Stanley Clarke at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

Recording artist, performer, composer, conductor, arranger, producer and film score composer, Stanley Clarke is one of the most celebrated bass players in the world. Known for his ferocious dexterity and consummate musicality, Clarke is a true musical pioneer. Unquestionably, he has attained “living legend” status during his 36-year career as a bass virtuoso.



When Clarke, with Chick Corea, formed the seminal electric jazz/fusion band Return To Forever, he pushed the bass as a viable, melodic solo instrument positioned at the front of the stage rather than in a background role. RTF was a crucible for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities, composing prowess and instrumental voices and influenced a generation of musicians from both sides of the rock/jazz fence....

read more

Recording artist, performer, composer, conductor, arranger, producer and film score composer, Stanley Clarke is one of the most celebrated bass players in the world. Known for his ferocious dexterity and consummate musicality, Clarke is a true musical pioneer. Unquestionably, he has attained “living legend” status during his 36-year career as a bass virtuoso.



When Clarke, with Chick Corea, formed the seminal electric jazz/fusion band Return To Forever, he pushed the bass as a viable, melodic solo instrument positioned at the front of the stage rather than in a background role. RTF was a crucible for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities, composing prowess and instrumental voices and influenced a generation of musicians from both sides of the rock/jazz fence.



Solo, Clarke became the first bassist in history to headline tours, sell out shows worldwide, and craft albums that achieved gold status. He was the first bassist in history to double on acoustic and electric bass with equal virtuosity, power and fire. In his ongoing efforts to push the bass to new limits, he has invented two new instruments, the piccolo bass and the tenor bass. Both of these instruments have enabled Clarke to extend his melodic range to higher and more expressive registers and extend the range of his music exponentially.

show less