Clarence Seay (born January 7, 1957, Washington, DC) is an American jazz bassist and composer. He was the bassist with the

Wallace Roney Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960 – March 31, 2020) was an American jazz ( hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He won one Grammy award and was nominated twice. Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from ...

Quintet for over 15 years. Seay, also known as "Big C", is a disciple of the

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop er ...

school of jazz bass playing which features a style of walking harmonically inventive bass lines in a robust manner by positioning strings relatively high from the fingerboard – a practice mostly abandoned by modern bass players because of its physical difficulty. In addition to Roney, Seay has recorded and/or toured domestically and internationally with several renowned jazz artists and groups including

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

and the Jazz Messengers,

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

, Yanow, Scott. allmusic/ref>

Billy Harper Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.Chris KelseyBilly Harper Biography ''AllMusi ...

Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Award ...

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

and the Smithsonian Jazz Works Orchestra. Seay attended

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syst ...

in Washington, DC, with

and Gregory Charles Royal in the 1970s and attended Howard University with them and pianist

Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh. Early life and education Allen was born in Pontiac, Michigan ...

in the 1980s. Seay was an adjunct professor at the

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

in Richmond for over 10 years in the 1980s and 90s. He was commissioned by the United States Post Office to compose and perform on their Album Commemorating America's Celebration of Jazz.

Discography

As sideman

With

*''

Mistérios ''Mistérios'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney, recorded in 1994 and released on the Warner Bros. label. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Trumpeter Wallace Roney avoids the standard repertoire altogeth ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1994) *''

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1997) With

* '' Destiny Is Yours'' (

SteepleChase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

, 1990) * '' If Our Hearts Could Only See'' (DIW, 1998) *'' Soul of an Angel'' (Metropolitan, 2000) *'' Blueprints of Jazz Vol. 2'' (Talking House, 2008) With

Cindy Blackman Cindy Blackman (born November 18, 1959), known as Cindy Blackman Santana since she married guitarist Carlos Santana in 2010, is an American jazz and Rock music, rock drummer performing since the 80s. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as ...

* ''

Arcane Arcane may refer to: Comics and literature * Anton Arcane, a DC Comics character * Arcane Jill Watson, a fictional character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' franchise * Arcane literature, fictional literature in the Cthulhu Mythos ...

'' (Muse, 1987) *''

Telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

'' (Muse, 1992

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

With

(Columbia, 1982) ;Gregory Charles Royal (with

) * ''Dream Come True'' ;David Esleck Trio (with

Clarence Penn Clarence Lacquese Penn (born March 2, 1968) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Early life Penn was born in Detroit on March 2, 1968.Kennedy, Gary W"Clarence Penn" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxf ...

) * ''Three''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Clarence American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Living people 1957 births 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Jazz Messengers members