Mike Clark

Mike Clark is a jazz and funk drummer whose work with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters in the 1970s made him one of the most influential players of his instrument. Born in Sacramento in 1946, he started playing professionally as a child and developed the deeply syncopated style heard on Hancock's Actual Proof, a track that earned him an international cult following. His funk grooves, among them God Make Me Funky, rank among the most sampled drumming in hip hop. Beyond the Headhunters he has led his own groups for decades, recording albums such as Give the Drummer Some and continuing to work the straight ahead jazz scene at clubs like Smalls.