Clarke was born on 30 June 1951 in Philadelphia, His mother sang opera around the house, belonged to a church choir and encouraged him to study music. He started on accordion then tried violin, But he felt awkward holding such a small instrument in his big hands when he was twelve years old and over six feet tall. No one wanted the acoustic bass in the corner, so he picked it up. He took lessons on the double bass at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, studying classical bass for five years under Eligio Rossi. He picked up bass guitar in his teens so that he could perform at parties and imitate the rock and pop bands that girls liked. Clarke attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and after graduating moved to New York City in 1971, His recording debut was with Curtis Fuller, He worked with Joe Henderson and Pharoah Sanders, then in 1972 with Tony Williams Lifetime Experience, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Art Blakey, followed by Gil Evans, Mel Lewis and Horace Silver. Clarke intended to become the first black musician in the Philadelphia Orchestra until he met jazz pianist Chick Corea. At the time Corea was working with Stan Getz putting together a new backing band for him and writing music for the group. these pieces first surfaced on two albums recorded in February or March 1972 in New York, Captain Marvel and Return to Forever. Clarke's playing and improvising was prominent on both albums, the band also played a couple of gigs with Getz in Europe. At this early stage the band as separate from Getz was mostly a studio side project, but the members soon realized that it had potential as a regular live band and so the band Return to Forever had been born. in short After Return to Forever's second album Light as a Feather, Clarke received job offers from Bill Evans, Miles Davis and Ray Manzarek of the Doors, but he remained with Return to Forever until 1977. During the early 1980s he toured with Corea and Return to Forever, then worked with Bobby Lyle, Eliane Elias, David Benoit and Michel Petrucciani. He toured in a band with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in 1991, In 1998 he founded Superband with Lenny White, Larry Carlton and Jeff Lorber.
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