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>> JAZZ-FUSION PIONEER RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS AS AN ACOUSTIC PLAYER WITH NEW CD AND WOLF TRAP PERFORMANCE

October 8, 2009 1:38 am

BY ZACK SMITH

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

In a career that has spanned five decades, jazz bassist Stanley Clarke has almost done it all--but until this year he had never released an acoustic jazz-trio recording. On Oct. 15 he will arrive at The Barns of Wolf Trap to promote his first trio CD, "Jazz In The Garden."

Clarke is a trailblazer who has been credited as a leader in the 1970s bass revolution, putting his electric bass in the forefront of fusion jazz recordings. He developed the slap-bass technique into an art that all funk players now imitate, and his association with Chick Corea and the band Return To Forever led to gold records and a Grammy.

Tours with rock and jazz artists like Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, the "Superband" (Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Najee and Deron Johnson), Jean-Luc Ponty and Al Di Meola have cemented his status as one of the legends of bass. But many people don't realize he is first and foremost an acoustic bassist.

"I had a whole career in the late '60s and early '70s that was all acoustic bass," explained Clarke while awaiting a show with Return to Forever.

"That's actually what I really am--an acoustic bass player. The electric bass, I won't say it was a hobby, but sort of an offshoot. All my training, all my studies when I was in school at the music conservatory, it was all acoustic bass. I studied classical music. Actually, my goal was to join the Philadelphia Orchestra, but then I met Chick Corea."

Despite having played acoustic on many jazz records before joining RTF, Clarke's reputation as an electric bassist became more firm.

"Many times when you have fame, people pretty much only see the surface. Whatever you become famous for, they view you that way. It is difficult to trace back somebody's life and see other things that they do."

Clarke continued, "I remember around 1980 I did a tour with the Rolling Stones. I knew them as a rock band and didn't know much about them--though I knew Keith and Mick from years ago. Their guitarist was Ronnie Wood, who I just thought was a regular guitar player. When I got to know him I found out he really was an accomplished artist--a paint-er. So serious that, one night after a couple drinks, I told him that he should just stop playing the guitar, forget all this stuff, and paint, 'cause he was so good at it!"

The new trio CD was recorded in two three-hour sessions. It features Clarke along with longtime friend Lenny White on drums and Japanese piano sensation Hiromi.

"It was recorded like an old jazz record. It wasn't heavily rehearsed--it reminded me of the records we did in the '70s. There is a certain honesty to it, like saying this is where we were at this day and at this time."

Songs on the album vary from jazz tone poem ("Para-digm Shift"), to classic jazz (an understated take on "Someday My Prince Will Come"), to total improvisation ("Global Tweak"). The CD closes with Hiromi's clever arrangement of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hit "Under the Bridge," though fans may have a hard time singing along with the bridge redone in 7/4 time.

The decision to use Hiromi for the recording came naturally. "I met her many years ago, when she had just come out of Berklee [College of Music] and a lot of the guys playing with me had told me about her, this piano player from Japan. She is a very serious musician--probably only comes up to my waist--but man she is a powerhouse! It's nice to play with people that are younger, coming up. It's always fresh that way.

"That's a tradition in jazz music--to pass on to the youth. When Miles [Davis] had his band he had a young Herbie Hancock, a young Wayne Shorter. Tony Williams was like only 16. I was 17 when I played with Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz and Art Blakey. It's a tradition that's ingrained in every jazz musician."

Zack Smith is a local freelance writer, musician and educator. Reach him at
Email: barzac@aol.com.