Everything about Stanley Clarke totally explained
Stanley Clarke (born
30 June 1951) is an
American musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on
double bass and
bass guitar as well as his numerous
film and television scores.
Early life and education
Clarke was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was introduced to the bass as a schoolboy "by accident", when he arrived late on the day instruments were distributed to students and acoustic bass was one of the few remaining selections. Having graduated from the
Philadelphia Academy of Music, 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.
Return to Forever
During this period he joined the
jazz fusion group
Return to Forever led by pianist Chick Corea. The group became one of the most important fusion groups and released several successful and musically highly varied albums. Clarke also started his solo career in the early 1970s and released a number of albums under his own name. His most famous album is
School Days (1976), which, along with
Jaco Pastorius's self-titled debut, is held up as one of the greatest bass albums in the history of jazz. His albums
Stanley Clarke (1974) and
Journey to Love (1975) are also notable.
Film and television
From the small screen scores for
ABC's short-lived series
A Man Called Hawk and an Emmy nominated score for
Pee-wee's Playhouse Clarke moved on to the silver screen as 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,
Passenger 57,
Higher Learning,
Poetic Justice, Panther,
The Five Heartbeats,
Book of Love,
Little Big League, and
Romeo Must Die. He also scored the Luc Besson produced/co-written actioner,
The Transporter, starring
Jason Statham and a
Michael Jackson video release directed by
John Singleton entitled
Remember the Time. Currently his scoring may be heard on the
Showtime Network program
Soul Food.
Style
Stanley Clarke became the first bassist in history who could double on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity, as well as the first bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide. In 1976 Clarke recorded what is now considered to be the must-know bass anthem, “School Days.” To this day, accomplished and aspiring bassists continue to imitate his style seeking to master his pioneered percussive slap funk technique.
Equipment
Clarke has always been very strongly associated with
Alembic basses and the vast majority of his recorded output has been produced with one model of Alembic or another, particularly a dark-wood-colored custom bass in the Series I body style. These basses are handmade neck-through instruments made from a mixture of exotic woods and a proprietary active pickup system that's powered from an external preamplifier. A
Stanley Clark Signature Model
bass guitar is produced by Alembic. Clarke also utilizes full-range amplification for his basses, more in keeping with a keyboardist's rig than a bassist's or guitarists. To extend his melodic range to play higher registers as he sees orchestrationally fit, he invented two new instruments: the piccolo bass and the tenor bass.
Physical size
Clarke is 6'3" and his Alembic basses tend to be short-scale (in this case, 30-3/4" versus a typical 34"), so in his hands, the Alembic seems almost like a toy. As a result, having large hands and powerful musculature in his arms and hands gives him extra command over the instrument in terms of power, range, and speed. Many of the figures that Clarke plays are very difficult for a smaller bassist to play on a larger bass.
Right-hand technique
The classic Clarke right-hand posture has his fingers approaching the strings much as they'd 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 purposes, his fingers partially hook underneath the strings so that when releases, the strings snap against the frets, producing a biting percussive attack. In addition to an economical variation on the
Larry Graham-style pop-n'-slap technique, Clarke also uses downward thrusts of the entire right hand, striking two or more strings from above with his fingernails (examples include "School Days", "Rock and Roll Jelly", "Wild Dog", and "Danger Street").
Instruments
Stanley Clarke is also the first influential bassist to use
piccolo bass prominently. (A piccolo bass is a bass guitar, tuned one octave higher - Clarke's are usually short scale (30.75"), four string,
Carl Thompson or Alembic.)
Collaborations
He formed
Animal Logic with
rock drummer Stewart Copeland, after the break-up of
The Police, and
singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. The trio had success with their first album and world tour but the follow-up sold poorly, and the band didn't continue.
Other notable (recording/touring) project involvements are: (1979) Jeff Beck, (1979) Ron Wood's New Barbarians, (1981) Clarke/Duke Project with George Duke, (1989) Animal Logic with Stuart Copeland, (1993-94) The Superband with Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Najee & Deron Johnson, (1995) The Rite of Strings with Jean-Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola and (1999) Vertu’ with Lenny White.
In addition to touring with his own band, Clarke continues to enjoy the challenge of collaborating with other artists on tour. During the summer and fall of 2007 he toured with his Rites of Strings comrades, Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty. In addition to a date in France and dates in the Eastern US, the tour includes an extensive appearances 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 legends in their own right, Béla Fleck and Jean Luc Ponty. The U.S. and European tour received glowing reviews and standing ovations where ever they performed. In fact, Trio! was nominated for a 2006 Relix Jammy Award in the category of “Tour of the Year."
Night School
Early in 2007, Heads Up International through Clarke's own Roxboro Entertainment Group released a DVD entitled Night School: An Evening with Stanley Clarke and Friends (HUDV-7118). The star-studded 90-minute presentation chronicles the third annual Stanley Clarke Scholarship Concert, recorded at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA, in October 2002. Clarke strongly feels that those who have had success in realizing their own vision have a duty to help others in their struggle to emerge. Putting thoughts into action, he developed a way to offer scholarships to selected 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, 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. The DVD has garnered outstanding reviews since its release.
Today
Since the 80s, Stanley has been turning his energy to film and television scoring. He is currently scoring the ABC Family Channel popular and critically acclaimed series “Lincoln Heights,” in addition to writing the show's theme song.
Starting in television, Clarke was nominated for an Emmy for his score for “Pee Wee's Playhouse” and his title themes for “Hull High” and “Knightwatch.” He won the BMI Film Music Award for Oscar-nominated film Boyz ‘n the Hood. He is composer, orchestrator, conductor and performer on such iconic films as
What's Love Got To Do With It?,
Passenger 57,
Poetic Justice,
Little Big League,
Romeo Must Die,
The Transporter,
Undercover Brother and
Roll Bounce. Clarke received critical acclaim as the composer of the hit Showtime series
Soul Food. Altogether Clarke has over 65 film credits. He has become one of the elite in-demand composers in Hollywood. The 1995 release,
Stanley Clarke at the Movies, bears stunning witness to this. He is in the process of putting together a second compilation of his film scores,
Stanley Clarke at the Movies: Two.
Regarding his composing, Clarke said, “Film has given me the opportunity to compose music not normally associated with myself. It has given me a chance to conduct orchestras and arrange music for various types of ensembles. It's been a diverse experience for me musically, utilized all my skills and made me a more complete musician.“
In October 2006 Clarke was honored with
Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award. Bass greats 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
Rolling Stones very first “Jazzman of the Year”, was Playboys Music Award - Best Bassist winner 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 Hollywood's “Rock Walk” on Sunset Boulevard. Clarke has won every Reader's Poll and Critic's Poll out there. In 2004 he was featured in
Los Angeles magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People.
Due to Clarke's status in the music world as well as his ability to articulate about music in a way that all can understand, 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 & Huff and academics 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 are set to rerun 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.
He has three children, Chris, and two step children Natasha and Frank.
Discography
The Toys of Men
October 16,
2007, Clarke's new CD,
The Toys of Men was released. The first week of release it made a phenomenal jump to #2 on
Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart. The 13-track CD examines the emotional sweep of war, and features guest appearances by vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding, percussionist Paulinho da Costa and Grammy Award-winning violinist
Mads Tolling.
The Toys of Men also includes acoustic bass interludes that provide a stirring counterpoint to Clarke's more well known fiery electric bass attack. This is Clarke's first solo release in five years. Fans have been looking forward to this new CD and reviews confirm it has been worth waiting for.
Partial solo discography
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)
with Pharoah Sanders
Black Unity (1971)
with The New Barbarians
Buried Alive (recorded 1979, released 2006)
As a co-leader/band member
Echoes of an Era (with Chaka Khan)
Echoes of an Era Live (with Nancy Wilson) The Griffith Park Band Live
The Griffith Park Collection
Clarke/Duke Project (with George Duke) (1981)
Clarke/Duke Project II (1983)
Clarke/Duke Project III (1990)
Live in Montreux, 1988 (1993, Jazz Door-bootleg)
Stanley Clarke & Friends (with Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Deron Johnson & Najee)
Live At The Greek (1994)
Manhattan Project (with Lenny White, Michel Petrucciani, Wayne Shorter) (1989)
Animal Logic (1989)
Animal Logic II (1991)
Implosions w/Stanley Clarke, Randy Brecker, McCoy Tyner, Frank Morgan,Peter *Erskine, Roger Kellaway and Ernie Watts, (1987)
The Rite of Strings w/Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola & Jean Luc Ponty (1995)
Vertu’ – McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke (with Lenny White) (1999)
McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster (2000)
As a Producer
ROY AYERS - In The Dark
ROY BUCHANAN - Loading Zone
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER - Just Family
NATALIE COLE - I’m Ready
MAYNARD FERGUSON - Hollywood
FREE FLIGHT - Illuminations
RODNEY FRANKLIN - Diamonds Inside of You
HOWARD HEWITT - I Commit to Love
KENT JORDAN - No Question About it
RAMSEY LEWIS & NANCY WILSON - The Two of Us
JEFF LORBER- MARILYN McCOO · · BRENDA RUSSELL
SHALAMAR - The Look
BILLY SHIELDS - Shieldstone
JIM WALKER - Private Fligh
Filmography
Feature Films
Boyz 'N The Hood 1991
directed by John Singleton
What's Love Got To Do With It (The Tina Turner Story) 1993
directed by Brian Gibson
Romeo Must Die 2000
directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak
The Transporter 2002
directed by Luc Besson, Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen
Poetic Justice 1993
directed by John Singleton
Passenger 57 1992
directed by Kevin Hooks
The Five Heartbeats 1991
directed by Robert Townsend
Little Big League 1994
directed by Andrew Scheinman
Undercover Brother 2002
directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Tap 1989
directed by Nick Castle
Higher Learning 1995
directed by John Singleton
Roll Bounce 2005
directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Undisputed 2002
directed by Walter Hill
The Best Man 1999
directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Panther 1995
directed by Mario Van Peebles
Eddie 1996
directed by Steve Rash
Watch It 1993
directed by Tom Flynn
B*A*P*S 1997
directed by Robert Townsend
Bleeding Hearts 1994
directed by Gregory Hines
The Book Of Love 1990
directed by Robert Shaye
Cool as Ice 1991
directed by David Kellogg
One Down Two To Go 1983
directed by Fred Williamson
Dangerous Ground 1999
directed by Darrell Roodt
Down in the Delta 1998
directed by Maya Angelou
Into the Sun 2005
directed by mink
The Show 1995
directed by Brian Robbins
Sprung 1997
directed by Rusty Cundieff
2006
directed byDavid Nelson
Red Hot 1993
Paul Haggis
Television
“Lincoln Heights” (Series) 2006 – present
ABC Family Channel
“Pee Wee's Playhouse” (Selected Episodes) 1986
directed byBill Freiberger, Steven Johnson, Guy J. Loutham, William Orr, Paul Reubens
“Soul Food” (Series) 2000 - 2004
directed by Felicia D. Henderson
“Tales from the Crypt” 1990
directed by Jack Sholder, Joel Silver
(Episode: “Fitting Punishment”)
“A Man Called Hawk” (Series) 1989
directed by Mario DiLeo, Bill Duke,
Harry Falk, Winrich Kolbe,
Stan Latham, Sigmund
Neufeld Jr, Virgil W. Vogel
“Knightwatch” (Series) 1988 -1989
directed by Sharon Miller, Kevin Rodney Sullivan
“Hull High” (Series) 1990
directed by Gil Grant, Bruce Bilson, Kenny Ortega, Steven Robman
Television Movies
“The Cherokee Kid” 1996
directed by Paris Barclay
“The Red Sneakers” 2002
directed by Gregory Hines
“Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story” 1992
directed by Charles Braverman
“The Color of Friendship” 2000
directed by Kevin Hooks
“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
“Rocky Marciano” 1999
directed by Charles Winkler
“The Loretta Claiborne Story” 2000
directed by Lee Grant
“Funny Valentines” 1999
directed by Julie Dash
“Tales from the Whoop” 1990
directed by Whoopi Goldberg
“If You Believe” 1999
directed by Alan Metzger
“Relentless: Mind of a Killer” 1993
directed by John Patterson
“Boy Meets Girl” 1993
directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan
“Love Kills” 1998
directed by Brian Grant
“On the Line” 1998
directed by Elodie Keene
“Road to Galveston” 1996
directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno
“Royce” 1994
directed by Rob Holcomb
“Out on the Edge” 1989
directed by John Pasquin
“Prison Stories: Women on the Inside” 1991
directed by Donna Deitch, Joan Micklin Silver, Penelope Spheeris
“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
“Murder She Wrote: The Last Free Man” 2001
directed by Anthony Pullen Shaw
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
Further Information
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