Trumpeter Christopher Lowell Clarke - Who Is This Guy?

[JSngry]

Received an "unmarked copy" of an album of his called The Swooper, and although nothing really "exquisite" or anything, the guy plays in an interesting-enough semi-blurrybop style reminiscent of mid-late 60s Kenny Dorham in terms of tone and phrasing (but not in harmony). That's an interesting choice, I think, one you don't hear much these days.

Anyway, the Internet's got nothing on this guy except links to lines from other links, so..who is he? And how does anybody with a record not be on the Internet these days? Is head dead, top-secret, or just what, exactly?

[Larry Kart]

I found some YouTube hits, though nothing extensive enough to tell me much about him. In several of them he's playing outdoors at a cafe with bassist Dewayne Oakley and drummer Donald (Duck) Bailey; there's also a longish video interview with Bailey where Clarke crops up briefly toward the end. He looks to me to be in his early 30s, and I assume he's based in the SF area, because that's where Bailey is.

Upon further review, this video has more of him, and it's not too promising IMO, though it is outdoors and on a windy day:

[robertoart]

Someone whose mother was a Little Feet fan perhaps?

[Niko]

his record label spells his name without the final "e" most of the time, here's one more video

and here is the label's page for The Swooper (including a stream of the album but no text...)

[JSngry]

Well, this is what you want, right here.

[Niko]

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Christopher Lowell Clarke began playing trumpet in elementary school, and attended The College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati on a jazz scholarship. Majoring in jazz and studio music Clarke played with guest artists Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Bobby Shew, and Byron Stripling. Four years with Carnival Cruise Lines orchestras followed, before Chris relocated to the Bay Area. He has performed at the Monterey, Umbria, Stanford, Mt Hood, and Fillmore Street jazz festivals, and toured Italy with the Johnny Nocturne Band. Since his move to San Francisco, Clarke has shared the stage with George Coleman, Sonny Simmons, and Bishop Norman Williams, and recorded with Dewayne Oakley.

http://www.chezhanny.com/eddie_marshall.html

[Joe]

Various sources date THE SWOOPER as having been recorded / released in 2001. Apparently, a record of duets with bassist DeWayne Oakley also exists...

http://www.discogs.com/Christopher-Lowell-Clarke-And-Dewayne-Oakley-Christopher-Lowell-Clark-Dewayne-Oakley/release/2829460

I'm satisfactorily intrigued.