the world—he’s a leader of multiple bands, prolific composer, celebrated producer, and renowned educator. His band Penn Station is known for their ability to find new accents in well-known songs, moving seamlessly through styles as Clarence is devoted to the rhythms of the world. His motto: “When people hear my name, I want them to think, ‘I don’t know what band he’s playing with tonight, or what he’ll be doing, but it’s going to be good.’”

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Clarence Penn, Penn Station

Kennedy Center

Comprising four Americans from different cultural backgrounds, the American Patchwork Quartet are activists as well as artists, striving to counter pervasive prejudices around the issues of race and immigration, performing a repertoire of centuries-old American folk songs made new with creative arrangements, drawing connections between the nation’s contemporary culture and its immigrant roots. Led by Grammy-winning vocalist Falu Shah, Grammy-winning guitarist/vocalist Clay Ross, 3x Grammy-winning drummer Clarence Penn, and highly acclaimed and sought-after bassist Yasushi Nakamura, APQ breathes new life into the folk canon, accepting accountability for the future of a country both hospitable and hostile towards those that believe most fervently in its dreams of equality.

American Patchwork Quartet

McCarter Theatre Center

“The quartet's goal is purposeful: to unleash music's magic to help counteract pervasive prejudices around immigration and race” (Montana Public Radio).

On a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American folk and roots music, Hindustani vocalist Falu Shah, Ranky Tanky guitarist and co-founder Clay Ross, acclaimed Issei bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and master jazz drummer Clarence Penn showcase the dynamic diversity of contemporary culture by reimagining timeless songs from America's past that highlight the country’s immigrant roots.

SFJAZZ Center

American conductor André Raphel leads this first program in a series exploring complex social issues. The centerpiece of these concerts is Philadelphia jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine’s gospel and popular music-based The Passion of Octavius Catto, which tells of the 19th-century civil rights leader’s fight for justice. English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s charming potpourri Petite Suite de Concert dates from about 1911. In four movements, “Longing,” “Sorrow,” “Humor,” and “Aspiration,” William Grant Still’s 1930 Afro-American Symphony, his best-known work, is a blues-tinged panorama of the composer’s heritage.

André Raphel conducts Coleridge-Taylor, Still, and Caine with the Uri Caine Trio, Barbara Walker, vocalist, and Catto Chorus

Boston Symphony Hall

American conductor André Raphel leads this first program in a series exploring complex social issues. The centerpiece of these concerts is Philadelphia jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine’s gospel and popular music-based The Passion of Octavius Catto, which tells of the 19th-century civil rights leader’s fight for justice. In four movements, “Longing,” “Sorrow,” “Humor,” and “Aspiration,” William Grant Still’s 1930 Afro-American Symphony, his best-known work, is a blues-tinged panorama of the composer’s heritage.

Casual Friday: André Raphel conducts Still and Caine with the Uri Caine Trio, Barbara Walker, vocalist, and Catto Chorus

One of the jazz world’s longest-running and most-iconic events, the Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates its 65th year with a must-hear once-in-a-lifetime ensemble. Featuring Tony- and Grammy Award-winning NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater alongside Grammy Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling and critically acclaimed rising-star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, this stellar band will be directed by visionary pianist Christian Sands and anchored by his longtime rhythm section, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn.

Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour

Walt Disney Concert Hall

For 65 years, the Monterey Jazz Festival has played host to the greatest names in jazz. Now hear a collection of outstanding jazz stars in one performance as the Monterey Jazz Festival goes on tour.

McCallum Theatre

The illustrious Monterey Jazz Festival once again sends six of its finest jazz ambassadors to Berkeley as part of its popular touring program. Multiple-Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, among the “best-rounded and unique jazz vocalists singing today” (All About Jazz), and Kurt Elling, “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time” (The New York Times), scat, swoon, and soar as they bring swing standards, moody ballads, bop favorites, and Latin hits to life. The hard-swinging band is led by pianist Christian Sands, with rising-star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin (Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys), and the well-oiled rhythm section of bassist Yasushi Nakamura (Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones) and drummer Clarence Penn (Betty Carter, Maria Schneider).

Clarence Penn

Drummer

Events

Mar 16, 2024

Clarence Penn, Penn Station · Kennedy Center

Feb 9, 2024

American Patchwork Quartet · McCarter Theatre Center

Sep 23, 2023

American Patchwork Quartet · San Francisco Jazz

4 - 5 Mar, 2023

André Raphel conducts Coleridge-Taylor, Still, and Caine with the Uri Caine Trio, Barbara Walker, vocalist, and Catto Chorus · Boston Symphony Orchestra

Mar 3, 2023

Casual Friday: André Raphel conducts Still and Caine with the Uri Caine Trio, Barbara Walker, vocalist, and Catto Chorus · Boston Symphony Orchestra

About

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