Clarence Acox is an American band director and jazz drummer. He is a native of New Orleans, and has been heard in a variety of settings in the Pacific Northwest.

He is the former director of jazz bands at Garfield High School,^[1] where he has taught since arriving from Southern University in Baton Rouge in 1971, initially hired to rejuvenate the school's marching bands.^[2][3] Under his tutelage since 1979, the Garfield Jazz Ensemble has won every major competition on the West Coast, including competitions in Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.^[2] He retired from Garfield High School in June, 2019.

Acox was named Educator of the Year by Down Beat magazine in 2001.^[1][2][4] In 2004 the Seattle Music Educators Association recognized him as its Outstanding Music Educator.^[5] In 2007 he was presented the Mayor's Arts Award by Seattle mayor Greg Nickels.^[1][6] In 2008 Seattle Metropolitan magazine named him one of the 50 most influential musicians in the history of Seattle music.^[2] In 2010, he and Roosevelt High School's Scott Brown shared the Impact Award at Seattle's second annual City of Music Awards.^[7] In May 2016 Acox was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts.

Acox is a regular on the club scene in the Seattle area. He has performed with the Floyd Standifer Quartet (now Legacy Quartet) at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant since 1986.^[1][3][8] His drum style also drives the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, which he co-founded in 1995 with University of Washington saxophone instructor Michael Brockman.^[3][9][10]