The Stanley Clarke Band Featuring Hiromi found the electric/acoustic bassist extraordinaire revisiting his fusion past, in a continuation of 2007’s The Toys of Men. In a way, it was also an extension from 2009’s acoustic-trio recording Jazz In the Garden, because Japanese piano wunderkind Hiromi Uehara was held over from that trio.
Despite only playing a part-time role, she still got the “featuring” billing with the new Stanley Clarke Band. Drummer Ronald Bruner and keyboardist Ruslan Sirota likewise remained from The Toys of Men band, but there were also plenty of guest guitarists, horn players and vocalists. Lenny White, a cohort in Return to Forever and on Jazz In the Garden, served as the album’s producer, along with Clarke himself.
Released on June 15, 2010, The Stanley Clarke Band Featuring Hiromi was, first and foremost, real fusion. No smooth jazzin’ here. The playing was virtuosic – starting with Stanley Clarke – and the compositions were ambitious or fun, and occasionally both.
[SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: Stanley Clarke joins us to discuss how he became the first bassist to headline tours and craft gold-selling solo projects.]
The program was nice and varied. Clarke even hauled out the old talk box for some tracks and made it sound as funky as it did during the bell-bottom days. “I Wanna Play For You Too” is what I’m talkin’ about when it comes to old-school funk, and the remake of Return to Forever’s “No Mystery” did the elaborate piece justice.
Occasionally, the ambition went a little too far (“Sonny Rollins”), but The Stanley Clarke Band Featuring Hiromi was blissfully devoid of cringe-inducers. In fact, it proved once again that Clarke can deliver a substantial jazz-fusion record whenever he sets his mind to it.
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