Clarence Penn

$80/hour; Venmo: @clarence-penn, PayPal: clarencepenn@mac.com.

Clarence Penn is riding a wave as the go-to-drummer of his generation.  He is the first call drummer for many of New York’s most enduring, creative artists like Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas and Stanley Clarke. Since 1991, when he arrived in New York City, Penn has worked or recorded with Ellis and Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Steps Ahead, Makoto Ozone, Michael Brecker, Dave Douglas, Luciana Souza, Richard Galliano, and Fourplay.  His discography includes several hundred studio albums including three Grammy-winning recordings.  He has toured extensively throughout the United States, the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. He’s composed music for films and commercials, and produced tracks for numerous singers in the pop and alternative arenas. He earned a “Ten Best of 1997” accolade from the New York Times for his first leader recording, Penn’s Landing. Penn was a protégé of Ellis Marsalis and is now an active educator and clinician.  He has served on the faculty of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, Italy, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Intensive Jazz Institute.