If This Bass Could Only Talk in Bloomington, MN

This was bassist
Stanley Clarke's
twelfth solo set, and one of his very few that would be recommended to jazz (as opposed to funk and R&B) listeners. On the instrumental set,
Clarke's
bass is featured in a wide variety of settings, including duets with tap dancer
Gregory Hines
and drummer
John Robinson
, a quartet with
Wayne Shorter
(
"Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"
), in a power trio with guitarist
Allan Holdsworth
Stewart Copeland
, a piece with
George Duke
(on acoustic piano for a change) and soprano saxophonist
George Howard
, a quartet with the synthesizers of
Steve Hunt
, and "Funny How Time Flies," which has a colorful
Freddie Hubbard
trumpet solo. Throughout,
bass has plenty of solo space, and he shows how strong a player he can be when given decent material. ~ Scott Yanow