Kenneth 'Kenny' Clare was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 drummer. He should not be confused with Kenny Clarke

Kenny Clarke

Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...

, whose band he played in.

Clare played with Oscar Rabin

Oscar Rabin

Oscar Rabin was a Latvian born English bandleader and musician. He was notable for being the musical director of the Oscar Rabin Band....

 on English radio in his early 20s. Following this he played with Jack Parnell

Jack Parnell

John Russell Parnell was an English bandleader and musician.-Biography:Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London....

 and then with Johnny Dankworth for an extended period in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the latter decade he played with Ted Heath and Ronnie Stephenson

Ronnie Stephenson

Ronnie Stephenson was an English jazz drummer.-Biography:Stephenson was one of the most in-demand drummers on the British jazz scene in the 1960s....

, and played in the studios as a member of Sounds Orchestral

Sounds Orchestral

Sounds Orchestral was a British studio-based easy listening group, assembled by John Schroeder with Johnny Pearson in 1964.-Career:John Schroeder had worked with Johnny Pearson previously over at Oriole Records, producing Johnny Pearson's first solo album. Moving to Pye, Schroeder was quick to...

. He played drums for the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band in 1963-66 when Clarke was unavailable. But from 1967 through 1971 (when the band folded) Clare was a regular paired with Clarke in what became a two-drummer band for performances, concerts, and at least 15 recordings issued by various labels. He also accompanied singers such as Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...

, Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

, and Cleo Laine

Cleo Laine

Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...

. On December 5, 1971 he did a concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall

Queen Elizabeth Hall

The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...

 with fellow drummers Buddy Rich

Buddy Rich

Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...

 and Louie Bellson

Louie Bellson

Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...

.

Clare also did extensive work for radio, television, film, and commercials.