About
Dave Clark, a native of Pine Bluff, AR, earned a Bachelor of Music in music education and a Master of Music in jazz performance from the University of Louisville. As a student at U of L, Dave won the school’s Concerto Competition where he performed the Glazounov Saxophone Concerto and received a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Performance at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival. He is currently an ABD doctoral student in Bellarmine University’s School of Education writing his dissertation, Sounding the Human Condition: Student Experiences of Music as a Conduit for Social Justice.
Dave is also the Executive Director of the Louisville Jazz Initiative, a diverse, inter-generational coalition of musicians and educators committed to the authentic teaching and performing of jazz; that is, in a way that preserves the connection between the art form and its cultural and historical context, highlights the inherent value of each individual’s experience and expression, and empowers its participants to advocate for social and racial justice.
Dave has performed with such diverse artists as Benny Golson, Clark Terry, Randy Brecker, Stanley Turrentine, James Moody, Kevin Mahogany, Harry Pickens, Nancy Wilson, Miles Griffith, the Louisville Orchestra, the Dells, Keke Wyatt, Don Braden, Yuja Wang, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Christian McBride. He has performed internationally in Spain, Italy, the UK as well as the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland. He also has performed several times at the Jazz Educators Network Conference and as part of a good will tour and educational exchange program in Barbados.
Dave is a Yanagisawa Saxophone Artist and makes his home in Louisville, KY. After 15 years as Director of Jazz Studies at Bellarmine University, Dave will begin his tenure as the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Louisville starting Fall 2023.