Solomon was born in Los Angeles and learned to play clarinet from an early age and picked up saxophone when he was 13.
In the late 1940s he played with T-Bone Walker and Pee Wee Crayton, then joined the band of Roy Porter in 1948-1949, and soon after played with Lionel Hampton, Floyd Ray, Art Farmer, Annie Ross, Gigi Gryce, Clifford Brown, Charles Brown, and then Hampton again.
He worked in the 1960s with Onzy Matthews (1962-1964), Ike & Tina Turner as a member of the Kings of Rhythm,[1] and Johnny Otis.
In addition he recorded with Lou Rawls, Preston Love, Mel Brown, Maxine Weldon, Billy Brooks, Esther Phillips, John Mayall, and Big Joe Turner.
From February to March 1974, he was the saxophonist in the two-piece "horn band" of Canned Heat's European tour;[2] the author of this reference characterizes Clifford Solomon as "one of the best musicians I have ever played with".