Clark Sommers Feast Ephemera
Sunday, September 24
TIME: 4:00-5:00PM
VENUE: wagner stage. MIDWAY PLAISANCE at South WOODLAWN AVE.
Man (Clark Sommers) lounging on a red couch wearing blue jeans and a green striped button down shirt, followed by a black and white image of Clark Sommers playing an upright bass.
CLARK SOMMERS
Bassist, composer, and educator Clark Sommers has toured and performed throughout the world, frequently with vocalist Kurt Elling, with whom he shares multiple recordings and two Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
When not on the road with Elling, Sommers enjoys leading two of his own groups: Ba(SH), which includes long-time collaborators Dana Hall on drums and Geof Bradfield on reeds, and The Lens Project, which has featured Jeff Parker, Kendrick Scott, Gary Versace, Geof Bradfield, and Joel Adams (2014) and Dana Hall, Chris Madsen, Matt Gold, and Geof Bradfield (2022). Sommers’ newest recording project, Feast Ephemera, comes out in November and includes twelve of Chicago’s finest musicians in a mini big-band setting. It is his most ambitious and far-reaching project to date, featuring all new compositions and arrangements. He can also be heard performing with The Chicago Yestet, Portland’s Darrell Grant, and others.
Sommers completed his undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies and World Music at California Institute of the Arts in 2002, where he studied with bass masters Charlie Haden and Darek Oles. While living in Los Angeles, he performed with Leo Smith, Vinny Golia, The Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra, Joe La Barbara, and Larry Koonse. He completed a Master’s degree in Jazz Composition in 2021 from DePaul University.
He has had the privilege of performing with artists including Cedar Walton, Darrell Grant, Brian Blade, Ernie Watts, Bennie Maupin, Von Freeman, Ira Sullivan, Frank Wess, Charles McPherson, Peter Bernstein, Lin Haliday, Dana Hall, Jodie Christian, Bobby Broom, Jeff Parker, Ron Perrillo, Geof Bradfield, Michael Weiss, George Fludas, Kevin Mahogany, Eden Atwood, Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.
The musicians:
Clark Sommers - bass/compositions
Tito Carrillo - trumpet
Russ Johnson - trumpet
Joel Adams - trombone
Andy Baker - trombone
Nick Mazzarella - alto saxophone
John Wojciechowski - C & alto flutes, alto saxophone
Chris Madsen - tenor saxophone
Geof Bradfield - bass clarinet, soprano & tenor saxophone
Stu Mindeman - piano
Scott Hesse - guitar
Dana Hall - drums