The wide ranging tastes and talents of bass guitar guru Stanley Clarke are in full display on this disc with not only his regular band of Paul Jackson Jr/g, Ruslan Sirota/key and Ronald Bruner Jr/dr but a collection of stars and stripes forever in tracks ranging from one to over a dozen artists. He shows his tasty chops in the spotlight on solos on a series of “Bass Folk Songs” while a duet with Chick Corea on “La Cancio De Sofia” is nothing short of inspiring. Exciting and exuberant sounds sizzle on the upbeat homage to George Duke on “Brazilian Love Affair” while a bit of the Fabulous Flames catches on fire on “Pop Vigil.” Some feisty testosterone is bouncing around on the macho “Up” (with guest guitar by Joe Walsh) and “I Have Something To Tell You Tonight” (including Kamasi Washington’s searing sax” while the gentle side of all things Clarke is as soft as a baby’s bottom on the string and vocal laden “Last Train to Sanity.” It’s gonna be a fun gig when he comes to town with these tunes!
Mack Avenue Records