Stanley Clarke

Continuing my research on jazz bassists I turned my attention to Stanley Clarke. Stanley Clarke has been an incredible standout figure in jazz music the last 50 years and still continues to be today. Born in the 1950s in Philadelphia, he had did not have a rather strong upbringing in music. It is said that he showed up late to a music class the day that instruments were handed out to students and the only thing left was the standup bass. This is how he got his start on bass, eventually graduating from the Philadelphia Musical Academy. Following his graduation he moved to New York City where he began working with many famous band leaders and composers including Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson and many more. Shortly after he moved to New York City he joined the band Return to Forever, the leader of the band being well known pianist Chick Corea. According to allmusic, “…Clarke really hit the big time when he started teaming up with Chick Corea in Return to Forever”[1]. Clark also produced probably his best known solo album entitled “School Days” in 1976. 

Coming into the 80s he toured with many notable bands and musicians such as Bela Fleck and Stevie Wonder. Of recently he has turned his focus more towards film scoring and composing having scored movies such as Passenger 57 and The Transporter and many more. Stanley was featured in Los Angeles magazine as one of the 50 most influential people. In 2006 he was awarded with Bass Player magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was presented it by Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller. Stanley is known best for his individualism on the bass. He places his hand on the electric bass almost just as he would on an upright bass though turned through 90 degrees. When he plays a lead or solo song his fingers wrap up under the bottom two strings such that when he releases on them they slap against the frets causing a percussion smacking sound. This truly is a sound and type of playing that singles Clarke out from any other bassist. He can play the piccolo bass and the tenor bass as well. Stanley Clarke is and will continue to be one of the biggest influences in modern music. 

For my listening this week I chose a classic piece by Stanley Clarke called School Days. This song features Clarke on bass. It appears to be in AAB form and in 4 beats per measure time. It starts out with Clarke on bass for the introduction and the band comes in soon after. It has almost a "techno" feel to it. We get to the solo section and Clarke shows off a bit. He shows his ability to make certain sounds on the bass that others cannot. He truly is very creative. Slowly the band starts to build towards the end of his solo and he goes around for another round. If I understood what I say right on this video he duets for a little bit with the violin or viola that is in the band. In the background this entire time we can hear bits and pieces of a traditional bass sound that another band member is playing. Stanley takes music to a another level and really shows off and the end of this piece. Truly an amazing musician!