Stanley Clarke: 1,2, To The Bass (2003)

Philadelphia-born bassist Stanley Clarke is a first-generation fusionist who burst on the scene with Return to Forever in the '70s. From then to now, he recorded a number of critically-acclaimed recordings that encompassed jazz, rock, r&b, and funk with George Duke, Al DiMeola, and Lenny White. On this CD, Clarke is joined by Duke, guitarist Joe Satriani, saxophonist Everette Harp, flautist Hubert Laws, violinist Dr. L Subramaniam, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. The title track features the hip-hop contributions of Q-Tip, while "Just Cruzin'" is Clarke's straight-ahead, piccolo bass shout to Wes Montgomery. "I Shall Not Be Moved" is a spiritual piece co-produced by Quincy Jones, featuring Oprah Winfrey reciting lines from a Maya Angelou poem. But "About the Bass" is Clarke's eight-minute long tour-de-force where he reminds everybody, in no uncertain terms, that he's still king of the lower frequencies. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Tracklist:
1. 1, 2, To the Bass (featuring Q-Tip) 5:57  
2. Simply Said 4:34  
3. Where Is The Love (featuring Glenn Lewis & Amel Larrieux) 4:06
4. Anna (She Loves The Good Life) 5:01
5. Los Caballos (The Horses) 4:41 
6. Just Cruizin' 4:26 
7. 'Bout the Bass 7:32 
8. Hair 5:14
9. Touch 6:03  
10. Todos Los Ninos (All the Children) 4:57 
11. I Shall Not Be Moved 6:37 
12. Shanti, Peace, Paz 5:53
Personnel:
Stanley Clarke – Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass, Tenor Bass, Piano, Vocals
Q-Tip - Spoken Word, Co-producer (track #1)
John "J.R." Robinson - Drums
Doug Webb - Saxophone
Michael Hart Thompson - Guitar
Amel Larrieux - Vocals
Reggie C. Young - Trombone
Myron McKinley - Keyboards
Oprah Winfrey - Spoken Word
Gerry "The Gov" Brown - Drums
Glenn Lewis - Vocals
Doctor L. Subramaniam - Violin
James Earl - Bass
Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums
Reggie Hamilton - Bass
Everette Harp - Saxophone, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Alto)
Michael Hunter - Trumpet
Paul Jackson, Jr. - Guitar
Bob Leatherbarrow - Vibraphone
Armand Sabal-Lecco - Bass
Joe Satriani - Guitar
George Duke - Keyboards, Wurlitzer
Hubert Laws - Flute
Dre and Vidal – Co-producer (track #3)
Quincy Jones – Co-producer (track #11)
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FLAC / 408 Mb
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Chick Corea: The Ultimate Adventure (2006)

Just as some books need to be edited for length, so do some albums inspired by works of literature. At least that's the case with The Ultimate Adventure, Chick Corea's second straight album project derived from a novel by his late Scientology mentor L. Ron Hubbard. Dubbed a tone poem by Corea, the nearly 75-minute work has some of his airiest, most cooly fluent music in some time. With its distinctive electric piano punctuation and contributions by flutist Hubert Laws and RTF percussionist Airto Moreira, the lyrical passages have echoes of his much-loved band of the seventies, Return to Forever. And the Spanish tinge for which he is known gravitates winningly south to Arabic North Africa. Ultimately, though, not all of the album's chapters are equally lively: the "Adventure" goes on a bit much for those who aren't using it as a soundtrack to the plot about a boy on a self-actualization quest, and even for some who are. But Corea has never negotiated the acoustic-electric (or, in his parlance, akoustic/elektric) divide as well as he does here and his ability to command a large cast including saxophonist Tim Garland and guitarist Frank Gambale is impressive. --Lloyd Sachs

Tracklist:
1. Three Ghouls-Part 1 1:38
2. Three Ghouls-Part 2 4:02
3. Three Ghouls-Part 3 3:11
4. City Of Brass 6:38
5. Queen Tedmur 5:15
6. El Stephen-Part 1 6:39
7. El Stephen-Part 2 1:47
8. King & Queen 6:06
9. Moseb The Executioner-Part 1 1:39
10. Moseb The Executioner-Part 2 2:20
11. Moseb The Executioner-Part 3 1:54
12. North Africa 6:24
13. Flight From Karoof-Part 1 6:11
14. Flight From Karoof-Part 2 1:35
15. Plane Of Existence-Part 1 5:25
16. Arabian Nights-Part 1 4:31   
17. Arabian Nights-Part 2 2:38
18. Gods & Devils 2:15  
19. Plane Of Existence-Part 2 2:52
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FLAC / 501 Mb
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