Home » Jazz Musicians » Matt Clark - Piano

Matt Clark - Piano

Biography
Articles

Matt, a major fixture in the San Francisco jazz scene, studied. at Oberlin Conservatory, then moved to the Bay Area becoming an in-demand rhythm section player. He has played with Bobby Hutcherson, Marcus Shelby, and Joshua Redman among others.

BFA in Jazz Studies from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Recorded and/ or performed with Bobby Hutcherson, Benny Golson, Eddie Marshall, John Faddis, David “Fathead” Newman, Gene Bertoncini, Joshua Redman, and Teddy Edwards. Toured extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the United States including appearances at the Monterey, San Francisco, Vienne, Big Sur, Stanford, and Rochester jazz festivals in addition to televised performances for CNN Showbiz Today and numerous PBS specials. Clinician, lecturer in jazz history, and ensemble instructor at the Stanford, Oaktown and Cazadero jazz workshops

Daggerboard: The Skipper and Mike Clark

Read "The Skipper and Mike Clark" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 31, 2026

The rhythm section--more specifically, bassist Henry “The Skipper" Franklin and drummer Mike Clark--is front and center on the fourth recording by San Francisco Bay-area Daggerboard, the brainchild of trumpeter Erik Jekabson and percussionist Gregory Howe, who have enlisted a large array of supporting actors to help refine and sharpen their unique musical vision. That includes a four-member string section on three of the album's ten numbers, two of which ("Tanzanian Skies," the closing “Ruaha Daybreak") were written by ...

Album Review

Bill Ortiz: Points of View

Read "Points of View" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
July 29, 2023

Long associated with Carlos Santana, with whom he had a 16-year stint, trumpeter Bill Ortiz steps into the spotlight here with an auspicious and highly entertaining session. Ten selections showcase Ortiz who is supported by some of the Bay area's best. The order of the day is energy, excitement, and an overall superb show. “Sunburst," an Eddie Henderson tune, launches things with a pulsing piano, driving bass, textured rhythms and Ortiz wailing, first using a Harmon mute ...

Album Review

Mike Clark & Michael Zilber: Mike Drop

by Paul Rauch
September 3, 2021

A first encounter with saxophonist Michael Zilber in a live setting leaves a very large impression. Enshrouding the marvelous facility and deeply melodic approach to improvisation is “the sound" which allows the listener to receive the music in a soulful way. When that sound and imagination are driven by the post-bop mastery of drummer Mike Clark, illuminating things can and will take place.Celebrating a ten-year friendship, Zilber and Clark laid down this session in Oakland in 2018 for ...