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Exploding into the jazz world in 1971, Stanley Clarke was a lanky teenager
from the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He arrived in New York City and
immediately landed jobs with famous bandleaders such as: Horace Silver,
Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Pharaoh Saunders, Gil Evans,
Stan Getz, and a budding young pianist composer named Chick Corea. ll of these musicians recognized immediately the ferocious
dexterity and complete musicality the young Clarke possessed on the
acoustic bass. Not only was he expert at crafting bass lines and
functioning as a timekeeper in the bass’ traditional role,
Stanley also possessed a sense of lyricism and melody gained from his
bass heroes Charles Mingus, Scott LaFaro, and others, including
non-bass players like John Coltrane. Clarke recognized the
opportunity to propel the bass into a viable melodic soloist role and
was uniquely qualified to do just that. The opportunity to state melody and to propel the bass to the front
of the concert stage came to fruition when Clarke and Corea formed the
seminal electric jazz/fusion band Return to Forever. RTF was a
showcase for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities,
composing prowess, and instrumental voices. Clarke surmised,
“we really didn’t realize how much of an impact we were
having on people at the time. We were touring so much then, we
would just make a record and go back on the road.” The band
recorded eight albums, two of which were certified gold (the wildly
successful Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy and the classic Romantic
Warrior), won a Grammy award (No Mystery) and received numerous
nominations while touring incessantly. And this was a jazz band!
Then Stanley, his now famous Alembic bass in hand, fired the shot
heard ‘round the world’. He single-handedly started
the 1970s “bass revolution,” paving the way for all
bassist/soloist/bandleaders to follow. In 1974 he released his
eponymous Stanley Clarke album, which featured a hit 45rpm
“single” (we’re still talking about jazz here,)
titled “Lopsy Lu.” In 1976 Stanley released School Days, of
which the title track is now a bona fide bass anthem. He acknowledges, quite unboastfully: “Anyone who seriously
wants to learn to play the bass has to buy that record and learn to
play that song.” Aspiring bassists must also master the
percussive slap funk technique that Stanley pioneered as well. Stanley
saw Larry Graham’s technique (Sly and the Family Stone) and
seized upon the idea. He built his facility to a frightening speed, and
then adapted it to complex jazz harmonies. Says Stanley,
“Larry started it, but he had only one lick. I saw him do it, and
I took it from there.” Stanley was the first musician to pop over
chord changes. “A lot of guys could jam all day in E, but
couldn’t play it over changes.” Stanley Clarke became the first bassist in history to headline
tours, selling out shows worldwide, and have his albums certified
gold. The word “legend” was used to describe Stanley
by the time he was 25 years old. In 1997 Epic/Sony released: By
this tender young age, Stanley was already a celebrated pioneer in
fusion jazz music. He was also the first bassist in history to
double on acoustic and electric bass with equal virtuosity, power, and
fire. He had also invented two new instruments: the piccolo bass
and the tenor bass. The piccolo bass, built to his specifications
by New York luthier Carl Thompson, is tuned one octave higher than the
traditional electric bass guitar. The tenor bass is a standard
Alembic bass tuned up one fourth higher than standard. With both
of these instruments, Stanley’s melodic range is extended for
playing in higher registers as he sees orchestrationally fit.
Alembic honored Stanley by offering a signature model Stanley Clarke
bass, the first time in the company’s history of making only
custom built instruments to do so. Whatever the instrument: acoustic
bass viol, electric bass guitar, tenor bass, piccolo bass, acoustic
bass guitar, electric upright, or any of the hundreds of axes in his
arsenal, Stanley’s musicality and command of these instruments
clearly define him as the greatest living bass virtuoso in the world,
second to none, hands down, end of discussion. Now king of the acoustic and electric jazz worlds, in 1981 Stanley
teamed with George Duke to form the Clarke/Duke Project. Together
they scored a top-twenty pop hit with “Sweet Baby,”
recorded three albums and still tour to this day. Stanley’s
involvement in additional projects as leader or active member include:
Jeff Beck (world tours, 1979), Keith Richards’ New Barbarians
(world tour, 1980), Animal Logic (with Stewart Copeland, two albums and
tours, 1989), The "Superband”(with Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham,
Najee, and Deron Johnson, 1993-94), The Rite of Strings (with Jean Luc
Ponty and Al Dimeola, 1995), Vertu’ (with Lenny White, 1999). A
much more detailed listing of Stanley Clarke’s bands can be found
in Discography. Clarke has won literally every major award
available to a bass player: Grammys, Emmys, every readers’ poll
out there, all the critics’ polls, gold and platinum records,
walks of fame- you name it. He was Rolling Stone’s very first
Jazzman of the Year, and bassist winner of Playboy’s Music Award
for ten straight years.
Ever seeking new challenges, in 1985 Stanley turned his boundless
creative energy to film and television scoring. Starting on the small
screen with an Emmy nominated score for Pee Wee’s Playhouse, he
progressed onto the silver screen as composer, orchestrator, conductor
and performer of scores for such blockbuster films as: Boys N the Hood,
What’s Love Got to Do With It (the Tina Turner Story), Passenger
57, Higher Learning, Poetic Justice, Panther, The Five Heartbeats,
Little Big League, and Romeo Must Die. He has even scored a Michael
Jackson video release directed by Jon Singleton entitled Remember the
Time. Currently his scoring may be heard on the number one rated show
for the Showtime Network: Soul Food. Stanley has become one of
the elite in-demand composers in Hollywood. Check out our Film
Composer section.
Stanley says that: “film has given me the opportunity to
compose large orchestral scores and to compose music not normally
associated with myself. It’s given me the chance to conduct
orchestras and arrange music for various types of ensembles.
It’s been a diverse experience for me musically, made me a more
complete musician, and utilized my skills completely.” The 1995
release on Epic Soundtrax (Sony Music): Stanley Clarke At the Movies,
bears stunning witness to this. (Stanley promises he will find the time
to release an “At The Movies 2” as well as other recordings
from his massive compositional library.) His artistry has spanned classical, jazz, R&B and pop
idioms. He has already succeeded in a multitude of diverse
careers, any one of which would be satisfactory to anyone else.
Yet he still pushes on, as invigorated and as passionate about music as
that teenage prodigy from Philadelphia with a dream. In 2001, Stanley returned more formally to his initial love:
performing, recording, and playing the bass. The Biography of
this incredible musician, like Stanley himself, is a continuing work in
process.
Ivan Bodley - New York City
Official site: www.stanleyclarke.com
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