Stanley Clarke
PROJECTS:
NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award Winner Stanley Clarke has attained “living legend” status during his over 50-year career as a bass virtuoso. He is the first bassist in history who doubles on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide. A veteran of over 40 albums, he won the 2011 Best Contemporary Jazz Album Grammy Award for The Stanley Clarke Band. Clarke co-founded the seminal fusion group Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Lenny White. In 2012 Return to Forever won a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Forever.
STANLEY CLARK N•4EVER
In definitive innovator fashion, jazz legend Stanley Clarke reimagines the genre with his 2025 double album Last Train to Sanity, which he created as a gift for his fans. Last Train to Sanity marks the bass player-band leader-composer-arranger-producer’s latest studio project, encompassing music Clarke has been sharing around the world with his newest band Stanley Clarke N•4EVER.
Originally formed out of a desire to pay tribute to Clarke’s longtime friend and collaborator Chick Corea, 4EVER has quickly become a fusion force all its own, furthering the tradition of cultivating the cutting edge. True to the evolution of jazz fusion, 4EVER brings a powerful combination of jazz harmony and improvisation with rock, funk, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music influences.
Akin to Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, Last Train boasts a personnel list of jazz’s next wave of heavy hitter virtuosos, including standout performances by saxophonist-composer Emilio Modeste, guitarist Colin Cook, and Herbie Hancock Competition winner Jahari Stampley, as well as drummer Jeremiah Collier, piano virtuoso Beka Gochiashvili, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco, tabla master Salar Nader, and violin virtuoso Evan Garr. Under Clarke’s masterful leadership, Last Train to Sanity traverses the awe-inspiring terrain of Stanley’s vast musical universe.
Last Train to Sanity will be released on two CDs and vinyls, with a deluxe package that features collectors‘ items including a large format art booklet with liner notes. Created as a gift for his fans, the record will also be released in conjunction with an exclusive coffee-table book filled with rare clippings, photographs, and stories from Stanley’s illustrious journey in music to date.
STANLEY CLARKE & HIROMI
NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award winning bassist Stanley Clarke teams with frequent collaborator and innovative pianist Hiromi to pay tribute to Chick Corea in a new program of original compositions inspired by the late, great pianist.
A DownBeat Hall of Famer, NEA Jazz Master, 27-time Grammy Award winner, and keyboard virtuoso, Corea was at the forefront of jazz. From straight ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fusion, Corea had touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is awe-inspiring. Corea attained legendary status after five decades of unparalleled creativity and an artistic output that is simply staggering.
Clarke and Corea were longtime friends and bandmates in the iconic jazz fusion band, Return to Forever. “Chick was like a brother to me,” Clarke says, “We shared many, many stages, recording studios, and our passion for jazz, but what really created the bond between us was our similar beliefs in the power of the individual to create the most beautiful and inspiring art, the great healer, for people.”
After a chance meeting in Tokyo, the then 17-year-old Hiromi was invited by Corea to perform with him, the beginning to a musical camaraderie that lasted decades. Their double-album Duet is a masterwork of remarkable pianists of two different generations and cultures who transcend all boundaries to converse with each other with an exuberance and passion. “Every second working with him involved studying and learning something,” Hiromi says, “Every second was like a miracle and a treasure hunt.”
It was Corea who recommended Hiromi to Clarke when he was looking for a pianist for his band. Clarke and Hiromi went on to tour and record together, winning a Grammy in 2011 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for The Stanley Clarke Band.
Honoring their long histories with Corea and their shared musical journey with each other, Clarke and Hiromi bring audiences a striking program available to perform with local string quartet or 60-piece orchestra.
PRESS QUOTES:
“Behold Stanley Clarke King of Funk ‘n’ Roll.”
David Weiss, LA Herald Examiner
“A little over 50 years since his solo debut, Clarke reminds the audience that there are still new ways to be dazzled by the innovative and solid fullness of his instrument.”
NPR Tiny Desk
“Clarke…quite literally was unbelievable…Clarke more or less “made-love” to his bass. At times he made it pant, and occasionally he made it “bark,” and moan as if the bass was saying, “give me more!” At the end of the solo…it was the audience left breathless and craving just a little more. Overall, the show was awe-inspiring. Experiences like these are few and far between.”
Chris Hislop, seacoastonline.com
“Clarke can toss off more good bass lines in one night than most rock bassists do in an entire career.”
Charlie McCollum, Washington Star
“Stanley Clarke Is a jazz bassist, not just a jazz bassist, but probably one the most accomplished bass players of all time. (His) bass work is almost beyond description. He plays with such blistering speed, yet he looks as relaxed as a mother with her newborn infant. He is as dexterous on electric bass as he is on the upright acoustic. It is almost euphoric to watch him play.”
Tom Ridge Pavillion, Bushkill, PA
“Clarke‘¦left mouths open in amazement as he coaxed melody, rhythm and percussion from his upright bass somehow all at once.”
Mark Bialczak, Syracuse Post-Standard
“…And (Clarke) practically brought down the house with a supremely executed solo.”
Ken Terry, Cashbox
“Stanley’s was, of course, mindblowing and featured some machine gun like runs covering the entire length of his upright fretboard, some insane string-raking, and some percussive slaps on the body and neck of the bass producing sounds I have never heard played on an upright before.”
Generaltsao, Music Player Network
