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.
BOYZ N THE HOOD w/SYMPHONY
Bassist Stanley Clarke brings his iconic score for John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood to the stage with a live orchestra film program. “My favorite thing about John Singleton is that he was a filmmaker who tried to make a difference with his films,” says Clarke, “John’s message was, ‘increase the peace’ and that message is still relevant today.”
An accomplished film and TV composer of over 65 projects, bassist Clarke’s credits not only include Boyz N The Hood, but also the Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, Romeo Must Die, The Transporter, Best Man Holiday and most recently the lauded 2019 documentary Halston. In 2020 he scores the music for the Hulu show Woke. He has garnered three Emmy Nominations and a BMI Award for his scoring. In 2014 Clarke was invited to become a member of the exclusive Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
“Film has given me the opportunity to write large orchestral scores and to compose music not normally associated with myself,” says Clarke. “It’s given me the chance to conduct orchestras and arrange music for various types of ensembles. It’s been a diverse experience for me musically, made me a more complete musician and focused my skills completely.” His 1995 release, Stanley Clarke at the Movies, is a testament to this heightened level of musicianship.
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
