Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.

Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town southeast of Pittsburgh. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh. When visiting an aunt in California at age 20, Clark decided to stay and began working with saxophonist Wardell Gray. Clark went to San Francisco with Oscar Pettiford and after a couple months, was working with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco in 1953. Clark toured the U.S. and Europe with DeFranco until January 1956, when he joined The Lighthouse All-Stars, led by bassist Howard Rumsey.
Wishing to return to the east coast, Clark served as accompanist for singer Dinah Washington in February 1957 in order to relocate to New York City. In New York, Clark was often requested as a sideman by many musicians, partly because of his rhythmic comping. He frequently recorded for Blue Note Records, playing as a sideman with many hard bop players, including Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Clifford Jordan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, and Wilbur Ware. He also recorded sessions with Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Stanley Turrentine, and Lee Morgan.
As a band leader, Clark recorded albums Dial "S" for Sonny (1957), Sonny's Crib (1957), Sonny Clark Trio (1957), with Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, and Cool Struttin' (1958). Sonny Clark Trio, with George Duvivier and Max Roach was released in 1960.
Clark died of a heart attack in New York City, although commentators attribute the early death to Clark's drug and alcohol abuse.
Close friend and fellow jazz pianist Bill Evans dedicated the composition "NYC's No Lark" (an anagram of "Sonny Clark") to him after his death, included on Evans' Conversations with Myself (1963). John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond, and Bobby Previte recorded an album of Clark's compositions, Voodoo (1985), as The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet. Zorn also recorded several of Clark's compositions with Bill Frisell and George Lewis on News for Lulu (1988) and More News for Lulu (1992).

The Breeze and I
Sonny Clark Lyrics

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The breeze and I are saying with a sigh
That you no longer care;
The breeze and I are whispering goodbye
To dreams we used to share.

Ours was a love song
That seemed constant as the moon,
Ending in a strange, mournful tune;

And all about me,
They know you have departed without me
And we wonder why,
The breeze and I
The breeze andi

The original tune, "Andaluza," was part of the
1929 [?] "Andalucia Suite" by Cuban composer Lecuona.
Stillman wrote the lyrics later. Composer and Lyricist
met only once. Stillman said: "Lecuona didn't speak
English and I didn't speak Spanish. We had a very
short conversation. "

Words: Al Stillman
Music: Ernesto Lecuona
Published: 1928 Edward B. Marks Music Corp.
Copyright renewed 1976 same

Source: Reader's Digest Treasury of Best Loved Songs 1972
From: Dilly

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sonny Clark's song "The Breeze and I" describe a sense of loss and sadness over a broken relationship. The song personifies the Breeze as a partner in the relationship which is coming to an end. The Breeze is being used as a metaphor for the end of a relationship because it is something that can be felt but not seen, just like the emotions that are being described in the song. The sigh of the Breeze is indicative of the disappointment and resignation that the lovers feel.

The song speaks to the universality of heartbreak and the fact that people often feel the same emotions, regardless of cultural or linguistic differences. The melody of the song is melancholy and mournful, emphasizing the sense of despair that accompanies the end of a relationship. The lyrics suggest that the love they shared was once constant, but has now ended in a strange and mournful tune. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is left wondering why the relationship ended and why they were left behind.

Line by Line Meaning

The breeze and I are saying with a sigh That you no longer care;
Through the gentle sway of the breeze, we convey our sadness that you no longer have feelings for us.

The breeze and I are whispering goodbye To dreams we used to share.
As the breeze disappears into the distance, we say goodbye to the dreams we once shared together.

Ours was a love song That seemed constant as the moon, Ending in a strange, mournful tune;
Our love song was like the constant presence of the moon, but it has now ended in a strange, mournful way.

And all about me, They know you have departed without me And we wonder why, The breeze and I The breeze andi
Everyone around me knows that you have left me, and we are left wondering why it had to happen, while the breeze and I continue to exist in this world.

Contributed by Brayden B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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