Stanley Clarke

Four-time Grammy™ winner Stanley Clarke is quite possibly the most celebrated acoustic and electric bassist in the world. As a performer, composer, conductor, arranger, recording artist, producer, and film scorer known for his ferocious dexterity and consummate musicality, Clarke is a true pioneer in jazz and of the bass itself. Unquestionably he is a “living legend,” lauded with every conceivable award available to a musician in his over 40- year career as a bass virtuoso.

Clarke’s incredible proficiency has been rewarded with: four Grammys, gold and platinum records, Emmy nominations, an honorary Doctorate from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, and much more. He was Rolling Stone’s very first Jazzman of the Year and bassist winner of Playboy’s Music Award for ten straight years. Clarke was honored with Bass Player Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of Guitar Player Magazine’s “Gallery of Greats.” He was even given the key to the city of Philadelphia.

Digging through the great multitude of accolades bestowed upon Stanley reveals an interesting phenomenon. It is difficult to remember how limited the potential career path of a bass player was before he came on the scene. Stanley almost single-handedly took the bass out of the shadows and brought it to the very front of the stage, literally and figuratively.

The traditional role of the bass was largely one of time-keeping that sonically filled out the spectrum. Clarke says: “Before I came along a lot of bass players stood in the back. They were very quiet kind of guys who didn’t appear to write music. But many of those bass players were serious musicians. All that I did was just take the step and create my own band.”

Certainly there were great and celebrated bass players before Stanley like Ron Carter, Scott LaFaro, and the pioneering composer Charles Mingus. But Clarke became the first bassist in history to headline sold-out world tours and have gold albums. He was also the first to double on acoustic and electric bass with equal virtuosity, power, and fire. By the time he was 25 years old, he was already regarded as a pioneer in the jazz fusion movement.

Clarke cites Mingus as a great influence personally and professionally. “The greatest moment in my life that changed me was having dinner with the great Charlie Mingus. He had the personality of a revolutionary that could have run a paramilitary group. He was very intense, heavy! That’s when I realized exactly what I wanted to do with the bass. I was going to approach my career completely like a revolutionary. Whatever was there, I was going to do the opposite.” The rest, as they say, literally is history.

Interestingly electric bass, for which Stanley is most renowned, is not his principal instrumental. His first passion, which carries to this day, is for the acoustic bass. “Electric bass is my secondary instrument. When I first started playing electric it was at parties and just for having fun. But I made records and got famous more as an electric bass player than as an acoustic bass player.”

In 1971, 20-year-old Stanley Clarke exploded into the jazz world, fresh out of the Philadelphia Academy of Music. Arriving in New York City, he immediately landed jobs with 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. Stanley says: “my original goal was to be a classical bassist. I wanted to be one of the first black musicians in the Philadelphia orchestra. Chick Corea changed my mind about that.”

Clarke and Corea formed the wildly influential jazz fusion band Return to Forever, a showcase for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities, composing prowess, and instrumental voices. They recorded eight albums, two of which are certified gold (Return to Forever and Romantic Warrior). They also won a Grammy (No Mystery) and received numerous nominations while touring incessantly.

Clarke then fired the “shot heard ‘round the world” that started the 1970s bass revolution and paved the way for all bassist/soloist/bandleaders to follow. In 1974, he released the eponymous Stanley Clarke album which featured the hit single, “Lopsy Lu.” Two years later, he released School Days, an album whose title track is now a bona fide bass anthem, a must-learn for nearly every up-and-coming bassist, regardless of genre.

Aspiring bassists must also master the percussive slap funk technique that Clarke pioneered as well. Sly and the Family Stone’s Larry Graham first developed the rudimentary slap technique. Stanley took the idea and ran with it, adapting it to complex jazz harmonies.

Always in search of new challenges, Clarke turned his boundless creative energy to film and television scoring in the mid-1980s. He is now an elite in- demand composer in Hollywood. Starting in television with an Emmy- nominated score for Pee Wee’s Playhouse, he transitioned to the silver screen and now has over 65 credits to his name.

As composer, orchestrator, conductor, and performer he has scored blockbuster films: Boyz ‘N the Hood, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, The Transporter, Romeo Must Die, Passenger 57, Poetic Justice, and The Five Heartbeats. He also scored the Michael Jackson video Remember the Time, directed by Jon Singleton. More recently he scored the 2013 box-office hit, Best Man Holliday. He has been nominated for three Emmys and won a BMI Award for Boyz ‘N the Hood.

“Film has given me the opportunity to write large orchestral scores and compose music I’m not normally associated with,” says Clarke. “It has given me the chance to conduct orchestras and arrange music for various types of ensembles. It has focused my skills and made me a more complete musician.” His 1995 CD release, Stanley Clarke at the Movies, is a testament to this. Stanley promises that he will find time to release At the Movies Two compiled from the 20 additional years of film scores since then.

In addition to his own band, Clarke has always enjoyed collaborating with other artists. Stanley teamed up with keyboardist George Duke in 1981 to form the Clarke/Duke Project. Together they scored a top 20 pop hit, “Sweet Baby,” and recorded three albums. Stanley worked with George in various situations for over 40 years until George’s untimely passing in 2013.

Some of Stanley’s other notable projects as band member or co-leader include: Jeff Beck, Keith Richards’ New Barbarians, Animal Logic (with Stewart Copeland), Superband (with Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Najee, and Deron Johnson), Rite of Strings (with Jean-Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola), Vertu’ (with Lenny White), Trio! (with Bela Fleck and Jean Luc Ponty), and SMV (with Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten).

Clarke passionately believes in helping young worthy musicians. He and his wife Sofia established The Stanley Clarke Foundation in 2000, a charitable organization which offers music scholarships. In 2007 Clarke released a critically-lauded DVD entitled Night School: An Evening with Stanley Clarke and Friends chronicling the third annual Stanley Clarke Scholarship Concert with proceeds going to the fund. The concert features Stevie Wonder, Wallace Roney, Bela Fleck, Sheila E., Stewart Copeland, Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wayman Tisdale, and Marcus Miller.

To this day Stanley Clarke remains as passionate about music as that young prodigy from Philadelphia with big dreams. His journey has already been epic and storied. Yet it is far from over. Source: Ivan Bodley

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Stanley Clarke-Hiromi Duo at SFJAZZ

by Roy Strassman
October 6, 2024

Stanley Clarke-Hiromi Duo SFJAZZ CenterSan Francisco, CA September 6, 2024 Oh, the expectation for such an incredible bill--two musical giants--consummate bassist Stanley Clarke and pianist extraordinaire Hiromi (Uehara). It is one thing to hear them together on YouTube. It is quite another to catch them live, but there they were: performing live and together at SFJAZZ. Clad in a white shirt, black vest, and matching black pants, Clarke appeared whimsically professorial in bearing, ...

Album Review

M. E. B.: That You Not Dare To Forget

Read "That You Not Dare To Forget" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
May 8, 2023

With all due respect to Lettuce's A Tribute to Miles Davis--Witches Stew (Self Produced, 2017) and the all-star ensemble dubbed Bitches Brew Revisited, M.E.B. (formerly known as Miles Electric Band) is an inordinately creative homage to Miles Davis. And given the continually experimental path The “Man With The Horn" chose to follow throughout his career, it is no doubt one of which he would approve. That You Not Dare To Forget is a slightly less than half-hour audio ...

Album Review

Al Di Meola / Jean-Luc Ponty / Stanley Clarke: Rite Of Strings Live at Montreux 1994

Read "Rite Of Strings Live at Montreux 1994" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
December 2, 2022

By the time Al Di Meola, Jean-Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke were recorded in 1994 at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival—remarkably, in their first time ever playing together in public—each had established a solid reputation in the jazz-fusion field and beyond. Accordingly, it might be seen as destiny that the three would work together in some context and indeed they did on both stage and studio (an album from which came out the year following their appearance in Switzerland).

Album Review

Bruce Bishop: A Dream Set Free

Read "A Dream Set Free" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
February 12, 2022

Guitarist Bruce Bishop's A Dream Set Free carries a sizable impact, albeit one so understated that it is difficult to gauge how out of proportion it is in relation to its playing time of slightly over thirty-minutes. But this album also turns out to be a remarkably seamless piece of work, even with the presence of two distinct rhythm sections. No doubt producer Ben Harper had much to do with forging the continuity of these nine tracks (all composed by ...

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In Pictures

The Stanley Clarke Band At Blue Note At Charles Krug Estate

by Walter Atkins
October 13, 2021

A collection of photos from the Stanley Clarke concert at the Charles Krug Estate in St. Helena CA on September 11, 2021 featuring the Stanley Clarke Band, Today was a day of many firsts. This was Stanley Clarke's first live concert post Covid 19 and his first performance at the spectacularly beautiful Charles Krug Estate. Blue Note Napa's outdoor “pop up venue" at the winery provided a fantastic venue for enjoying the Stanley Clarke Band under the stars ...

Radio & Podcasts

Jazz Fusion from the '70s with Stanley Clarke, Return to Forever, Al Di Meola, plus much more

by Len Davis
January 20, 2021

Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius, Al Di Meola, plus more. Playlist Stanley Clarke “Silly Putty" from Journey To Love (CBS) 00:00 Return To Forever “Dual of the Jester and the Tyrant" from Romantic Warrior (CBS) 09:54 Al Di Meola “Suite Golden Dawn" from Land of the Midnight Sun (CBS) 19:33 Jaco Pastorius “Reza" from Broadway Blues & Teresa (Jazzpoint) 29:23 Jaco Pastorius “Medley-Donna Lee" from Broadway Blues & Teresa (Jazz Point) 39:10 Nicolas Meier-Dewa Budjana “Tales" from flying Spirits ...

Radio & Podcasts

Stanley Clarke, Return to Forever, Soft Machine and More

by Len Davis
October 18, 2020

In the second part of this week's show we take the way back machine and revel in the glow of classic Jazz Rock and Fusion from the 70's. Enjoy the show! Playlist Stanley Clarke “Power" Stanley Clarke (Columbia) 0:07:22 Return to Forever “Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" After the Cosmic Rain (Polygram) 08:25 Al Di Meola “Suite Golden Dawn" Land of the Midnight Sun (Columbia) 0:09:51 Billy Cobham “The Muffin Talks Back" Inner Conflicts (Atlantic) 0:09:56 ...

Music Industry

Legendary Bassist Stanley Clarke Proudly Announces The Premiere Of His Web Series, Stanley Clarke’s Bass Nation, November 16 On YouTube

Source: Diane Hadley Public Relations
November 13, 2020

Grammy winning bassist Stanley Clarke has developed an 8-episode monthly web series entitled Stanley Clarke’s Bass Nation. The first episode of Stanley Clarke’s Bass Nation will debut November 16 on Stanley Clarke’s YouTube channel. It represents his effort to share the wealth experience he has garnered over his 50-year career as a musician, band member, soloist, arranger, composer, and band leader. The project is about the dynamics of the music industry, recording and performing, and includes Stanley’s conversations with noted ...
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Recording

Stanley Clarke: Halston

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 2, 2019

Jazz and the movies have a long history. Many silent films were accompanied by live ragtime, and jazz was performed in movies or was a mainstay of movie storylines for decades once talkies emerged in 1929. Movie scores by jazz artists is a different matter. That started in the late 1950s with I Want to Live (1958/Johnny Mandel) and continued with Anatomy of a Murder (1959/Duke Ellington), The Subterraneans (1960/Andre Previn), Paris Blues (1961/Duke Ellington) and Blow-Up (1966/Herbie Hancock) to ...
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Recording

Node Records To Release Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “halston” Composed By Jazz Legend Stanley Clarke

Source: Diane Hadley Public Relations
June 6, 2019

Node Records is pleased to release Stanley Clarke’s original score for the critically-acclaimed documentary Halston on Friday, June 7th, 2019, through all digital platforms. The film is being distributed by 1091 nationwide on June 7th. Halston Director Frédéric Tcheng ("Dior and I") documents America’s first superstar designer’s rise to international fame in the 1970s through weaving archival footage and intimate interviews with Halston’s family, friends and collaborators including Liza Minnelli, Iman, Joel Schumacher, Lesley Frowick, and Jacqueline Kennedy. It is ...
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Career

Bass Legend Stanley Clarke Included In Smithsonian's New NMAAHC Museum And Gives Free Bass Workshop Opening Day

Source: Diane Hadley Public Relations
September 22, 2016

The opening of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) September 24 in Washington DC will be particularly exciting for legendary bassist Stanley Clarke. Not only is one of his Alembic basses and archival photos included in the museum exhibit, but he is participating in the opening festivities, Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration. Clarke will attend the opening dedication ceremony and then give a free Bass Workshop at the Fannie Lou Hamer Stage on the ...
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Recording

Bass Legend Stanley Clarke’s New Album Up Reaches New Heights The Stanley Clarke Band: Up

Source: Diane Hadley Public Relations
September 29, 2014

Bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke’s new recording, The Stanley Clarke Band: UP, is scheduled for release September 30 on the Mack Avenue Records label. He considers UP to be the most energetic, fun, rhythmic and upbeat album that he has ever done and with more than forty albums under his belt, that’s saying quite a lot. Clarke’s signature bass virtuosity and amazing technical acumen is present throughout, but the enjoyment he had in making this album is also apparent. Unlike his ...
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TV / Film

Stanley Clarke Pens Music Score For This Weekend’s Hit Movie, The Best Man Holiday

Source: Diane Hadley
November 20, 2013

Film Composer and legendary jazzman, Stanley Clarke, has scored more that 65 film and television scores in his career. The newest addition to his film scoring credits is the hit Universal film The Best Man Holiday. Immediately jumping to #2 in film revenues for its opening weekend, the film was directed by Malcolm E. Lee and released nationally November 15. The Best Man Holiday is a sequel to 1999 hit The Best Man, which was also directed by Malcolm E. ...
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Award / Grant

Jazz Bassist Stanley Clarke Praises 55th Annual Grammy Awards For Including Jazz In Its Televised Broadcast

Source: Diane Hadley
February 13, 2013

Jazz greats Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea and Kenny Garrett performed on the televised CBS broadcast of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, February 10, in a tribute to jazz legend Dave Brubeck. They performed one of Brubeck’s best remembered pieces, “Take Five,” ending with a few bars of his enduring hit, “Blue Rondo a la Turk.” The show was also supported on radio worldwide via Dial Global and covered only at Grammy.com and CBS.com going out to viewers and ...
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Event

Poncho Sanchez And Stanley Clarke / George Duke At High Point Festival Park

Source: Alex Gomez
August 7, 2012

The Friends of John Coltrane will present the 2nd Annual John Coltrane International Jazz & Blues Festival on Saturday, September 1, 2012. The Premiere Jazz Event of the Triad will feature the reunion of two venerable jazz artists with Stanley Clarke, George Duke and the Clarke/Duke Project; a giant of Latin Jazz, Poncho Sanchez and Shemekia Copeland, an artist who takes the mantle from the blues legend, KoKo Taylor. The 2012 Festival will also boast a performance by an up ...
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Festival

Bass Legend Stanley Clarke Presents Invitation Concert Series At The Montreal Jazz Festival June 28 - July 1

Source: Diane Hadley
June 28, 2012

Stanley Clarke was honored at the Montreal Jazz Festival with the 18th prestigious Miles Davis Award in 2011. This award is presented to tribute a great international jazz musician for the entire body of his or her work and for that musician’s influence in regenerating the jazz idiom. An extension of the award is the privilege to host a four-night Invitation Series of his choice. Clarke’s Invitation Series at the festival will take place this year June 28-July 1. “In ...
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Performance / Tour

Stanley Clarke 60th Birthday Celebration Onstage in LA & NY

Source: Diane Hadley
May 9, 2011

Stanley Clarke is turning 60-years-old and he is celebrating as fans might expect—with live jazz. After several months on the road, he's bringing his Grammy Award-winning Stanley Clarke Band home to a Los Angeles for three nights of live performances at Hollywood's Catalina Jazz Club and then for six nights to The Blue Note in New York City. Special music friends will join the celebration for evenings of unforgettable jazz.

“I've spent a huge part of these last 60 years ...
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