As a Chicago native, Corky grew up hearing the sounds of Jazz and “down home” Blues. Encouraged by his favorite uncle and jazz musician Lewis Ogletree, he studied piano for seven years before attending Northern Illinois University with a major in music.
Although receiving a BA from Roosevelt University and a MA from Loyola University
in other fields, Corky has always considered music to be his primary passion.

“Irrespective of style or tempo, hard bop, Latin or soul Jazz, McClerkin brings his many years of experience into play as he crafts each tune, making a special and distinctive statement with each”.

Dave Nathan
All About Jazz


“…without question, a very talented musician and composer”

Wes Gillespie
Sony Jazz Europe E-zine


Corky ”…swings with considerable abandon…is perpetually exciting…with dissonance or striking blues elements in every two-fisted chord he plays.”

Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune


Says Corky, “My favorite pianists were Bobby Timmons, Horace Silver, Thelonius Monk, and McCoy Tyner. Each of them taught me how to strive for my own sense of rhythm, structure, humor and harmony”.

Thanks to BET video replays of The Corky McClerkin Trio, jazz listeners around the world are aware of his talents. With Curtis Prince on Drums and John Whitfield on Bass Corky’s Trio performs throughout the Chicagoland area.


A member of the soul jazz and bebop traditions, Corky has performed with Von Freeman, Sonny Stitt, Ray Brown,, Elvin Jones, and Jack Dejohnette. He has accompanied Dee Dee Bridgewater, Earnestine Anderson, and Linda Hopkins, plus Chicago vocalists Sasha Daltonn,
Dee Alexander, and Joan Colasso.

Corky has released one CD with Southport Records, (The Power of One, 1992), and two CD’s with WinCor Records, “ (Searchin’ for the Soul, 1983,-- title song re-released on London based Soul Jazz Records, 1994—and Island of Dreams, 2001). His latest CD combines some of Chicagoland’s most talented musicians and vocalists to highlight the various forms of African-American Music.

Purchase Corky's new Cd at www.CdBaby.com
www.CorkyMcClerkin.com