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A sad day for those of us in the Philly area who used to hang out and watch him play with the Crowd Pleasers.
Clifford Lamar, jazz drummer
By JOHN F. MORRISON
[email protected] 215-854-5573
RUTH LEARNER Konefsky remembers Clifford La-mar as a "charming child" who was "crazy about the drums."
"He couldn't afford to buy drums, so I would let him take them home for the weekend," she said. "Of course, it was against the rules."
That was at Vaux Junior High School, where Konefsky gave Cliff his first formal music instruction. After that, he pretty much winged it, developing his own unique style that endeared him to some of the major jazz artists of his era.
He played with many of the great ones, including Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Stan Getz, Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Smith, Nina Simone and others.
A deeply religious man, he would often exclaim, "To God be the glory! Let freedom ring!"
He died May 3 of complications of a stroke. He was 75 and lived in Nicetown.
Lamar was a recognizable figure at local jazz clubs for many years, notable for the energetic and innovative style of his drumming.
In an article in the old Nite Life publication, critic Bill Glover had high praise for Lamar's playing:
"The man is alive with feeling and a driving force of positive innovation to the point of using an extension of a crash cymbal stand atop a sock cymbal to produce a hi-hat.
"Genius - let this word be his name though humbleness be his game."
Glover wrote that Lamar was a "drummer supreme. Dancing, smiling, frowning, moving like a speed freak in a hurry. The boss is here and this is his year."
Describing a gig at the old King's Rook in West Oak Lane, where Lamar was playing with tenor saxophonist Cliff Edwards and organist Hollis Floyd, Glover wrote, "The trio is shakin' the place. As if the Creator was speaking himself."
Although he was mostly a local musician, Lamar spent some time in California with the jazz organist Jimmy Smith.
In recent years, he could be found playing with Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers, at Bob and Barbara's, 15th and South streets.
But Lamar was not only a great drummer. He was a humanitarian and active member of the New Southern Tabernacle Baptist Church, on Jefferson Street near 21st, where he played the drums at services and was a member of the building committee and the missionary committee, and where he undertook whatever the church needed doing.
And every Tuesday, he would go to the Messiah Maranatha Church at 3610 N. 15th St., which his sister, Katherine Lake, attends, to hand out food, clothing and other necessities to the poor.
"If there was food left over, he would take it to elderly neighbors," his sister said. "He helped everybody. If somebody was sick, we'd go visit them. He was always ready to help."
Lamar was also a teacher. He taught the drums to youngsters at the Philadelphia Clef Club of the Performing Arts, at Broad and Fitzwater streets.
"He was there every Saturday morning," his sister said. "He would be playing late the night before, but he would always show up - and on time.
"Sharing his knowledge and experience gave him great satisfaction."
He also is survived by another sister, Mae Redding.
Services: 11 a.m. today at Southern Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2042 W. Jefferson St. Friends may call at 9:30 a.m.
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