LeftyBassist.com

In my opinion stanley clarke is one of most recently unappreciated bassists around. This was not always the case as my friends dad tells me back in the 70s there was often "discussions" about who was better jaco or stanley, stanley often beating jaco out, but now it seems to me my generation (mid 20s) and younger have seemed to forget about him, when i talk to Musicans my age and i bring him up i usually get "yea he was good but now wooten and miller can do what he does and do it better" i find this to be complete and utter bull and my personal favorite "yea hes good but hes no jaco". Maybe it has to do with jaco being dead (as chuck klotserman says "the greatest thing artists can do for their career is die") but its seems in the eyes of many people jaco won the war.Back when rtf had their reunion tour me and my friends went and one of them was a guitarist who thought per usual (see above arguments) he was all excited about seeing chick (but then again i was too but thats a diffrent matter) and saying the one person he cared about seeing less then clarke was al di meola and i kept telling him he didnt understand...fast forward to the car ride back from the show:

Him:dude im sorry
me: for what?
him:clarke man....everything i said about him, you were right i didnt understand
me:dude i told you he was the man
him:yea but....ive never heard someone play not just bass but music in that way, dont get me wrong chick was awsome but clarke stole the show, you need to get an alembic bro, if god played bass he would be trying to get clarkes tone

so thats one person who i got to change their minds but help me people get the word out CLARKE IS THE MAN!!!! and thats just on electric, on upright i just have a single sentence to sum up his playing

best upright player since mingus...period

and for those of you who dont listen to him or have only heard his commercial stuff some recomended listening

acoustic:
Captain marvel-stan getz (tony williams and stanely clarke together!!)
children of forever-stanley clarke
jazz in the garden-stanley clarke trio
light as a feather-return to forever
electric:
selftitiled-stanley clarke
return to the 7th galaxy-return to forever(great 2 disc best of from the first 3 lineups with some unreleased live stuff from the conners period...that version of spain is a must listen)
hymn to the 7th galaxy-return to forever
no mystery-return to forever
self titled-vertu (fusion super group with lenny white,rachel z, some violenist i dont know, and ritchie kotzen from poison and mr big)

Totally agree that Stanley Clarke has been under-rated of late. Here's a bit of not-so-trivial trivia, after a spot of googling:

"In the late 1970s, Clarke was playing Rick Turner's first graphite neck on his Alembic "Black Beauty" bass, and he decided to have an all composite bass made. He commissioned designer/luthier Tom Lieber to design and build this bass, having purchased one of Lieber's Spider grinder basses in 1979. In 1980 Lieber and Clarke formed the Spellbinder Corporation and produced a limited run of fifty Spellbinder basses. One left-handed bass was built as a gift from Stanley to Paul McCartney. After the run the molds were destroyed.."

Argh... so close....so very close..

According to the website, they are active again:

http://www.lieberguitars.com/basses/spellbinder-ii/

I do not know how old the info is, but you needed to pony up $4300 plus shipping, so I will not be finding out soon. I guess they might make a lefty- it's not clear to me at least. Perhaps Carmine already owns one?

ive read that info before, i dont know for some reason it makes me smile knowing stanley clarke had a bass built for sir paul. They started the company up again right around the time rtf did their reunion, but i didnt see him use one at the show oh well.

In many, many interviews Stanley mentions that he really doesn't think of himself as an electric bassist, instead he prefers to concentrate on his upright skills.
He is aware and grateful that his electric work brought him the fame and notoriety he enjoys today.

I remember seeing RTF on their 1st tour, maybe 3 or 4 gigs into the tour. Stanley was playing all the tunes off of charts. Rarely took his eyes off of them. But when he did, he had a big sh$t-eatin' grin on his face.

I love Stanley... I have ever since I discovered him after I really got serious as a bass player.

I met him once... and, unfortunately, he was a complete asshole. Rolling his eyes at me and making an audible *sigh* when I asked a couple of questions... interrupted what I was saying and started talking to someone else while he was signing his autograph for me... didn't even look at me when he handed it back... no reply when I said "nice to meet you", etc...

Yeah... it was just kind of lame and bummed me out.

Not sure if anyone else has had that experience when meeting him... I'm hoping he was just having an off day.

i cant comment myself but i talked to a couple of people after the rtf reunion concert that did the whole meet and greet package and according to them white and clarke were the only ones that stayed the whole time and actually made conversation with the guests, chick said he had to go take care of technical things and al di meola supposedly said flat out "i got better things to do then entertain fan boys", two of the guys actually played 2 on 2 basket ball with lenny and stanley right before the show started and after lenny and clarke wiped the floor with them clarke bought them a round of drinks from the bar. but this is all second hand knowledge the dudes could have been making it all up for all i know

To me they're equals. Different styles, different form, different sounds. Both great bassists.
I realized a long time ago that I'd never, ever play like Stanley or Jaco or any other bassist
around. I learned to develop my own style and like it. Stanley and Jaco musicians first, then
bassists. I try to emulate that.

Too many players, kids, non-players - anybody - confuse "playing fast" with "playing well."
Some of my favorite bassists aren't known for their "chops" but the notes they choose that
adds to the music. Theory, to me, is much more important than being able to run up and down
the neck.

I get so annoyed in guitar stores because all I hear are dudes slapping. I'm over here checking
intonation - they're trying to impress the salesman - or themselves. Show me where Eb is at
every position on the neck and I'd be more impressed.

FWIW, Graham Maby is my personal, all-time favorite bassist.

p

i agree with you screambasses, its not about how fast you play or how many notes but what you say with those notes, thats why i love me some john paul jones he is good enough to play anything but only plays whats needed. but my main gripe is that stanley forged the path for a lot of players today and as of lately people (mostly my age)have a lack of respect for what he has done not just on electric but upright as well, i would say i actually prefer him on upright (the first two rtf albums and captain marvel with stan getz blow my mind each time i hear them) but whatever,i just like to see respect given where respect is do for one of the men that opened the door for us bass players and gave the choice of just sitting back and holding the pocket or taking center stage and melting some faces(tastefully of course) with our low end solos.

on a side note dispite what this post and others in the past would make it seem im not a front and center kind of bassist

My sentiments exactly, Scream. Both Jaco and Stanley were such an important part of my early formative years, however, in my quest to improve as a player, and I did my best to cop their licks before slowly gravitating away in musical taste as I developed my own style. I own(ed) every Stanley album from RTF up until "Find Out!" (Far from his best work; A very dated cheesy 80's CD that I admittedly have a soft spot for.), but admittedly moved away and lost interest over the years. I've always kept Jaco's work in my listening pleasure over the years, but Stanley did fade out of sight/mind other than the occasional nod until recently when I went back to rediscover some of his classic recordings again. I haven't heard any of his stuff after Find Out! with the exception of the Animal Logic projects, but two reasons I can think of that may have hurt his lasting reputation:

1. He has a spotty recording history. As many great albums as there were, there were also more than a few clunkers (see "Find Out!" above, for example). While his desire to explore new territory and expand his style is to be applauded, it didn't always seem natural or comfortable. I know a lot of people liked the Animal Logic projects, but I thought they were awful, and especially live where it sounded like a mess because nobody was holding it down rhythmically. 2. He stepped out of the limelight through most of the 90's to do film scores and less of the trademark bass virtuosity he was so renowned for.

BUT, I don't think there's a better bassist in the world who manages to incorporate incredible technical ability with taste/talent, and this is no more evident than in his live performances with Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. All amazing bassists, but IMO, Stanley towers above the other two in terms of command of his instrument.