Love is Your Name

Corky McClerkin grew up listening to the sounds of Chicago Jazz from 47th St.'s famed Regal Theater to 63rd St.'s "The Street of Dreams". Showing his skill in jazz piano, Corky became a member of Chicago's Hyde Park High School Jazz Band. During his time in FT. Benning's 283rd Army Band, Corky studied Jazz History while playing both jazz and Rock 'n Roll. Listening to the thunderous sounds of John Coltrane and the melodic tones of Miles Davis, Corky heard these jazz warriors define simplicity and complexity and tried to apply their examples within his own music.

In Chicago, Corky
And "Others" with backgrounds in swing, bebop, soul,fusion, blues, gospel, and even classical, played listened and learned from one another. Von Freeman shared his wisdom with all who would ask-and listen. Live performances by Horace Silver, Ahmed Jamal, McCoy Tyner, Ray Charles, and Thelonius Monk all inspired Corky to develop his own style as performer, songwriter, and jazz educator. Performances in Singapore and elsewhere showed Corky the continually growing influence of African-American Jazz.


In 1983, WinCor Records released Corky McClerkin's debut album, SEARCHIN' FOR THE SOUL. London-based label Soul Jazz Records released "London Jazz Classics on compact disc in 1995 with Corky's 1963 title tune included. Hearing SEARCHIN' FOR THE SOUL takes the listener back to Chicago's 1980's disco sound which combined jazz, gospel, soul and funk. This album exemplifies the sounds and struggles of the time. Today, it remains popular with jazz lovers, dance audiences and is highly regarded with Collectors. In 2004, WinCor Records released SEARCHIN" FOR THE SOUL on Compact disc in response to new interest in Corky McClerkin products.

Jazz critic Mark Ruffin from www.jazzusa.com writes "...SEARCHIN' FOR THE SOUL can...be used as a means to measure McClerkin's growth as a composer. Considering the music in his subsequent albums....what is most obvious is that the man has musically matured and become more dominant... as a jazz pianist." Today, Corky continues his creative contributions to Chicago and to the World.