Stanley Clarke

Performer: Stanley Clarke (Double Bass)
Engineer: Ken Scott
Producer: Stanley Clarke
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Stanley Clarke (vocals, piano, acoustic & electric basses); Peter Gordon, Daid Taylor, Jon Faddis, James Buffington, Lew Soloff, Garnett Brown (brass); Jan Hammer (acoustic & electric pianos, organ, Moog synthesizer); Bill Connors (acoustic & electric guitars); Tony Williams (drums); Airto (percussion). Recorded at Electric Ladyland Studio, New York, New York. Clarke's second album as a leader announced him as a true virtuoso of the electric bass. Though he first came to attention playing with such venerated jazzmen as Pharoah Sanders and Horace Silver, Clarke's own music was squarely in the fusion realm. His solo debut, CHILDREN OF FOREVER, alternated embryonic electric jazz with vocal-oriented tunes full of the cosmic/post flowerchild lyrics typical of the era. Here, Clarke limits the vocals to a single song, concentrating instead on a driving, syncopated sound that more closely echoes his pioneering work with Return To Forever. His slapping, thumb-popping lines lead the funk charge, as high-energy, R&B-inflected fusion workouts mix with affecting acoustic ballads (Clarke is equally impressive on acoustic bass). Interacting with nimble synths and powerhouse drumming, Clarke's bass work is both rhythmically infectious and technically masterful. His subsequent recordings became progressively more commercial, but STANLEY CLARKE is the bassist's most satisfying artistic statement.

Philadelphia-born bassist Stanley Clarke got his start playing with straight-up jazzers (Horace Silver, Joe Henderson), but became known as one of the prime movers in the jazz-rock fusion movement of the 1970s. His virtuosic technique on both the electric and the acoustic bass made him a superstar of the instrument. Clarke skillfully blended rock, jazz, and funk, on solo recordings, as a member of fusion supergroup Return To Forever, and in collaborations with keyboardist George Duke and others. Clarke's distinctive slapping technique has influenced numerous technically stunning players, from Bela Fleck accompanist Victor Wooten to Miles Davis cohort Marcus Miller.

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