Stanley Clarke at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1980
Photo by Pierre-Yves Vaucher
Stanley Clarke is 71 years old today.
Clarke is a jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass as well as for his numerous film and television scores. He is best known for his work with the fusion band, Return to Forever, and his role as a bandleader in several trios and ensembles.
Born in Philadelphia, Clarke was introduced to the bass as a schoolboy when he arrived late on the day instruments were distributed to students. Acoustic bass was one of the few remaining selections and he took it.
A graduate of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, he attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy, (which was absorbed into the University of the Arts in 1985) from which he graduated in 1971. He then moved to New York City and began working with famous bandleaders and musicians including Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Dexter Gordon, Gato Barbieri, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders, Gil Evans and Stan Getz.
During the 1970s, Clarke joined the jazz fusion group, Return to Forever, led by pianist and synth player, Chick Corea. The group became one of the most important fusion groups and released several albums that achieved both mainstream popularity and critical acclaim.
Clarke also started his solo career in the early 1970s and released a number of albums under his own name. His best known solo album is School Days (1976), which, along with Jaco Pastorius's self-titled debut, is one of the most influential solo bass recordings in fusion history.