James Clark was born in Syracuse, NY and started playing the piano at the age of 4. He was introduced to jazz at an early age, and improvisational music has been his focus ever since. His own music reflects a diverse set of influences including Duke Ellington, The Bad Plus, Phish, Thelonious Monk, and his former teacher, Vijay Iyer. Currently, he performs regularly with two groups - James Clark and Company, which is dedicated to performing his original songs, and The Yasmine Iliya Quartet, which performs standards and bossa novas.