Living Legends of Jazz - Thais Clark

Thais Clark credit: Donn Young

While growing up in new Orleans, Thais Clark danced and took part in plays, but she didn’t sing in church or school. Occasionally, during the 1960s and 1970s, she sang along with live bands at her father’s nightclub, where she worked as a bartender. But her singing career didn’t begin until she was thirty-five, when she was hired by actor Vernel Bagneris to star in a play he wrote called One Mo’ Time. The musical — a humorous look at the perils of a 1920s touring black vaudeville troupe — called for acting, dancing, and singing; and though hesitant at first about her abilities and lack of experience as a singer, Clark proved to be a natural. With her deep,
expressive voice, much in the vein of 1920s classic blues stylists such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, Clark became a standout in her comedic role as Ma Reed and her show-stopping renditions of old blues classics such as “See See Rider” and “Muddy Water.” During the musical’s long off-Broadway run, and through several European tours, her authentic delivery of blues and hymns attracted the attention of traditional jazz-style bands throughout the world.

For more than twenty years now Clark has been a featured guest at festivals, in churches, and at concerts throughout Europe. She has also performed at Lincoln Center and toured China with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. In addition to the One Mo’ Time cast album, Clark has made several other recordings, including one under her own name. A recent crowd favorite is “Horn Man Blues,” a spicy number written especially for her.

After evacuating New Orleans for Katrina, she spent several months in Mississippi, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The storm caused wind and water damage to her home and, she says, “ruined tons of my best clothes.” Now she is concerned about the future of the local music scene: “If more clubs don’t reopen, they won’t have musicians here,” she says. “Some of the ones that are open aren’t paying musicians enough to stay in New Orleans.”

Fortunately, Thais Clark can be heard belting out jazz, blues, and hymns in her own powerful and humorous style at her regular weekly gig at the Palm Court Jazz Café in the French Quarter.