June 11–18, 1998

music

Clarke's Return

Click here to go to sidebar: Helluva Mellon

Mellon Jazz Fest honoree Stanley Clarke comes home to Philly.

by Nate Chinen

		Bassist Profundo: Stanley Clarke

When the producers of the 1998 Mellon PSFS Jazz Festival met to decide this year's honoree, they wasted no time in bestowing the title on Stanley Clarke. The Philadelphia-born bassist has been an integral part of the international jazz community ever since his auspicious debut with Return to Forever in the early '70s. Clarke's virtuosic electric bass playing formed the backbone of the pioneering fusion group, which also featured keyboard legend Chick Corea, guitarist Al DiMeola and drummer Lenny White. Clarke recorded his first solo LP, Children of Forever (Polygram), in 1973, and went on to release over a dozen albums as a leader, including the anthemic School Days (Epic) in 1976. His career has earned him a Grammy Award (for RTF's No Mystery on Polydor), seven Grammy nominations, three Emmy nominations, and a host of critical awards. Playboy magazine has declared Clarke as Jazz Bassist of the Year for 10 consecutive years.

And it all started in Philly. "I had a good musical life here," Clarke recalls. "I actually consider myself very fortunate compared to other people in other parts of the country that grew up around the time I did."

		When I played with Chick Corea, we were into challenging each other musically, so we wrote a lot of things with the other guy in mind, but also realizing that this is going to kick this guy's ass

As a young player in the '60s, Clarke participated in the Settlement Music School as well as the All-City Program. "[Those programs] were great because they gave children a sense of community as a musician," Clarke explains. After high school, he enrolled in the Philadelphia Musical Academy (which has since become the University of the Arts), which he credits as playing a significant role in his development—"because that's where it all starts, I think. Whatever happens to a musician in a school is pretty much going to be his foundation for later in life." The bassist has become an advocate for music education—two years ago the Musician's Institute established a Stanley Clarke Scholarship to help out students in need. "I think that the reason you should continue your education, especially after high school, is not because you want to become a better player—I think it just sets you up for life better." Music education at its most effective, he explains, functions as a framework, pointing musicians in the right direction, supplying the appropriate tools and skills, and providing the opportunity for a player to hone his or her craft. "Nowadays, you need to be focused and disciplined, because the competition is greater. There's more musicians, and there's more records made now than ever before."

Another lesson that Clarke offers aspiring musicians is the value of versatility. It's a creed he teaches by example; the bassist has worked not only with his fusion-minded peers from the '70s, but a diverse roster of talent that includes tenor titans Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Dexter Gordon, ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, pianist George Duke, diva Aretha Franklin, and guitar heroes Carlos Santana, Pat Metheny and Jeff Beck. "[Versatility] is so important," he says with conviction. "I think it's very difficult to be a Puritan about a particular type of music and stand up and toot your horn about it and get people to really take you seriously, unless you're a genius at it. I mean, I could understand a guy that plays an instrument and what he does is so earth-shattering that you wouldn't want him to play anything else. But most of us are mortals out here. I personally think it helps when you've checked out all genres of music."

In fact, Clarke has carved out an enviable niche for himself in a field where versatility is absolutely essential; he spends much of his time these days composing music for television and film scores. "I always wanted to do [film scores]," Clarke says. "Even back in the '70s, I was always a great fan of movie music. I remember as a kid I used to watch the James Bond movies, and I thought the music in there was awesome. I knew the themes and I knew why the theme came in at this time, and why the love scene was a slow theme, and [why the theme was more intense] when it got pumped up. I always had a sense of what that music was doing. So later on, I used to send my tapes out to film companies and offer my services. And I finally got a job. The first thing I did was Pee-Wee's Playhouse. That was fun. And I got an Emmy nomination for this thing, so I thought 'I probably should get into this.'" Since these frenetic beginnings, Clarke has composed prolifically and with great success. His film scoring credits include Boyz N The Hood, Poetic Justice and the recent comedy B.A.P.S. He may not be as high-profile as contemporaries John Williams, John Barry or Danny Elfman, but within the industry, Clarke's name rings synonymous with intuitive and heartfelt scoring. He was recently distinguished as "Hot Composer of 1997" by Hollywood Reporter.

"It's very important to know why you're composing," Clarke says. "I think to compose for the sake of composing is just to write some notes down and not really intend anyone to play them." Film scores, he explains, provide direction and focus to his composing skills. On the other hand, "when I'm writing for myself and for the groups, I'm actually writing for the musicians who are going to play it. I remember when I played with Chick Corea, we were into challenging each other musically, so we wrote a lot of things with the other guy in mind, but also realizing that this is going to kick this guy's ass. I wrote a tune on the Romantic Warrior album called "The Magician," and the score on this thing is like a piece of art. It's beautiful, with lines going up and down, the drum parts are great. And I wanted to write something that was going to make Chick have to practice, because he was definitely the best musician technically out of all of us."

Clarke is currently in the middle of recording his next solo album, as well as a score for a forthcoming film on Miramax called Down in the Delta, directed by Maya Angelou and starring Wesley Snipes. He's also working on a project that pairs his composing skills with Angelou's poetry, produced by Quincy Jones. "What I wanted to do is do something that's timeless," he says. "Some of the stuff that Maya does is my Shakespeare. Beautiful, very eye-opening stuff. So I wrote this orchestral music and it's just so beautiful. That's all I can say." But the project has been abandoned before, and may still be in jeopardy. "The problem is getting the record company to understand that this is something that is going to outlive all of us," Clarke says. "It's going to sell long after this company. You're going to have to stop people from buying it. It's like the record Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, or [John Coltrane's] A Love Supreme. There's certain art that goes beyond time and place and what's fashionable. This is like that. So I just have to finish it and hope they don't scrap it again, because it really deserves to come out."

Stanley Clarke plays with Nick Smith, Robert Brookins, Ike Wiley, Lenny White and special guests, and the Mellon PSFS Jazz Ensemble for Unity. Penn's Landing, Sat., June 13, 6-9 p.m. Free.