Music of the Day - Clarence Penn

Last Friday I spent an evening at the Jazz Gallery which relocated to a new place just a few steps from where I live. The bill for that night was drummer Clarence Penn's band with pianist Gerald Clayton, saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and bassist Yasushi Nakamura. I hadn't heard Clarence Penn before and was mesmerized. His rhythmic precision, innovation and the joy and celebration in his playing was one of a kind. The entire band shared the same enthusiasm that night and it was one of the best jazz performances I had heard in a while. First thing I did when arriving home was to search for youtube videos of Clarence Penn and I found an excellent piece. This is with a trio that features Kenny Drew Jr., a phenomenal and extremely versatile pianist that I met briefly after moving to New York.Enjoy!