Stanley Clarke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke at Leverkusener Jazztage (Germany), November 7, 2016
Background information
Born	(1951-06-30) June 30, 1951 (age 74) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Jazz fusion funk rock R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician composer
Instruments	Double bass bass guitar
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Nemperor Epic Heads Up Mack Avenue Elektra
Associated acts	Return to Forever, the New Barbarians, George Duke, Animal Logic, Trio!, SMV, Primus

Stanley Clarke, born on June 30, 1951, is an amazing American musician. He plays the bass guitar and writes music. He helped start Return to Forever, one of the very first jazz fusion bands. Jazz fusion mixes jazz music with rock.

Stanley Clarke made the bass guitar a very important instrument in jazz music. He was the first jazz fusion bassist to lead his own tours. He sold out shows all over the world. His music recordings even sold enough copies to reach "gold status."

Clarke has won five Grammy Awards, which are big music prizes. He was nominated 15 times. In 2022, he received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship. This is a very special award for jazz musicians. You can even see one of Stanley Clarke's electric basses. It is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C..

Music Career

Early Years

Clarke with Return to Forever, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, New York, 1974

Stanley Clarke was born in Philadelphia on June 30, 1951. His mother loved to sing opera at home. She was also in a church choir. She encouraged him to study music. He first tried playing the accordion. Then he tried the violin.

When he was twelve, he was already over six feet tall. The small violin felt awkward in his big hands. He saw an acoustic bass in the corner that no one wanted. So, he decided to pick it up. He took lessons for five years at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. He studied classical bass. Later, as a teenager, he learned the bass guitar. This allowed him to play at parties and copy rock and pop bands.

Clarke went to the Philadelphia Musical Academy. After he graduated, he moved to New York City in 1971. He first recorded music with Curtis Fuller. He then worked with many famous musicians. These included Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders, and Art Blakey.

Return to Forever

Stanley Clarke wanted to play in the Philadelphia Orchestra. But then he met jazz pianist Chick Corea. Corea was forming a new band for Stan Getz. Clarke's bass playing was very important on their first albums. These albums were Captain Marvel and Return to Forever.

The band soon realized they could be a regular live group. This is how the band Return to Forever started. The first version of Return to Forever played mostly Latin-style music. They used only acoustic instruments. The band included singer Flora Purim and drummer Airto Moreira. It also had Joe Farrell on saxophone and flute. Clarke played the bass. Their first album, Return to Forever, came out in 1972. Their second album, Light as a Feather (1973), included the famous song "Spain".

After the second album, some members left. Guitarist Bill Connors and drummer Lenny White joined the group. Their third album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973), was then released.

Return to Forever helped create a new type of music called fusion. Fusion mixes rock and jazz. Clarke played the bass in a new way. He made the bass guitar stand out as a solo instrument. It could be melodic and lead the music. Before, the bass was mostly just part of the rhythm section. Clarke says that Jaco Pastorius, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, and Larry Graham helped him bring the bass guitar to the front.

After Return to Forever's second album, Clarke received job offers. These came from Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and Ray Manzarek of the Doors. But he stayed with Return to Forever until 1977. In the early 1980s, he toured with Corea and Return to Forever. He also worked with other musicians like Herbie Hancock. In 1998, he started Superband with Lenny White and Larry Carlton.

Solo Career

Chick Corea produced Clarke's first solo album. It was called Children of Forever (1973). Clarke played both double bass and bass guitar on it.

Clarke's second album was Stanley Clarke (1974). It featured Tony Williams on drums. It also had Bill Connors on guitar and Jan Hammer on synthesizer.

While on tour, British guitarist Jeff Beck played a song from Clarke's album. This led to them meeting. They toured together. Beck also appeared on some of Clarke's albums. These included Journey to Love (1975) and Modern Man (1978).

The album School Days (1976) brought Clarke a lot of attention. The title song had a very catchy tune. Fans would often ask him to play it at concerts.

Rock and Funk Music

Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten in the SMV Thunder Tour, Stockholm Jazz Festival, 2009

Stanley Clarke has spent much of his career playing music outside of jazz. In 1979, Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones formed the New Barbarians. Clarke and Keith Richards were also in this band.

Two years later, Clarke and keyboardist George Duke formed the Clarke/Duke Project. Their music mixed pop, jazz, funk, and R&B. They first met in 1971 in Finland. Their first album had the song "Sweet Baby". This song became a top 20 pop hit. They toured together again in the 1990s and 2000s.

In 1981, Clarke joined Paul McCartney. He played bass on McCartney's albums Tug of War (1982) and Pipes of Peace (1983).

The Stanley Clarke Band

The Stanley Clarke Band is an American jazz group led by Clarke. He started the band in 1985. They released the album Find Out!.

With a new group, The Stanley Clarke Band released the album The Stanley Clarke Band. This album won a Grammy Award in 2011. It won for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Their album The Message was released in 2018.

Band History

The band's first album, Find Out!, was released in 1985. The album The Stanley Clarke Band featured Stanley Clarke on bass. It also had Ronald Bruner Jr. on drums and Ruslan Sirota on keyboards. Lenny White and Stanley Clarke produced it. Pianist Hiromi also played on the album.

The album The Stanley Clarke Band won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. This was at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. Also, the song "No Mystery" was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

The Stanley Clarke Band, with Clarke, Bruner Jr., and Sirota, later released The Message.

Discography

• Find Out! (1985)
• The Rite of Strings (1995)
• The Stanley Clarke Band (2010)
• Up (2014)
• The Message (2018)

Other Groups

In 1988, Clarke and drummer Stewart Copeland from the band the Police formed Animal Logic. They were joined by singer-songwriter Deborah Holland. Clarke and Copeland were friends before The Police started. Copeland also played on Clarke's album Up (2014).

In 2014, Clarke was invited to play with Primus. This was during their "Primus and the Chocolate Factory" tour. He performed the song "Here Come the Bastards." Clarke and Les Claypool had an exciting bass duel during the song.

In 2020, Clarke was a teacher at a Bass Bootcamp. This camp was hosted by bassist Gerald Veasley in Philadelphia. Bass players of all ages learned from many experts. The camp was moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Jazz Groups

In 2005, Clarke toured as Trio! with Béla Fleck and Jean-Luc Ponty. Clarke and Ponty had played together before. In 1995, they recorded the album The Rite of Strings with guitarist Al Di Meola. They played as a trio again in 2012. They recorded D-Stringz (2015) with guitarist Biréli Lagrène.

In 2008, Clarke formed SMV with bassists Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. They recorded the album Thunder.

In 2009, he released Jazz in the Garden. This album featured the Stanley Clarke Trio. It included pianist Hiromi Uehara and drummer Lenny White. The next year, he released Stanley Clarke Band. This album had Ruslan Sirota on keyboards and Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums. Hiromi also played piano on this album.

His album Up, released in 2014, featured many famous musicians. These included his former bandmate Chick Corea on piano. Also, Stewart Copeland (The Police) on drums and Jimmy Herring on guitar played on it.

In 2018, Clarke released The Message. This album featured the new Stanley Clarke Band. It included Cameron Graves on synthesizers and Beka Gochiashvili on piano. Mike Mitchell played drums. The album also featured rapper Doug E. Fresh.

In 2019, The Stanley Clarke Band changed again. Clarke, Cameron Graves, and Beka Gochiashvili were joined by Shariq Tucker on drums. Salar Nader played tabla, and Evan Garr played violin.

Television and Movies

Stanley Clarke has written music for television shows and movies. His first music score was for Pee-wee's Playhouse. It was nominated for an Emmy Award. He also wrote music for movies like Boyz n the Hood and Passenger 57. He composed for TV shows such as Lincoln Heights and Static Shock. He also wrote music for Michael Jackson's video "Remember the Time."

In 2007, Clarke released a DVD called Night School: An Evening of Stanley Clarke and Friends. This was a concert recorded in 2002. Clarke played both acoustic and electric bass. Guests included Stewart Copeland, Lenny White, and Béla Fleck.

Clarke's music can be heard in many other TV shows and movies. These include Soul Food (2000–2004) and First Sunday (2008). His most recent music score was for the documentary film Halston (2019). This film tells the story of fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick.

Record Label

In 2010, Clarke started Roxboro Entertainment Group. It is located in Topanga, California. He named it after the high school he went to. The first music released by his label was by guitarist Lloyd Gregory. Roxboro also features keyboardist Sunnie Paxson and pianists Ruslan Sirota and Beka Gochiashvili.

Electric Bass Technique

When Stanley Clarke plays the electric bass, he holds his right hand in a special way. His fingers approach the strings like they would on an upright bass. But his hand is turned 90 degrees. His forearm is above the strings. His wrist bends down at a right angle.

For solo playing, his fingers hook under the strings. When he lets go, the strings snap against the frets. This makes a sharp, percussive sound. Clarke also uses a unique "slap-n'-pop" technique. He strikes two or more strings from above with his fingernails. You can hear this technique in songs like "School Days" and "Wild Dog." Clarke has used Alembic short scale basses since 1973. Alembic also makes special Stanley Clarke Signature Bass models.

Awards and Honors

Grammy Awards

Latin Grammy Awards

Clarke won a Latin Grammy Award in 2011. It was for Best Instrumental Album. This was for the album "Forever". He shared this award with Chick Corea and Lenny White.

Other Honors

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Bass Player, 2006
• Honorary doctorate in fine arts, The University of the Arts, 2008
• Honorary Doctorate in Music, Musicians Institute, 2009
• Miles Davis Award, 2011
• NEA Jazz Master Fellowship, 2021

Discography and Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Stanley Clarke para niños