When bassist Stanley Clarke won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, last week, for The Stanley Clarke Band (Heads Up, 2010), it was particularly meaningful, given he was up against everyone from fellow fusion god John McLaughlin to young up-and-comer Trombone Shorty. But while this particular win has great significance for the bassist who first came to attention as a member of pianist Chick Corea's Return to Forever—and is, in fact, is the only person, other than Corea, to participate in every RTF incarnations, from the early, Latin-esque version that released Light as a Feather (Polydor, 1973) to the hard-hitting, guitar-heavy fusion of Romantic Warrior (Columbia, 1975) and the final, horn-driven version of Live: The Complete Concert (Columbia, 1978)—Clarke's been nominated for the award numerous times before, and had an early win in 1976, when RTF scored Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group for the title track to No Mystery (Polydor, 1974).
When Esther Berlenga-Ryan spoke with Clarke a couple months back, neither of them had any idea that he'd be walking away with a Grammy in short order. Instead, Clarke discusses the concept behind his latest record, the changes he's seen in the jazz world since first emerging as a sideman with Pharoah Sanders and Dexter Gordon, and his longstanding relationship with RTF drummer, Lenny White, who co-produced The Stanley Clarke Band.
Check out Stanley Clarke: Path Maker, today at All About Jazz!
When Esther Berlenga-Ryan spoke with Clarke a couple months back, neither of them had any idea that he'd be walking away with a Grammy in short order. Instead, Clarke discusses the concept behind his latest record, the changes he's seen in the jazz world since first emerging as a sideman with Pharoah Sanders and Dexter Gordon, and his longstanding relationship with RTF drummer, Lenny White, who co-produced The Stanley Clarke Band.
Check out Stanley Clarke: Path Maker, today at All About Jazz!
