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  • STANLEY CLARKE: The Legend Behind Legends

    Those of you who have been playing bass for a while will be familiar with the subject of this month's Bass Player Bio - the amazing Stanley Clarke.

    Mentor to many of today's premiere bassists (including Roy Vogt, Steve Bailey, and Victor Wooten), Stanley revolutionized bass play and, at the same time, introduced our favorite instrument to a generation of players whose style and technique bear the unmistakeable imprint of his influence.
    Enjoy!
    Ed.



    Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores. He is best known for his work with the fusion band Return to Forever, and his role as a bandleader in several trios and ensembles.

    Early life and education
    Clarke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was introduced to the bass as a schoolboy when he arrived late on the day instruments were distributed to students and acoustic bass was one of the few remaining selections. He is a graduate of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia. Having graduated from the Philadelphia Musical Academy, (which was absorbed into the University of the Arts in 1985), he moved to New York City in 1971 and began working with famous bandleaders and musicians including Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Gato Barbieri, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders, Gil Evans and Stan Getz.

    1970s
    Since the 1980s, Clarke has been turned much of his energy to television and film scores. He is credited for the scores for the ABC Family Channel series Lincoln Heights as well as composing the theme song for the show. In October 2006, Clarke was honored with Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award. Bassists Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten presented the award at a ceremony at New York City's Millennium Broadway Hotel. A multi-Grammy award winner, Stanley was the first “Jazzman of the Year” for Rolling Stone magazine, won "Best Bassist" from Playboy magazine for 10 straight years, and is a member of Guitar Player magazine's "Gallery of Greats." He was honored with the Key to the city of Philadelphia and put his hands in cement as a 1999 inductee into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sunset Boulevard. In 2004 he was featured in Los Angeles magazine as one of the 50 most influential people.


    Clarke with George Duke

    BET-J launched a series hosted by Clarke entitled On the Road with Stanley Clarke in June 2006. The series consists of seven episodes titled "Origins of Black Music," "That Philly Sound," "Jazz Beyond the Classroom," "Black Music in Film, Television & Theatre," "Jazz," "Black Music in Film – The Next Generation:" and "Bass to Bass." Some of his guests include Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller, George Duke, The Tate Brothers, Gamble and Huff, and academicians Dr. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje and Dr. Cheryl Keyes from the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA among many others. On the Road with Stanley Clarke episodes were re-broadcast on BET-J in 2007. In 2008, Stanley was presented with a doctorate in fine arts from his alma mater, the The University of the Arts. He has three children (Chris and two stepchildren, Natasha and Frank).

    Recent records
    Clarke's latest records include The Toys of Men in 2007. This was his first release in five years, on October 17, 2007. The first week of release it went to #2 on Billboard charts' Contemporary Jazz Chart. The 13-track CD examines the issue of war, and it includes performances by vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding, keyboardist Ruslan Sirota, percussionist Paulinho da Costa and violinist Mads Tolling. The Toys of Men includes acoustic bass interludes that provide a counterpoint to Clarke's better known electric bass attack. 2009 saw his release of Jazz in the Garden, featuring the Stanley Clarke Trio: with Clarke, pianist Hiromi Uehara, and Lenny White on drums. In 2010, Clarke released Stanley Clarke Band, with Ruslan Sirota on keyboards and piano and Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums; the album also features Hiromi on piano (as a guest artist), along with many others.

    Discography
    Solo albums
    Children of Forever (Polydor) (1973)
    Stanley Clarke (Nemperor) (1974)
    Journey to Love (Nemperor) (1975)
    School Days (Nemperor) (1976)
    Modern Man (Nemperor) (1978)
    I Wanna Play for You (Nemperor) (1979)
    Fuse One (CTI) (1980)
    Rocks, Pebbles and Sand (Epic) (1980)
    The Clarke/Duke Project, Vol. 1 (Epic) (1981)
    Let Me Know You (Epic) (1982)
    The Clarke/Duke Project, Vol. 2 (Epic) (1983)
    Time Exposure (Epic) (1984)
    Find Out! (Epic) (1985)
    Hideaway (Epic) (1986)
    If This Bass Could Only Talk (Portrait) (1988)
    3 (Epic) (1989)
    Live 1976-1977 (Epic) (1991)
    Passenger 57 (Epic) (1992)
    East River Drive (Epic) (1993)
    Live at the Greek (Epic) (1993)
    Live at Montreux (Jazz Door) (1994)
    The Rite of Strings (Gai Saber) (1995)
    At the Movies (Epic Soundtrax) (1995)
    The Bass-ic Collection (Sony) (1997)
    1,2,To The Bass (Sony) (2003)
    The Toys of Men (Heads Up) (2007)
    Jazz in the Garden (Heads Up) (2009)
    The Stanley Clarke Band (Heads Up) (2010)

    with Return to Forever
    Return to Forever (1972, ECM)
    Light as a Feather (1972, Polydor)
    Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973, Polydor)
    Where Have I Known You Before (1974, Polydor)
    No Mystery (1975, Polydor)
    Romantic Warrior (1976, Columbia)
    Musicmagic (1977, Columbia)
    Return to Forever Live (1979)
    The Best of Return to Forever (1980)

    This article is reprinted from Wikipedia. Keep information flowing and free, support Wikipedia today - a donation of any amount will be much appreciated.

    http://donate.wikimedia.org

    Thanks!
    Ed.
    Comments 10 Comments
    1. SilverFlame46's Avatar
      SilverFlame46 -
      Great article, Thanks!!!
    1. Greg Jewell's Avatar
      Greg Jewell -
      TLDTR:

      Thanks for the article. I'm one day younger than Mr. Clarke. What an inspiration. Can anyone identify the bass in the pictures?

      Greg
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -
      I don't know much around here, but I do have a bit of trivia locked away inside my pea-sized brain...Stanley Clarke is famous for his custom made Alembic DRAGON'S BREATH bass.

      Alembic wears it like a crown on their website. Someone sent this to me a while back, so I could drool.

      I think I'm still drooling.


      http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_dragonsbreath.html
    1. jthomas353's Avatar
      jthomas353 -
      Quote Originally Posted by Elmeaux View Post
      I think I'm still drooling.


      http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_dragonsbreath.html
      Elmeaux,

      I'm drooling right along with you. That is one nice bass. So nice in fact, I would almost be afraid to play it. Wouldn't even want to get a scratch on it.

      Thanks for sharing the link.

      John
    1. Greg Jewell's Avatar
      Greg Jewell -
      Ah, yep...$19,500. What is it about certain things that just scream "quality craftsmanship"?
      This is going to keep me up all night.
    1. c-note's Avatar
      c-note -
      19 who I can't even fix my lips to say that amount
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -
      How many orders do you think they get for one of those?
    1. TLDTR's Avatar
      TLDTR -
      THAT'S why he's sounds so great...has nothing to do with the "P" word. (Practice!)
      The secret's out!
      Ed.
    1. Norman D's Avatar
      Norman D -
      It was a pleasure listening to and meeting for the first time Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten in Cleveland, Ohio on their Thunder Tour! They brought down the Thunder and the Lightning that evening!
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -
      Quote Originally Posted by Norman D View Post
      It was a pleasure listening to and meeting for the first time Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten in Cleveland, Ohio on their Thunder Tour! They brought down the Thunder and the Lightning that evening!

      Lucky duck!

      Welcome to the Row, Norman!! Good luck with the lessons!!
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