Jazz fusion can be a mixed bag; when it works, it captures the
\nthrill of both jazz and rock, but when it doesn’t, it sounds like a
\nwatered down combination of both. This new compilation of Stanley
\nClarke’s previous work, with two brand new songs added, has plenty
\nof examples of both good and bad fusion.<\/p>\n
The CD starts off well with the excellent “School Days.” This
\nsong starts off with a catchy bass riff amid some guitar squall
\nfrom Ray Gomez, then Clarke stretches out with some nice
\nimprovising. Clarke also rocks on “Hello Jeff” and “Rock And Roll
\nJelly” which feature former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. These
\ntwo songs show that Clarke can more than handle a straight rock
\nbass line, although it is Beck who really dominates here.<\/p>\n
The CD ends with a bang on the ambitious piece “Life Suite.”
\nThere are four parts on what can be called a fusion symphony.
\nClarke employs a brass and string section and features some nice
\nwork by drummer Tony Williams. The first part brings the whole
\norchestra together with a vocal by Clarke himself, the second part
\nhas Clarke and Bill Connors in a fast and furious bass and guitar
\nduel, the third part is very funky and boasts some inventive bass
\nlines, and the fourth part brings back the orchestra on a variation
\nof the original theme.<\/p>\n
However, the collection is dominated by funk-flavored tunes and
\nthey are a mixed bag. “The Mothership Connection” is a nifty little
\ntribute to George Clinton and his band Parliament. “Silly Putty”
\nand “Hot Fun” are funky but also leave room to feature Clarke’s
\nplaying. On the other hand, “We Supply” and “I Wanna Play For You”
\nare pretty lame, and not worthy of Clarke’s talents. “Wild Dog” is
\na little better only because it is unexciting instead of tacky.<\/p>\n
Even the two new tunes are a mixed bag. Both suggest that Clarke
\nhas been listening to new age music quite a bit. “Lost In Thought”
\nis a pretty,melodic tune, but the lifeless “Between Love &
\nMagic” only proves that between love and magic, there is
\nboredom.<\/p>\n
Another problem with
\nThe Bass-ic Collection<\/i> is not so much what is onit as what
\nis missing. I would have liked to have heard a sample of Clarke
\ndoing straight jazz. Where, for example is his work with
\nsaxophonist Wayne Shorter or violinist Jean-Luc Ponty? And why did
\nthe people at Sony not add at least one cut from Clarke’s seminal
\nfusion band, Return To Forever?<\/p>\n
While
\nThe Bass-ic Collection<\/i> has some choice cuts, there is just
\nway too much fat on it with its emphasis on bland pop. For a better
\nintroduction to Clarke, I would suggest checking out his
\nSchool Days<\/i> CD.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":27619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7404],"rating":[5619],"class_list":["post-38994","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stanley-clarke","rating-rating-c"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38994"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}