Guitarist Stanley Clark

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Stanley Clarke

Clark was born in Philadelphia in 1951. Clarke's mother was his first musical influence as she was a professional operatic singer and as a child he often heard as singing around the house.

Violin lessons start around the age of 12 but because of his height and having long fingers is causing problems trying to play violin. He tried the shallow and had the same difficulties with a double bass one day convinced him that this is the right sized instrument for him.

By a tiny 16 he had started playing the bass guitar and his interests read music such as Wagner, Bach, James Brown, Hendrix, Beatles, and Sly.

Luckily continued his classical studies it was also playing in popular music groups in his local area. After high school he went to the Philadelphia musical Academy took a course covering symphonic  double bass playing. After the Academy he moved to New York and successfully auditioned for the jazz pianist in Horace Silver's group staying over a year.

At the beginning of the 70s he met Chick Corea and led the first line up of Return to you For Ever and recorded an album with the same name.

At this time Rick Turner showed Clarke his early two octave ALEMBIC bass guitars. This instrument with its long sky or active electronics and long sustain gave a rich sound and convince Clarke to make him a custom instrument thus initiating a combination that resulted in this distinctive sound. Return to forEver enjoy considerable success and by 1976 Clarke had become something of a legion. His Stanley Clarke solo album is accepted as an all time masterpiece he went on to perform his own group as well is work with Jeff Beck, George Duke and the Barbarians and with each Keith Richards.