About
Drummer, composer and educator Colleen Clark is vibrant on the scenes in NYC and the southeastern United States. Clark has guest performed for four nights with the 8G Band on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers and can most recently be heard playing on her co-led project ALLIANCE (4-star Downbeat review), Michael Dease’s The Other Shoe (Origin) and Found in Space (Origin). She has also contributed to three upcoming big band records by Michael Dease, and Matt White's Dolly. She has recorded on SteepleChase with Allegra Levy featuring legendary trumpeter John McNeil and Levy’s reimagining of his music on Lose My Number: Allegra Levy sings John McNeil. Her Mexican jazz group CC + The Adelitas will record their debut album in 2026.
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Clark has shared the stage with jazz luminaries including Branford Marsalis, Rodney Whitaker, Catherine Russell, Camille Thurman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Mimi Jones. She has toured and performed extensively with 2X GRAMMY award winning vocalist and composer, Nicole Zuraitis. Clark has been featured in DOWNBEAT magazine and is also an ASCAP winning composer. Clark has performed on legendary stages throughout the US and Internationally including: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland, Smalls, The Jazz Showcase, The Nash, San Jose Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Vienne Jazz Festival and more. Clark was invited by the ASCAP Foundation to lead her band at the Kennedy Center.
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She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the University of South Carolina’s Jazz Girls Day®, a national and international day program centered on providing a positive day of learning jazz for girls.
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Clark’s dissertation, “The Evolution of the Ride Cymbal Pattern from 1917 to 1941: An Historical and Critical Analysis,” continues to inspire drummers, researchers and musicians from across the globe. Having been accessed over 4,600 times this work has proven to be impactful. After presenting this research at her first PASIC Clinic in 2023, Craigie Zildjian (President of Zildjian) approached Clark and offered that the dissertation be compiled and presented as part of Zildjian’s website, which was completed in 2024. This collaboration includes demonstration videos, audio examples and written text and is fully accessible on Zildjian’s website.
She has presented her research on the evolution of the ride cymbal pattern for the Percussive Arts Society and the Jazz Education Network. Clark’s writings which include teaching drumset in the jazz ensemble and ride cymbal centered teaching, are soon to be published in both Intellect Books and the Oxford University Press.
Clark is the Drumset Editor for Percussive Notes and serves on the Percussive Arts Society’s Drumset Committee and is serving her second term as Vice President for South Carolina’s PAS Chapter.
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She is proud to be an official endorser of Ludwig Drums, Zildjian, Vic Firth, REMO and Mono, and frequently collaborates with the companies.
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Dr. Clark is the only woman and drummer to earn a doctoral degree in jazz from the University of North Texas.