The father of one of his bosses was a cousin to Duke Ellington,[5] so Clarke began to listen to jazz records by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Allen Jones and Dizzy Gillespie during lunch breaks and weekends,[6][5] and he became "hooked on jazz.

[5] Many others tried to encourage young Clarke to play "real instruments", but his position was the bongo drums.

[5] Clarke expressed his feelings about performing with Wess Anderson's band The Washingtonians which included Eddie Jones and Charlie Parker, saying it had him "shook up" and describing it as "mind blowing".

[2]Clarke played with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Les McCann, Russ Freeman, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Smith and others.

[citation needed] With Les McCann With Willis Jackson With Eugene McDaniels With Dave Hubbard With Cannonball Adderley With The Isley Brothers With Nina Simone With Jimmy Smith With John Mayall With Herbie Hancock With Freddie Hubbard With Ron Escheté With Thelonious Monster