The 67th Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) will feature two top-tier bassists this year. Stanley Clarke is a groundbreaking artist who played a seminal role in the creation of a new musical genre in the 1970s. Kyle Eastwood is a leader of a later generation of player/composers who is also charting new paths in jazz.
Stanley Clarke
A Philadelphia son, young Clarke was struggling to play violin with his outsized hands when he laid eyes on an upright bass gathering dust in the corner. He quickly gained proficiency on the instrument and soon added an electric bass to his arsenal. Relocating to New York after leaving the Philadelphia Musical Academy, he soon found himself working with jazz greats such as Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Pharaoh Saunders, Art Blakey and the man with whom he would pioneer the nascent field of fusion jazz, Chick Corea.
The band they formed, Return to Forever (RTF), took the early 1970s by storm, bringing jazz-influenced music to arenas around the globe. For his part, Clarke took his chosen instrument to new heights, putting the bass front and center and demonstrating that, in the right hands, it can stand shoulder to shoulder with traditional solo instruments like horns and keyboards as a strong and inventive solo voice.
Following RTF, Clarke embarked on a remarkable solo career that continues to this day. Early solo records “Stanley Clarke” and “School Days” are studied endlessly by bass students worldwide. The list of artists he has recorded and toured with over the decades is a Who’s Who of the jazz world.
Stanley Clarke brings his new lineup N•4EVER to MJF Saturday, September 28, on the Jimmy Lyons Stage. He is also the recipient of this year’s MJF Jazz Legends Award to be presented at the 15th Annual Gala on on September 26.
Kyle Eastwood
Eastwood is a Carmel native who attended his first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1977 with his father, film legend Clint. “I saw the Count Basie Big Band,” he says. He was 9, and didn’t have a particular interest in playing jazz, but he was a regular attendee for years afterward. “As I heard more and more, I became more interested in the music.”
He started his musical journey on piano, then moved to electric bass as a teen, playing Motown and rock ‘n’ roll with friends. Moving on to jazz and the upright bass, he counts Paul Chambers, Ray Brown and Ron Carter as early influences. “When I got serious, I studied with French bassist Bunny Brunel in LA.”
This year will mark Eastwood’s 10th appearance at MJF, dating back to 1994, and will be a special presentation showcasing his newest release, “Eastwood Symphonic.” This is an extraordinary recording in that the bassist has chosen to honor his father by reinterpreting the music from the elder Eastwood’s most beloved films, including “Dirty Harry,” “A Fistful of Dollars,” “Bridges of Madison County,” “Letters from Iwo Jima” and others.
It’s a collaboration between Eastwood, his quintet and Luxembourgian composer and arranger Gast Waltzing, who will be conducting 45 Monterey Symphony musicians. “I met Gast in Paris,” Eastwood says. “He’s the perfect guy for this project because he’s also a trumpet player and straddles jazz and classical music.”
Monterey Symphony President and CEO Nicola Reilly says an event like this has been on the radar for quite some time. “Colleen Bailey [MJF executive director] and I have kicked around the idea of a collaboration for years,” Reilly says. Artistic Director Darin Atwater’s background is full of symphonic and jazz fusions. “When Darin brought Kyle’s ‘Symphonic’ idea to me, we jumped on it and raised the funds for the orchestra in 10 days. It’s the power of community: get the right people in the room, empower them to make a decision and this is what you get.”
After performing several times in Europe, Eastwood’s “Symphonic” will make its American debut Sunday, September 29, at 5 pm on the Jimmy Lyons Stage. His quintet will also appear at the Pacific Jazz Café, Saturday, September 28, in “Conversation: Songs for My Father.”
The 67th Monterey Jazz Festival continues its tradition of presenting the world’s most interesting and eclectic jazz artists in a wide range of styles. Other artists performing include Samara Joy, José James, Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, Blind Boys of Alabama, Mavis Staples, Lila Downs and many more great acts.
The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place September 27-29 at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center, located at 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey. For more information, visit www.montereyjazzfestival.org or call 831/373-3366.