Author Topic: Stanley . (Read 1668 times)

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #45 on:** September 25, 2010, 03:46:13 AM »

I think Stanley Clarke plays his electric bass as a guitar.

However, if Stanley were to use an actual electric guitar, to play the same notes, his sound would be average or mediocre at best, because the actions and fingering would sound like a bass player.

Just set the bass on deep space, and blast the thing.

As a pimp would say: Let a guitar be a guitar.

Peace and Love,

Hal-

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #46 on:** October 02, 2010, 05:57:25 PM »

Case in point!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiI2ZHmxPPo&feature=related

That's JAZZZ FOR THAT AAZZZZ!

Peace and Love,

Hal-

serialnumber12 · « **Reply #47 on:** October 03, 2010, 05:49:18 AM »

that was good!!!

edwin · « **Reply #48 on:** October 03, 2010, 11:27:13 AM »

Hal, thanks for the clip! I have to admit that I prefer Stanley's upright playing to his electric playing in many regards. OTOH, his recent upright playing seems to have integrated some of his electric ideas, so they seem to be meeting in the middle. Indeed a remarkable player!

Roland Kirk is really astounding. He came from a time when jazz musicians were celebrated for their force of personality and dedication to vision rather than an ability to ape what came before and he is a force of nature in that realm. I had no idea the breadth of his collaborations and was surprised to see this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW7BOYvX8ug&feature=related

The internet is amazing thing. I'm sure a lot of us remember the days when access to this kind of stuff on demand seemed like an impossible fantasy.

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #49 on:** October 04, 2010, 06:10:15 AM »

Oh, I LOOOVE Stan playing the Upright! Thanks, I didn't knew that video, Hal...

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #50 on:** October 04, 2010, 06:08:58 PM »

I like that Video, because Stanley was a young kid being schooled.

Stanley was not, and I repeat... could not run circles around the Roland Kirk with McCoy Tyner

Peace and Love,

Hal-

edwin · « **Reply #51 on:** October 04, 2010, 06:23:46 PM »

You know, I've seen Stanley maybe a half dozen times and I've never seen him run circles around anyone. I don't mean that in bad way, I've just always gotten a vibe of joy from him and not of him having a point to prove. I always got the idea that he just loved being up there playing music with whoever he was sharing the stage. He did get some hilarity out of watching George Duke split his pants and go running off stage for a new pair!

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #52 on:** October 04, 2010, 09:08:10 PM »

Edwin, that was a insider from Stanley's own mouth when he said he'd ran circles around other musicians in the band. I am still trying to figure out what band was he talking about, but one thing for sure it sure was not McCoy Tyner and Roland Kirk. Maybe Stanley was referring to the 80's when he was playing pop...

What a terrible period for the bass.

edwin · « **Reply #53 on:** October 04, 2010, 09:31:25 PM »

Ah yes, what was the band he had with Keith Richards? The New Barbarians? I guess having only seen him with his band and in jazz contexts, I had forgotten about some of the other projects. (I'm trying to remember the pianist I saw him with at a jazz fest in the 80s, it was either Herbie or Chick. It was the first time I saw him on upright and when I saw no Alembic on stage, I was initially disappointed. That lasted about 30 seconds into the first tune!).

Still, there was some cool stuff going on with the bass in the 80s. I saw some great shows featuring folks like Bootsy, Robbie Shakespeare, Richard Davis, Tony Levin, Kim Clarke, Steve Swallow, Victor Bailey, Fima Ephron, etc. etc.

jacko · « **Reply #54 on:** October 05, 2010, 01:53:24 AM »

Hal. You say What a terrible period for the bass.. I can't think of any statement that's less accurate than this and if you truly believe this then you are really limiting your listening pleasure. The 80's was a fantastic decade for music that saw the the rise of the bass in many genres. If we concentrate on 'Pop', Stanley's 'Find Out' album is, in my opinion, one of his more accessible offerings which brought him to the attention of the general public, not just bassists and jazz aficionados. We also saw the rise in popularity of 'Slap' bass, primarily through mark King in Level 42. Pino Palladino's fretless work was a prominent feature of 80's pop as was John Taylor's (dare I say) funky fingerstyle. Billy Sheehan rose to prominence with talas and the DLR band in the 80's. In fact, there were loads of prominent bassists in the 80's putting out some pretty driving lines - i'm thinking of bands like Bon jovi, Big Country, Crowded House, jamiroquai, Yes, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Living color etc. The list is endless. The point is, you need to open your ears and listen - there's some really great music out there that was played by some really great bassists. Just because it's not 'The Funk' doesn't make it bad.

Graeme

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #55 on:** October 05, 2010, 07:17:42 AM »

We also saw the rise in popularity of 'Slap' bass, primarily through mark King in Level 42...

Haaahaaaaa!

Peace and Love,

Hal-

jacko · « **Reply #56 on:** October 05, 2010, 07:27:08 AM »

I stand by that statement Hal. I doubt if many non-musos would be aware of larry graham etc playing slap. In fact I doubt if many musicians on my side of the water were aware of Slap bass at all until Level 42 started appearing on our TVs and Radios. Remember, this was long before the internet and the only exposure we had to music over here was top-of-the-pops who (obviously) catered for pop fans, and the old grey whistle test which was a late night programme that only featured stanley once as far as I can remember. Here's an example... I wasn't aware of Stanley until around 1979 and when I tried discussing him with other musicians the general consensus was that he was a failed guitarist trying too hard. Obviously not true but this was the feeling from the majority of my musician acquaintances.

Graeme

edwin · « **Reply #57 on:** October 05, 2010, 04:26:04 PM »

I think it might have to do with where you grew up. Pretty much everyone I knew in the 70s had a copy of School Days (and Jaco's first record). I don't remember where I heard slap bass for the first time (Bros. Johnson? Bootsy?), but the first record that I was able to listen to and start to really cop some of the licks was from listening to Johnny B. Gayden on Albert Collin's Frozen Alive record. I saw him a few years later and that dude is a monster. Perhaps it was because it was Boston and there were some Berklee people there, but he did extensive quoting of Jaco and Stanley and made both of their licks a lot more danceable! That was in the 80s! No, the 80s didn't suck. I also saw Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey and his Inter-Reformers in the 80s and he had 2 bass players! I might have sucked in the 80s, but there were lots of others who didn't.

toma_hawk01 · « **Reply #58 on:** October 05, 2010, 08:02:38 PM »

It's just like the British Invasion... It was never an invasion for me, but whatever works.

Hal-

charles_holmes · « **Reply #59 on:** October 07, 2010, 04:19:58 PM »

I happen to view the comment I was playing rings around everyone that Clarke made during an interview. My impression was that he was referring to the formative yrs before he was recognized/known