Stanley Kuberik

The Toys of Men is a mature work from an artist who’s got nothing left to prove, and is the closest thing to a fusion album Clarke’s released since the inconsistent collaborative effort Vertu (Epic, 1999). A far more satisfying disc, it’s a career consolidation of sorts, with Clarke also delivering a series of lyrical solo acoustic bass miniatures, referencing past efforts while, at the same time, playing with considerably more restraint.

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.

A brilliant player on both acoustic and electric basses, Stanley Clarke has spent much of his career outside of jazz, although he has the ability to play jazz with the very best. He played accordion as a youth, switching to violin and cello before settling on bass. He worked with R&B and rock bands in high school, but after moving to New York, he worked with Pharoah Sanders in the early '70s. George Duke showed a great deal of promise early in his career as a jazz pianist and keyboardist, but has forsaken that form to be a pop producer.

Stanley Turrentine still has a sweeter sound than any other saxophonist, even at the age of 65. It's a joy to hear him play, even when the material is a little faceless and the sound is a little too smooth, as it is on Do You Have Any Sugar? Since Turrentine is a fine musician, there are moments to cherish scattered throughout the record - the spare, soulful ballad "Far Too Little Love" or the R&B groove of "Back in the Day" or the bluesy "2 RBs," for instance - but it often veers too close to smooth jazz territory, especially when vocalist Niki Harris takes the center stage; she is a fine vocalist, but the style of the music becomes too close to crossover jazz whenever she's on the scene…

As the man who wrote the liner notes says, Stanley Turrentine may be the only Texas tenor player to come out of Pittsburgh - and you can hear several of the reasons why in this distillation of his Blue Note dates from 1960 to 1966, plus a grand leap all the way to 1984. Though his sound can be heard as early as the fairly conventional "Little Sheri," the real soulful Turrentine begins to emerge in "Since I Fell for You" with the 3 Sounds, and really explodes in the splendid "River's Invitation," thanks in large part to Oliver Nelson's great chart and Herbie Hancock's irresistible comping. "Smiley Stacy" is a Les McCann blues swinger that inspires a tough, characteristically pointed solo from Turrentine and some real burning from McCann and bassist Herbie Lewis - and he digs deeply into "God Bless the Child," with then-wife Shirley Scott acting cool and caressing on the Hammond organ…

If you are an electric bass player, this album will keep you busy for a while, listening to Mr. Clarke's excellent work. His range of tone qualities and techniques are amply exhibited here. This is a showcase for Stanley Clarke's virtuosity, and really an encyclopedia of the state of electric bass technique at the end of the 20th century.

Right after the release of the first Clarke/Duke Project LP Stanley Clarke and George Duke both decided to take a musical break from each other and do a pair of solo albums without the participation of the other.Duke produced 'Dream On' while Clarke produced this album 'Let Me Know You',both in 1982. Both albums are very much funky pop/R&B vocal albums with some curious differences. 'Let Me Know You' is the slightly more jazz oriented of the two and as always, Clarke is not quite as experienced (or communicative) as Duke.The songwriting is extremely strong and three "Straight From The Heart","I Just Want To Be Your Brother","The Force Of Love" and the pounding "New York City" find Clarke moving away from hardcore jazz-rock fusion and into the world of tighter,more carefully crafted and arranged R&B, funk and pop.