---
title: "Clarence Penn | American Jazz Museum"
description: "Clarence Penn (Born 1968). Drummer, composer, and bandleader whose Penn Station quartet reimagined Monk’s music on “Monk: The Lost Files.”"
canonical: https://americanjazzmuseum.org/artist-spotlights/artists/clarence-penn/
---

Artist Spotlights

# Clarence Penn

Born 1968. Drummer, composer, and bandleader whose Penn Station quartet reimagined Monk’s music on “Monk: The Lost Files.”

## Mentioned in

*   [Artist Spotlight: Thelonious Monk](/artist-spotlights/thelonious-monk-in-walked-bud/) — October 13, 2026  
    As one story goes, Bud Powell took a police nightstick defending Thelonious Monk, and Monk wrote “In Walked Bud” for his friend. Hear Monk’s 1947 recording beside Clarence Penn’s from 2012.

## Listen

### In Walked Bud, Clarence Penn

Recorded 2012. Released on Monk: The Lost Files (Origin Records, 2014). Discussed in [Artist Spotlight: Thelonious Monk](/artist-spotlights/thelonious-monk-in-walked-bud/).

*   [YouTube: In Walked Bud, Clarence Penn (opens in a new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8rPzH8XaLM)
*   [Spotify: In Walked Bud, Clarence Penn (opens in a new tab)](https://open.spotify.com/track/3G1BIACiFQTGDwy1WZD2MJ)
*   [Apple Music: In Walked Bud, Clarence Penn (opens in a new tab)](https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-walked-bud/923096772?i=923096803)

[All Artist Spotlights](/artist-spotlights/)