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Biography
Multiple issues|original research=March 2010|refimprove=March 2010Infobox musical artist| name = Stanley Clarke| image = Stanley Clarke on tour in rgw Netherlands.jpg| caption = Clarke, touring with George Duke in The Netherlands| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name =| alias =| Born = birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|6|30 Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States| death_date =| instrument = Double bass , Electric Bass , piano , organ (music)|organ , vocals| genre = Jazz , jazz fusion , funk , rock, pop, Rhythm and blues|R& B | occupation = Musician , Composer , Film score er| years_active = 1966–present| label = Polydor Records|Polydor , Epic Records|Epic , Jazz Door , Heads Up International , Columbia Records|Columbia , Sony Records|Sony , Portrait Records|Portrait , Nemperor Records, IMS Records| associated_acts = Return to Forever , Chick Corea , Jeff Beck , Clarke/Duke Project , SMV (band)|SMV , Animal Logic (band)|Animal Logic , George Duke | website = http://www.stanleyclarke.com/ Stanley Clarke.com| notable_instruments = Alembic Inc|Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass 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. 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. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=15879188 Live Interview with David Dye, November 2, 2007 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 (Philadelphia)|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 . He was an avid supporter of Scientology in his earlier musical productions, and referred to L. Ron Hubbard on most of his LP sleeves. His current association with Scientology is not known.
1970s
During the 1970s he joined the jazz fusion group Return to Forever led by pianist and synth player Chick Corea . The group became one of the most important fusion groups and released several albums that achieved both mainstream popularity and plaudits from critics. Clarke also started his solo career in the early 1970s and released a number of albums under his own name. His well-known solo album is School Days (album)|School Days (1976), which, along with Jaco Pastorius 's Jaco Pastorius (album)|self-titled debut , is one of the most influential solo bass recordings in fusion history. His albums Stanley Clarke (album)|Stanley Clarke (1974) and Journey to Love (1975) are also notable.
Scoring film and television
Clarke began with TV scores for American Broadcasting Company|ABC 's short-lived series A Man Called Hawk and an Emmy-nominated score for '' Pee-wee's Playhouse . Clarke then moved on to work as a composer, orchestrator, conductor and performer of scores for such films as: Boyz n the Hood , the biopic of Tina Turner What's Love Got to Do with It (film)|What's Love Got to Do with It , Passenger 57 , Higher Learning , Poetic Justice (1993 film)|Poetic Justice , Panther (film)|Panther , The Five Heartbeats , Book of Love (1990 film)|Book of Love , Little Big League , and Romeo Must Die . He also scored the Luc Besson - produced/co-written action film, The Transporter , starring Jason Statham and a Michael Jackson video release directed by John Singleton entitled Remember the Time . In the 2000s, he composed music for the Showtime (TV network)|Showtime Network program Soul Food (TV series)|Soul Food .
Right-hand bass guitar technique
When playing bass guitar, Clarke places his right hand so that his fingers approach the strings much as they would on an upright bass , but rotated through 90 degrees. To achieve this, his forearm lies above and nearly parallel to the strings, while his wrist is hooked downward at nearly a right angle. For lead and solo playing, his fingers partially hook underneath the strings so that when released, the strings snap against the frets, producing a biting percussive attack. In addition to an economical variation on the funky Larry Graham -style slap-n'-pop technique, Clarke also uses downward thrusts of the entire right hand, striking two or more strings from above with his fingernails (examples of this technique include "School Days", "Rock and Roll Jelly", "Wild Dog", and "Danger Street").
Equipment
Clarke has long been associated with Alembic Inc|Alembic basses, and much of his recorded output has been produced on Alembic instruments, particularly a dark-wood-colored custom bass in the Series I body style. These basses are handmade neck-through-body instruments made from a mixture of exotic woods and a proprietary active pickup system that is powered from an external power supply. A Stanley Clarke Signature Model bass guitar is produced by Alembic. Clarke also utilizes full-range amplification for his basses, including two QSC 2050 amplifiers, more in keeping with a keyboardist's rig than a bassist's or guitarists. To extend his melodic range, he also plays on tenor and piccolo basses. Clarke's are usually short scale (78& nbsp;cm or 30.75"), four string, Carl Thompson (guitarist)|Carl Thompson or Alembic.
In the late 1970s, Clarke was playing Rick Turner|Rick Turner's first graphite neck on his Alembic "Black Beauty" bass, and he decided to have an all composite bass made. He commissioned designer/luthier Tom Lieber to design and build this bass, having purchased one of Lieber's Spider grinder basses in 1979. In 1980 Lieber and Clarke formed the Spellbinder Corporation and produced a limited run of fifty Spellbinder basses. One left-handed bass was built as a gift from Stanley to Paul McCartney. After the run, the molds were destroyed. In 2007 Clarke once again teamed up with Lieber and Rick Turner to reform the Spellbinder Corp. and produce a limited run of 125 of the Spellbinder Bass II, which Clarke is currently playing on the RTF reunion tour. Clarke has also played a Ken Smith BT Custom, and a German made Löwenherz Tenor Bass
His actual pedalboard consists of a TC Electronic G-System, a Mxr Bass Octave Deluxe and an EBS Bass IQ Envelope.
Collaborations
Clarke formed Animal Logic (band)|Animal Logic with rock drummer Stewart Copeland , after the break-up of The Police , and singer-songwriter Deborah Holland . Other notable (recording/touring) project involvements are: (1979) Jeff Beck , (1979) Ron Wood 's New Barbarians, (1981, 1983, 1990) Clarke/Duke Project with George Duke , (1984) with Miroslav Vitouš ,1984 Sydney Town Hall, producer Ian Davis (ABC radio) (1989) Animal Logic (band)|Animal Logic with Stewart Copeland , (1993–94), A group with Larry Carlton , Billy Cobham , Najee & Deron Johnson (musician)|Deron Johnson , (1995) The Rite of Strings with Jean-Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola and (1999) Vertu’ with Lenny White and Richie Kotzen . In addition to touring with his own band, Clarke continues also collaborates with other artists on tour. During the summer and fall of 2007 he toured with his The Rite of Strings comrades, Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty. In addition to a date in France and dates in the Eastern U.S., the tour included shows in South America.
In 2006 Clarke joined old friend George Duke for a 40-city tour of festivals and performing arts centers. This was the first time Clarke and Duke had toured together in fifteen years. The duo first teamed to form the Clarke/Duke Project in 1981. They scored a Top 20 hit with "Sweet Baby" and recorded three albums. In 2005 Clarke toured as Trio! with banjo player Béla Fleck and Jean-Luc Ponty. The U.S. and European tour was nominated for a 2006 Jammy Award in the category of "Tour of the Year."
Night School
Early in 2007, Clarke's own Roxboro Entertainment Group released a DVD entitled Night School: An Evening with Stanley Clarke and Friends (HUDV-7118) through the Heads Up International label. The 90-minute presentation documents the third annual Stanley Clarke Scholarship Concert, recorded at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA, in October 2002. The group offers scholarships to students in financial need who excel in music. The Night School DVD scholarship concert features diverse group of musicians that include Stevie Wonder, Wallace Roney, Bela Fleck, Sheila E., Stewart Copeland, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Wayman Tisdale, Marcus Miller and others. Night School captures performances that range from straight-ahead jazz to full-tilt rock fusion to a twenty-two-piece string ensemble.
2000s
Since the 1980s, Clarke has been turned much of his energy to television and film score s. He is creditd for the scores for the ABC Family|ABC Family Channel series Lincoln Heights (TV series)|Lincoln Heights as well as composing the theme song for the show. In October 2006, Clarke was honored with Bass Player (magazine)|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. Stanley who won a Grammy Award in 1975 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 Freedom of the City|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)|Los Angeles magazine as one of the 50 most influential people.
Centric|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 University of the Arts (Philadelphia)|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 No.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 the Stanley Clarke Band , with Ruslan Sirota on electronic keyboard|keyboards and piano and Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums; the album also features Hiromi Uehara|Hiromi on piano (as a guest artist), along with many others.cite web|url= http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/The-Stanley-Clarke-Band/|title=The Stanley Clarke Band|author= Concord Music Group |accessdate=June 28, 2010 On February 13, the Stanley Clarke Band won the 53rd Grammy Awards|Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Discography
col-begincol-2
Solo albums
;Studio Albums
Children of Forever (Polydor) (1973)
Stanley Clarke (album)|Stanley Clarke (Nemperor) (1974)
Journey to Love (Nemperor) (1975)
School Days (album)|School Days (Nemperor) (1976)
Modern Man (album)|Modern Man (Nemperor) (1978)
I Wanna Play for You (Nemperor) (1979)
Rocks, Pebbles and Sand (Epic) (1980)
Let Me Know You (Epic) (1982)
Time Exposure (Stanley Clarke album)|Time Exposure (Epic) (1984)
Find Out! (Epic) (1985)
Hideaway (Epic) (1986)
If This Bass Could Only Talk (Portrait) (1988)
Passenger 57 (Epic) (1992)
East River Drive (album)|East River Drive (Epic) (1993)
The Rite of Strings (Gai Saber) (1995)
At the Movies (Stanley Clarke album)|At the Movies (Epic Soundtrax) (1995)
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)
col-2;Live Albums
Live 1976-1977 (Epic) (1991)
Live at the Greek (Epic) (1993)
;Compilations
The Bass-ic Collection (Sony) (1997)
col-end
with Return to Forever
col-begincol-2;Studio Albums
Return to Forever (album)|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)
col-2;Live Albums
Live (Return to Forever album)|Return to Forever, Live (1979)
Return to Forever – Returns|Returns (2009)
;Compilations
The Best of Return to Forever (1980) Columbia
This is Jazz, Vol. 12 (1996) Sony
Return to the Seventh Galaxy: The Anthology|Return To The 7th Galaxy: Return To Forever Anthology (1996) Verve
Return to Forever: The Anthology (2008) Concord
Return to Forever: The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (2011) Sony
col-end
with Pharoah Sanders
Black Unity (Impulse!, 1971)
Village of the Pharoahs (Impulse!, 1973)
with The New Barbarians
Buried Alive: Live in Maryland|Buried Alive (recorded 1979, released 2006)
with Joe Farrell
Moon Germs (CTI, 1972)
With Hubert Laws
The Chicago Theme (CTI, 1974)
As a co-leader/band member
Flora Purim – Butterfly Dreams (1973)
Echoes of an Era (with Chaka Khan )
Echoes of an Era 2 Live (with Nancy Wilson (singer)|Nancy Wilson )
Hollywood (Maynard Ferguson album)|Hollywood , Maynard Ferguson
Free Flight (band)|Free Flight – Illuminations
Rodney Franklin – Diamonds Inside of You
Howard Hewett – I Commit to Love
Kent Jordan – No Question About it
Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson (jazz singer)|Nancy Wilson – The Two of Us
Jeff Lorber
Marilyn McCoo
Brenda Russell
Shalamar – The Look
Billy Shields – Shieldstone ( Optimism Records )
Jim Walker (flautist)|Jim Walker – Private Flight
Lips ( Bobby Malach , Al Williams (saxophonist)|Al Williams , Al Harrison , James Tinsley , Ronnie Foster , Lenny White , Marcus Miller , Raymond Gomez , Nick Morock , Donald Blackman , Leon "Ndugu" Chancler and Clarke) ( Nemperor Records / CBS Records , 1978)
Filmography
Feature films
Like Mike 2: Streetball 2006 directed by David Nelson
Into the Sun (2005 film)|Into the Sun 2005 directed by mink
Roll Bounce 2005 directed by Malcolm D. Lee
The Transporter 2002 directed by Luc Besson , Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen
Undisputed (film)|Undisputed 2002 directed by Walter Hill
Undercover Brother 2002 directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Romeo Must Die 2000 directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak
Dangerous Ground 1999 directed by Darrell Roodt
The Best Man (1999 film)|The Best Man 1999 directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Down in the Delta 1998 directed by Maya Angelou
B*A*P*S 1997 directed by Robert Townsend (actor)|Robert Townsend
Sprung 1997 directed by Rusty Cundieff
Eddie (film)|Eddie 1996 directed by Steve Rash
Higher Learning 1995 directed by John Singleton
Panther (film)|Panther 1995 directed by Mario Van Peebles
The Show (1995 film)|The Show 1995 directed by Brian Robbins
Bleeding Hearts 1994 directed by Gregory Hines
Little Big League 1994 directed by Andrew Scheinman
Red Hot (film)|Red Hot 1993 Paul Haggis
Watch It 1993 directed by Tom Flynn
'' What's Love Got to Do with It (film)|What's Love Got to Do with It (the Tina Turner story) 1993 directed by Brian Gibson (director)|Brian Gibson
Poetic Justice (1993 film)|Poetic Justice 1993 directed by John Singleton
Passenger 57 1992 directed by Kevin Hooks
Boyz n the Hood 1991 directed by John Singleton
Cool as Ice 1991 directed by David Kellogg
The Five Heartbeats 1991 directed by Robert Townsend
The Book Of Love 1990 directed by Robert Shaye
Tap (film)|Tap 1989 directed by Nick Castle
One Down Two To Go 1983 directed by Fred Williamson
Television
“Lincoln Heights” (Series) 2006 – present ABC Family Channel
“Soul Food” (Series) 2000–2004 directed by Felicia D. Henderson
“Tales from the Crypt” 1990 directed by Jack Sholder, Joel Silver (Episode: “Fitting Punishment”)
“Hull High” (Series) 1990 directed by Gil Grant , Bruce Bilson, Kenny Ortega , Steven Robman
“A Man Called Hawk” (Series) 1989 directed by Mario Di Leo, Bill Duke , Harry Falk, Winrich Kolbe , Stan Lathan , Sigmund Neufeld Jr, Virgil W. Vogel
'' Pee Wee's Playhouse (Selected Episodes) 1986 directed by Bill Freiberger , Steven Johnson, Guy J. Loutham, William Orr, Paul Reubens
“Knightwatch” (Series) 1988 -1989 directed by Sharron Miller , Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Television movies
“Murder She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle” 2003 directed by Anthony Pullen Shaw
“The Big Time” 2002 directed by Paris Barclay
“Little John” (Hallmark Hall of Fame) 2002 directed by Dick Lowry
“The Red Sneakers” 2002 directed by Gregory Hines
“Murder She Wrote: The Last Free Man” 2001 directed by Anthony Pullen Shaw
“The Color of Friendship” 2000 directed by Kevin Hooks
“The Loretta Claiborne Story” 2000 directed by Lee Grant
“ Rocky Marciano (film)|Rocky Marciano ” 1999 directed by Charles Winkler
“Funny Valentines” 1999 directed by Julie Dash
“If You Believe” 1999 directed by Alan Metzger
“Love Kills” 1998 directed by Brian Grant
“On the Line” 1998 directed by Elodie Keene
“Road to Galveston” 1996 directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno
“The Cherokee Kid” 1996 directed by Paris Barclay
“Royce” 1994 directed by Rob Holcomb
“Relentless: Mind of a Killer” 1993 directed by John Patterson
“Boy Meets Girl” 1993 directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story 1992 directed by Charles Braverman
“Prison Stories: Women on the Inside” 1991 directed by Donna Deitch, Joan Micklin Silver, Penelope Spheeris
“The Kid Who Loved Christmas” 1990 directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman
“The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson” 1990 directed by Larry Peerce
“Blue Bayou” 1990 directed by Karen Arthur
“Dangerous Pursuit” 1990 directed by Sandor Stern
“Tales from the Whoop” 1990 directed by Whoopi Goldberg
“Out on the Edge” 1989 directed by John Pasquin
Animation
“Static Shock” (Series) 2000 directed by Denys Cowan, Dan Riba
“Waynehead” (Series) 1996–1997 directed by Damon Wayans
“Cool Like That Christmas” 1994 directed by David Feiss, Swinton O. Scott III
Music videos
“Michael Jackson: Remember the Time” 1992 directed by John Singleton
Documentaries
Meet Bob Shaye 2004 directed by Jeffery Schwartz
Maryanne e gli altri (Italy) 1995 directed by Ita Cesa, Giuseppe Selva
References
External links
http://www.stanleyclarke.com/ stanleyclarke.com – Stanley Clarke's official website
http://www.roxboroentertainment.com/ roxboroentertainment.com – Stanley Clarke's own label
http://www.innerviews.org/inner/clarke.html innerviews.org – Stanley Clarke interview from April 26, 1998.
http://www.mediaport.info/fotobank/galery.php? theme=2& collapsed=1& galery_id=507& lang=rus mediaport.info – Stanley Clarke. Fotoreport from Jazz Koktebel 2006.
http://www.jazz.com/dozens/the-dozens-return-to-forever "Return to Forever: Twelve Historic Tracks" by Walter Kolosky, ( http://www.jazz.com Jazz.com)
http://www.honesttune.com/content/view/778/49/ Stanley Clarke: Innovative Forever From honesttune.com.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php? id=46621 Stanley Clarke Interview at allaboutjazz.com
http://www.penceland.com/cgi-bin/play_flv.pl? filename=Miroslav_Vitous%20and%20Stanley_Clarke%20-%20Agitation.flv& width=500& height=375& title=Miroslav%20Vitous%20and%20Stanley%20Clarke%20-%20Agitation "Agitation", with Miroslav Vitous
Use mdy dates|date=July 2011 Persondata | NAME =Clarke, Stanley | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =June 30, 1951 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Stanley Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:African American musicians Category:American jazz double-bassists Category:American jazz bass guitarists Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Smooth jazz bass guitarists Category:Jazz fusion bass guitarists Category:University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni Category:Former Scientologists Category:Return to Forever members Category:Heads Up International artists Category:Optimism Records artists Category:Latin Grammy Award winners
