Critics, musicians and his audience call him a legend. Mike Clark’s latest recording Carnival of Soul from Owl Studios has earned rave reviews and feature coverage in recent months as well as a 2011 nomination for the Independent Musicians Award.

Now, for one night only—with Michael Wolff on piano, Bob Sheppard on sax and John B. Williams on bass—drummer Clark will perform with the Michael Wolff Quartet on Friday at Vitello’s in Studio City.

Born in Sacramento and raised in Oakland, Clark has lived most of his adult years in New York City.

“I went to New York with the blind ambition to work my way into a career of big studio recordings,” Clark said. “But I discovered an entire community of musicians that lives and breathes jazz, hip-hop and funk. I didn’t take long to understand that living in the community of such dedicated artists was more fulfilling than my youthful illusions of commercial success.”

He added, “New York became my world of soulful creativity beyond my wildest dreams where musicians play in the zone, focused on their performance night after night. And that is more important to me as an artist. Now that I’m participating on more and more albums, I’m also enjoying the independence, the freedom and choice to work with my friends, people I've known for years.”

Clark finds New York exciting and surprising, even after decades.

“It’s a whole new world here,” he said. “Any aspiring, young musician should work in New York for at least five years.”

Still, he returns to California to reconnect with his roots every now and then. This week he came to visit his extended family while on a West Coast tour. Jazz fans can benefit from his visit to hear him play in Studio City. 

Back in the ‘90s, Clark stayed in Los Angeles for a couple of months and he loved every minute of it. He was performing every night.

“Now I play over 200 nights every year whether in New York or out on a tour,” Clark said.

Clark’s extensive tour schedule is on his website (mikeclarkmusic.com). On his current tour, his stops include Fresno, Sacramento, San Mateo and San Francisco before he heads north to Washington state and then back through to New York. He also plans to play in Europe later this year.

Clark's big breakthrough as a world-renowned drummer, began when he was working with Herbie Hancock.

“The work with Herbie and everyone else in the group gave me the opportunity to express my creativity more fully,” Clark said. “People noticed me for the innovative drumming, and everyone in the group, the Headhunters, grooved together really well, and that enabled each of us to achieve that special kind of musical improvisation in the dialogue between performers. That’s what set us apart. Proof that music is a team sport.”

The Headhunters grew out of funk and jazz traditions.

“The Headhunters started in the ‘70s,” Clark said. “We were the supporting band for Herbie Hancock’s 12th studio album Head Hunters. It just turned out that we made a great group of talented musicians. We delivered one of the best-selling jazz records ever. We went on to record a half-dozen additional albums with Hancock. We’ve also released a couple of winning platters on our own.”

This June, the Headhunters, led by Clark and Bill Summers (percussion), will launch a new CD recording, Platinum. Their originality arises from a highly creative fusion of jazz, funk, hip-hop and now rap. They have created new layers of rhythm, melody and lyrics in this release, raising the bar and setting a new benchmark for the world to follow.

The Mike Wolff Quartet, featuring Mike Clark, performs Friday at Vitello’s Jazz and Supper Club. For reservations, call 818-769-0905.

Check out videos of his playing, above, under the photos.