Stanley Clarke

It’s no exaggeration to say that bassist Stanley Clarke is one of the most celebrated acoustic and electric bass players in the world.

The Philly native -- an alumnus of the Settlement Music School and became the University of the Arts -- is a four-time Grammy winner and was named the 2022 NEA Jazz Master for his accomplishments as a performer, composer, conductor, arranger, and producer.

Originally a double bass player who aspired to play in the Philadelphia Orchestra, Clarke was seduced by jazz, and moved to New York City to work with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Stan Getz and, most importantly, Chick Corea.

Clarke and Corea formed the legendary cutting-edge jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever, and during that time Clarke developed an entirely new way of playing the bass, liberating it from the rhythm section to become a lead instrument.

Clarke joined Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards to form The New Barbarians; formed a duo with George Duke; founded the Stanley Clarke Band in 1985; and, in 2008, formed the trio S.M.V. with bassists Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten.

His discography contains 21 albums as a leader -- as well as scores of collaborations.

Clarke started the record label Roxboro Entertainment Group in California in 2010; he wrote scores for “Boyz ‘N the Hood,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and other films, winning a BMI Award for “Boyz.” He earned three Emmy nominations for his work on television and video scores. In 2014 he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

His band, 4 Ever, includes Jeremiah Collier (drums), Jahari Stampley (piano and keyboards), Colin Cook (guitar) and Emilio Modesto (sax).

ARTIST WEBSITE: Stanley Clarke(opens in a new tab)