Stanley Clarke @ Martini Ranch

STANLEY CLARKE
MARTINI RANCH
JANUARY 23, 2008

Phoenix, AZ (October 31, 2007) - Stanley Clarke, one of the most innovative electric bass players of the past three decades will make a stop in Scottsdale to perform at Martini Ranch on Wednesday, January 23. The show will begin at 7:30 pm.

Bassist Stanley Clarke was barely out of his teens when he exploded into the jazz world in 1971. Fresh out of the Philadelphia Academy of Music, he arrived in New York City and immediately landed jobs with famous bandleaders such as Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Pharaoh Saunders, Gil Evans, Stan Getz and a budding young pianist-composer named Chick Corea.

In 1972 Clarke and Corea formed the seminal electric jazz/fusion band Return To Forever. RTF was a showcase for each of the quartet’s strong musical personalities, composing prowess and instrumental voices. The band recorded eight albums, two of which were certified gold (Return To Forever and the classic Romantic Warrior). They also won a GRAMMY (No Mystery) and received numerous nominations while touring incessantly.

At 25, Clarke was already regarded as a pioneer in the jazz fusion movement. He was also 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 invented two new instruments, the piccolo bass and the tenor bass. The piccolo bass is tuned one octave higher than the traditional electric bass. The tenor bass is tuned one fourth higher than standard. Both of these instruments have enabled Clarke to extend his melodic range to higher and more expressive registers.

Clarke’s creativity has been recognized and rewarded in every way imaginable: gold and platinum records, GRAMMY Awards, Emmy Awards, virtually every readers and critics poll in existence, and more. He was Rolling Stone’s very first Jazzman of the Year, and bassist winner of Playboy’s Music Award for ten straight years.

Always in search of new challenges, Clarke turned his boundless creative energy to film and television scoring in the mid-1980s. Starting on the small screen with an Emmy-nominated score for Pee Wee’s Playhouse, he transitioned to the silver screen as composer, orchestrator, conductor and performer of scores for such blockbuster films as Boyz ‘N the Hood, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, Little Big League, Passenger 57, Poetic Justice, The Five Heartbeats, Romeo Must Die, The Transporter and Roll and Bounce. He even scored Remember the Time, a Michael Jackson video directed by Jon Singleton. His scoring can currently be heard on the series Lincoln Heights for the ABC Family Network.

On October 16, 2007 Clarke released The Toys of Men. It is a 13-track CD that examines the emotional sweep of war, and features guest appearances by vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding, percussionist Paulinho da Costa.

TICKETS ON-SALE NOW
Tickets priced at $35.00 are available to purchase at www.livenation.com, all Ticketmaster outlets. To charge by phone call 480.784.4444 (Phoenix Metro Area) or 520.321.1000 (Outside Phoenix Area). Tickets will be available at Martini Ranch on the day of show. All dates, acts, and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes, and service and handling charges. Tickets purchased on the day of show will be priced at $40.00. You must be 21 & over to attend.