Scott Clark: Drummer // Composer

Drummer and composer Scott Clark is at the center of the Richmond VA improvised music scene, and is making a name for himself through his “striking musical maturity, evident in his patience and precision.” He has curated dozens of concerts that match local musicians on bills with internationally recognized touring artists, and is co-curator of music for Out Of Your Head Records. The forthcoming sextet album Dawn & Dusk is his first recorded collaboration with vocalist Laura Ann Singh, and will be released on OOYH Records on August 25, 2023. Dawn & Dusk is a continuation of Clark’s compositional method heard previously on his widely-acclaimed releases, the solo drum album This Darkness (2021) on OOYH Records, and his ScottClark4tet albums ToNow (2018) and Bury My Heart (2016) on Clean Feed. Clark’s work is focused on the arc of composition through improvisation and sonic story-telling, as is expertly evidenced on This Darkness, which is directly inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke's poem Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower. Hailed as “nourishing music, and imaginative rhythmic shape of restless assurance” by Salt Peanuts, both This Darkness and Dawn & Dusk continue Clark's career-long desire to tell a story through composition, by presenting the piece as a suite to be experienced start to finish, and as a stand alone work. In addition to his solo project and the new sextet Dawn & Dusk, Clark performs in duo with Laura Ann Singh exploring the music of Brazilian composer/musician Dorival Caymmi, as part of Adam Hopkins’ School Work, and already in 2023 has collaborated in performance or on recording with Tony Malaby, Peni Candra Rini, and featured in a quintet led by Chicago bassist Christopher Dammann, with Jon Irabagon and Jim Baker.