Jazz drummer Mike Clark, best known as a member of Herbie Hancock's The Headhunters, has formed a new group, Mike Clark's Prescription Renewal. The four other members include 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, keyboardist Robert Walter, saxophonist Skerik and trombonist Fred Wesley (James Brown/Parliament/Funkadelic). Their 13-date theater tour will include material from The Headhunters and runs June 22-July 5.
"About the time I was thinking of bringing this music together," says Clark about naming his group Prescription Renewal, "this country was going through the presidential election madness, among other things, and it became apparent to me that we1ve all been struggling a long time and there was a lot of divisiveness between us. Since music cures what ails you, it1s the medicine that calms the heart and soul; I decided to name this outing Prescription Renewal. I wanted to try something different, bring together a band of musicians that individually and collectively, knew a thing or two about feeling good. That1s how I came up with this line-up."
"First I thought of Charlie Hunter," he continues. "We1ve already played together and I know I can travel anywhere musically with him. He can play the blues with authentic feeling. I had been hearing about and then listened to Skerik. This man can play jazz and soul and blues, and he seems to understand, you can hear, that it1s all the same thing and it1s all different and it1s all good. I feel the same way. When I heard Robert Walter I was totally blown away because he was so funky and I could tell he knew a lot of music."
