While this CD didn't have the vibe of our first record together, it was vastly superior to the second CD. There was a lot of raw energy coupled with orchestration finesse. That's what Clarke/Duke is about - sweet and sour! ~ George Duke
Import 25 CD boxset containing 25 of the finest Jazz albums ever released. Each album is packaged in a card wallet, and the box set includes a 40 page booklet in both English and French. The collection contains the following albums: Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown; Dave Brubeck - Jazz Goes To College; Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats; Miles Davis - Round About Midnight; Various Artists - The Sound Of Jazz; Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um; Sonny Rollins - The Bridge; Paul Desmond - Desmond Blue; Thelonious Monk - Underground; Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life; Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire…
This unique straight-ahead jazz project unites three core members of Return to Forever with post-bop horn heavyweights Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. Stanley Clarke makes an unusual appearance on upright bass, and plays it well. Chick Corea and Lenny White round out the ensemble. The set is strictly acoustic, beginning and ending with two Lenny White tunes, the lively "L's Bop" and the somber, dramatic "Guernica," respectively. Clarke contributes the catchy, mid-tempo blues "Why Wait," while Corea gives us "October Ballade" and Hubbard dusts off his hard-bop classic "Happy Times." Corea's trio featured on Steve Swallow's "Remember" breaks things up nicely.
Stanley Clarke and George Duke,two musical titans who'd worked together for years finaly get around to doing a duo album, namely one that emphasises the funk that both artist's regular releases tended to skim over and considering funk is both artists best asset,that's a wonderful thing.