Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke earned a considerable reputation as a jazz bassist before entering the rock market with Return to Forever and switching to electric bass. His trademark on acoustic bass is precise upper-register vamping; on the electric, a metallic plunk.

Clarke studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Music before moving to New York in 1970. He soon worked with Art Blakey, Gil Evans, the Thad Jones–Mel Lewis Orchestra, and Chick Corea [see entry], whom he met in Philadelphia in 1971. Clarke also played in a group led by saxophonist Stan Getz; the vaguely Brazilian-style material Corea furnished for Getz became the repertoire for a Corea quintet with Clarke, reedman Joe Farrell, singer Flora Purim, and percussionist Airto Moreira on the 1972 Corea albums Return to Forever and Light as a Feather.

Corea and Clarke, both Scientologists, kept the name Return to Forever for their group. They formed an electrified band with drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors - soon replaced by Al DiMeola - which grew increasingly bombastic and popular. In 1976 Clarke and DiMeola both left to pursue solo careers. Clarke had already begun releasing his own fusion albums including 1975’s Journey to Love with guest Jeff Beck.

At the end of the ’70s, he released the half-studio, half-live double album I Wanna Play for You, and joined Rolling Stones Ron Wood and Keith Richards for a North American tour as the New Barbarians. He teamed up with keyboardist George Duke (who had appeared on previous Clarke LPs) as the Clarke/Duke Project in 1981, and had a hit with the ballad “Sweet Baby.” He also recorded with Corea, White, and Chaka Khan on the acoustic jazz session Echoes of an Era. In 1983 Clarke joined Corea, White, and DiMeola on a Return to Forever reunion tour.

Clarke has worked as a producer and played on albums by Santana, Aretha Franklin, and Quincy Jones, among others; he also appeared on Paul McCartney’s Tug of War (1982).

In the late ’80s Clarke turned to composing for television and films. He began by writing for TV pilots, movies of the week, and Pee-wee’s Playhouse; by the ’90s, he graduated to feature films, scoring, among others, the Tina Turner biopic, What’s Love Got to Do With It, and John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood and Poetic Justice. In 1989 Clarke played in the band Animal Logic with former Police drummer Stewart Copeland. He also continued playing jazz, with 1988’s If This Bass Could Only Talk and 1995’s acoustic The Rite of Strings, featuring Jean-Luc Ponty and Al DiMeola, illustrating his constantly evolving technique. In 1997 he formed Basic Music Co. (BMC), an entertainment company with a record label, an instructional video company, and a management firm for film composers.

from The Rolling Stone Encylopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)