Biography
A bassist of notable adaptability and range, Ron McClure has flourished in settings spanning hard bop, jazz-rock, free improvisation, and bebop. He ranks among the most accomplished players in the upper register on both acoustic and electric instruments, and his command of rhythm stands out as exceptional. Since the early 1970s he has taught actively, serving on the faculties of Berklee and Long Island University while leading workshops throughout the United States and overseas.
Piano lessons began for him at age five; later he took up the accordion and then the bass. Private study with Joseph Iadone preceded enrollment at the Hartt School of Music, from which he graduated in 1963. Composition studies with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky came afterward.
Midway through the 1960s McClure worked with Buddy Rich and both performed and recorded alongside Marian McPartland, Herbie Mann, and Maynard Ferguson. In 1966 he joined Wyton Kelly’s band, and the next year he became a member of the Charles Lloyd quartet that also featured Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. The group attained an uncommon degree of popularity and media attention for a jazz ensemble of the late 1960s; it became the first American band to appear at a Soviet jazz festival and played the Fillmore, one of the rare jazz acts to do so.
McClure helped form the jazz-rock ensemble The Fourth Way in 1968 with Michael White, Mike Nock, and Eddie Marshall. The band drew strong audience response at the Newport and Montreux festivals in 1970 yet disbanded the following year after a three-year run. During the 1970s he performed with Joe Henderson, Gary Burton, Mose Allison, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Liebman, Thelonious Monk, Tony Bennett, and Jarrett. He also recorded with Jerry Hahn, Julian Priester, Cal Tjader, and the Pointer Sisters, and he spent three years with Blood, Sweat & Tears in the middle of the decade.
In the 1980s and 1990s McClure played and recorded with George Russell, Tom Harrell, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Mark Gray, Jimmy Madison, Adam Nussbaum, Richie Bierach, Vincent Herring, Kevin Hayes, Bill Stewart, and Michel Petrucciani. Under his own name he has led sessions for Ode, Bellaphon, EPC, Steeplechase, and Ken Music, several of which remain available on CD.
Piano lessons began for him at age five; later he took up the accordion and then the bass. Private study with Joseph Iadone preceded enrollment at the Hartt School of Music, from which he graduated in 1963. Composition studies with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky came afterward.
Midway through the 1960s McClure worked with Buddy Rich and both performed and recorded alongside Marian McPartland, Herbie Mann, and Maynard Ferguson. In 1966 he joined Wyton Kelly’s band, and the next year he became a member of the Charles Lloyd quartet that also featured Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette. The group attained an uncommon degree of popularity and media attention for a jazz ensemble of the late 1960s; it became the first American band to appear at a Soviet jazz festival and played the Fillmore, one of the rare jazz acts to do so.
McClure helped form the jazz-rock ensemble The Fourth Way in 1968 with Michael White, Mike Nock, and Eddie Marshall. The band drew strong audience response at the Newport and Montreux festivals in 1970 yet disbanded the following year after a three-year run. During the 1970s he performed with Joe Henderson, Gary Burton, Mose Allison, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Liebman, Thelonious Monk, Tony Bennett, and Jarrett. He also recorded with Jerry Hahn, Julian Priester, Cal Tjader, and the Pointer Sisters, and he spent three years with Blood, Sweat & Tears in the middle of the decade.
In the 1980s and 1990s McClure played and recorded with George Russell, Tom Harrell, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Mark Gray, Jimmy Madison, Adam Nussbaum, Richie Bierach, Vincent Herring, Kevin Hayes, Bill Stewart, and Michel Petrucciani. Under his own name he has led sessions for Ode, Bellaphon, EPC, Steeplechase, and Ken Music, several of which remain available on CD.
Albums
