''The Stanley Clarke Band'' is an album by the Stanley Clarke Band led by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

bassist

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first ja ...

. It was released by Heads Up Record in June 2010 and was produced by Clarke and Lenny White. Band members include Ruslan Sirota on keyboard, Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums and featured performer Hiromi on piano. The album was awarded the 2011 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and the track "No Mystery" was nominated for

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the album three stars, calling it a "return to a funk repertoire reminiscent of Clarke's roots in Chick Corea electric bands", while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave it a score of three-and-a-half stars. It is also the second Stanley Clarke album to be credited to the Stanley Clarke Band after his 1985 album ''Find Out!''.

The band

A core trio is constant throughout the album with Clarke joined by drummer Ronald Bruner, Jr. and keyboardist Ruslan Sirota. Hiromi is billed as a featured artist playing piano on "No Mystery", "Larry Has Traveled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu’s Report" and her composition "Labyrinth". Several additional musicians appear on most tracks. Clarke, in discussing the band has said that "our common thread is improvisation". Keyboardist Ruslan Sirota is from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Clarke has compared him to Chick Corea and George Duke. Pianist Hiromi is from Japan, Clarke has said that she "plays the piano like a tornado". Hiromi also played on Clarke's 2009 album '' Jazz in the Garden''. Clarke referred to drummer Ronald Bruner, from Compton, California, as "one of the most important drummers out there". Bruner and Sirota had been playing with Clarke for five years or so before the album's release. The additional musicians include two guitarists Charles Altura and Rob Bacon, bassist

Armand Sabal-Lecco Armand Sabal-Lecco is a Cameroonian bass guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist best known for playing bass-guitar on Paul Simon's The Rhythm of the Saint's tour in 1989. Sabal-Lecco has worked with Paul Simon, the Brecker Brothers, Herbi ...

on "Fulani", keyboardist

Felton Pilate Felton C. Pilate II (born November 5, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as a member of the 1970s and 1980s funk- R&B band, Con Funk Shun. Pilate is also notable for the songs and ...

on "Here's Why Tears Dry", saxophonists

Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), and ...

on "Larry Has Traveled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu’s Report". Lorenzo Dunn from

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

plays the

bass synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

on "Soldier". "Sonny Rollins" features Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentyne and a full

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

with Sheppard sharing saxophone duties with

Doug Webb Doug Webb (born 1960) is an American jazz saxophonist.AllMusic credits/ref> Early life and education Born in Chicago, Webb moved to California with his family at the age of three. He graduated from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, Cal ...

, plus trumpeter John Papenbrook and trombonist Andrew Lippman. Natasha Agrama and

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (born April 17, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter from California. Juber co-wrote Mark Ronson's "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" feat. Miley Cyrus, along with much of Ronson’s ''Late Night Feelings'' album with vocals ...

provide vocals on "Soldier".

Music

In describing the album, Clarke said, "Technically, it's a Stanley Clarke record, but it's very much a band-oriented record at the same time". Comparing the album to a ship, he said, "I'd be the one steering the ship and keeping everybody on course. But all hands were definitely on deck, and everyone played an important role in getting us to our destination". Clarke has said that this will be his last electric album for a while. Clarke co-produced the album with Lenny White who played drums on Clarke's 2009 album ''Jazz in the Garden''.

Tracks

"Soldier", Ruslan Sirota's compositional contribution to the album, includes a piano solo with elements borrowed from

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

and Herbie Hancock. It was called " Methenyesque" by music critic John Fordham. The track "Fulani" was written by Armand Sabal-Lecco and is "Africa-inspired" and "has a crunching rock feel". Talking about the track "Here's Why Tears Dry" Clarke said, "The tune came about when a family member was ending a long-time love affair. There were a lot of tears, so I came up with that song. The tears evaporate into thin air, and the pain eventually goes away." "I Wanna Play for You Too" was written by

who plays keyboards on the track.

"Bass Folk Song No. 10" and the album's closing track, "Bass Folk Song No. 6" are both bass solo performances that Clarke wrote many years before they were recorded here. "No Mystery" is a reworking of the song written by Chick Corea when he and Clarke were bandmates in

Return to Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhu ...

. "How Is the Weather Up There?" was written by Clarke and Ronald Bruner, Jr., and deals with

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. The song was built around comments left by his fans in response to a post on Clarke's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

page asking for thoughts on global warming. "Larry Has Traveled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu’s Report" pays homage in its name and musical stylings to Larry Coryell's

the Eleventh House The Eleventh House was a jazz fusion group of the 1970s, led by the guitarist Larry Coryell. The band was formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1975. Other members included Mike Mandel (keyboards) and Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 2 ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 ...

the Tony Williams Lifetime The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz fusion group led by jazz drummer Tony Williams. Original line-up The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band ...

, and

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

, all jazz fusion pioneers. "Labyrinth" was composed by Hiromi and contains elements from " My Favorite Things" with a "funky touch". "Sonny Rollins" is a Caribbean flavored tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins featuring

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the Alto saxophone, alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key ...

and vocals by Cheryl Bentyne.

Reception

John Fordham of ''

'' called the album a "return to a funk repertoire reminiscent of Clarke's roots in Chick Corea electric bands". He goes on to call it "more than just a box-ticking piece of jazz-funk commercialism" but laments "Clarke could probably play a lot of this kind of thing in his sleep". William R. Wood wrote in the ''

Kalamazoo Gazette The ''Kalamazoo Gazette'' is the daily newspaper in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is part of MLive Media Group MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of ...

'' that "Clarke’s complex bass work is invigorating as he blends jazz, rock and funk". Thom Jurek of

wrote that the album "feels more like a band record than anything

larke has Larke is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Alex Larke (born 1979), British singer * Glenda Larke, Australian writer * Joan Larke (c.1490–1532), English mistress *John Larke (c.1500–1544), English priest * John Short Larke (184 ...

done in decades". He praises Clarke's choice in bandmates, calling them "prodigies in their own right" but does not praise the whole album. He called "Larry Has Traveled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu's Report" a "clumsy, failed attempt at summing up the music's history to date" and that "Bass Folk Song No. 6" does not "work swell" as some of the other tracks but "these are minor complaints on an otherwise fine recording". Jeff Winbush of

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

commented that there "are no radical departures" on this album and it sounds as if Clarke is "taking a victory lap here, revisiting past triumphs" but that he "still pull sounds out of his assortment of electric, acoustic and Alembic basses like nobody else, and sstill slapping, plucking and thumbing his way through contemporary, fusion jazz, rock, funk and whatever else he puts his mind to".

Awards

The album won the

2011 Grammy Award The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights pri ...

for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and the track "No Mystery" was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Clarke accepted his Grammy with his bandmates Ronald Bruner, Jr. and Ruslan Sirota and his wife, Sofi, at the Staples Center during a pre-telecast ceremony. Clarke was on tour in Australia with Return to Forever when he learned of his nominations. The other nominees for Best Contemporary Jazz Album were ''

Never Can Say Goodbye "Never Can Say Goodbye" is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes; however, Motown decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. It was the first ...

'' by

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, '' Now Is the Time'' by Jeff Lorber Fusion, '' To the One'' by

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

, and '' Backatown'' by

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

. The Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded to Jeff Beck for his rendition of "

Nessun dorma "" (; English: "Let no one sleep") is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' (text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni) and one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, (the unknown prince), ...

Track listing

''All tracks written by

unless noted'' #"Soldier" ( Ruslan Sirota) 7:07 #"Fulani" (Armand Sabal-Lecco) 6:29 #"Here's Why Tears Dry" 4:52 #"I Wanna Play for You Too" ( Felton C. Pilate II) 4:13 #"Bass Folk Song No. 10" 3:40 #"No Mystery" ( Chick Corea) 7:09 #"How Is the Weather Up There?" ( Ronald Bruner, Jr., Clarke) 5:54 #"Larry Has Traveled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu’s Report" 6:32 #"Labyrinth" ( Hiromi) 5:56 #"Sonny Rollins" 8:49 #"Bass Folk Song No. 6 (Mo Anam Cara)" 2:41

Personnel

;Stanley Clarke Band *

–

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, producer,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Ronald Bruner, Jr. – drums * Ruslan Sirota –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

with: * Hiromi – piano ;Additional musicians *Rob Bacon –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

*Charles Altura – guitar *

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

*Natasha Agrama – vocals, art direction * Cheryl Bentyne – vocals *Chris Clarke –

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

* Lorenzo Dunn –

*John Papenbrook –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Ilsey Juber – vocals *Andrew Lippman –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Felton C. Pilate II – keyboards *

– bass *

– saxophone

Production

* Lenny White – producer * Gerry "the Gov" Brown –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, producer *Dennis MacKay – engineer *Eddy Schreyer – mastering *Jonathan Hakakian – engineer, electronic production, assistant engineer, drum programming *Simon Kumar – assistant engineer *Natalie Singer –

product manager A product manager (PM) is a professional role that is responsible for the development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the product strategy behind a product (physical or digital), ...

*Christian Soza – production coordination *Steve Parke – package design, photos of Stanley Clarke *Mike Lanfear – band photo

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley Clarke Band, The 2010 albums Stanley Clarke albums Albums produced by Lenny White Albums produced by Stanley Clarke Jazz fusion albums by American artists Heads Up International albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album