Label: Heads Up
Jazz
Electric jazz and bass fans already know what S.M.V. stands for but for those new to the thick strings it is a super-group combing Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten, for their first release Thunder. “Super Group” is a term that gets thrown around a bit loosely, but no one can argue with this trio’s credentials. Miller produced the album and being the most “commercial” of the bunch, he gives Thunder a slick, easy listening R&B vibe; but when Clark and Wooten bring the funk on tracks like “Lopsy Lu-Silly Putty” and “Hillbillies on a Quiet Afternoon Stroll,” it is impossible not to shake it. Rippling fret runs accent all of the tunes as the trio show off their chops, and while there are a few guests, if you are not a bass lover this one isn’t for you.
Unfortunately, most super groups end up being self indulgent and S.M.V. are no exception (almost all of the tracks here run on too long), but the trio isn’t looking to broaden their fan base, they are looking to cut loose and flex their four strings which they do admirably on tracks like “Classic Thump” and “Mongoose Walk.” If these giants of the groove want to bring the Thunder whose to argue with them?
By Shawn Donohue.
**
The three played together in October 2006 at the Bass Player Live! Concert in NYC and quickly realized that there was room for them to operate together rather than compete with each other. Each of us has reached a certain point and I think that we are all celebrating what we've accomplished with the bass, says Clarke. This record is a picture of three guys moving forward, both as individuals and as a group. But Thunder isn't just about the lower frequencies keyboardists Chick Corea and George Duke and trumpeter Michael Patches Stewart join in on the CD. On Thunder, Miller revisits his classic Tutu, Clarke samples “Lopsy Lu" and all three contribute new work.
Jazz/funk fans can also expect selections from their individual current efforts - Clarke's The Toys of Men, Miller's Marcus and Wooten's Palmystery.
Stanley Clarke exploded into the jazz world in 1971 when he left his Philly roots for NYC and immediately landed gigs with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and a budding pianist/composer named Chick Corea. They all recognized his ferocious dexterity and ability to propel the bass into a viable melodic soloist role. These attributes bore fruit when Clarke and Corea formed the seminal jazz-fusion band Return to Forever. They recorded eight albums, two of which went gold and one winning a Grammy.
Clarke single-handedly started the 1970s “bass revolution," paving the way for all bassist/ soloist/bandleaders to follow with 1974s release of his eponymous Stanley Clarke album, which featured the crossover hit, “Lopsy Lu." In 1976 he released School Days, its title track now a bona fide bass anthem. He teamed with George Duke, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and more - was Rolling Stone's first Jazzman of the Year - and bass winner of Playboy's Music Award for 10 straight years. In recent years, Clarke turned his boundless creative energy to film and TV scoring. In April 2008, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Philadelphia's University of the Arts, his alma mater.
Marcus Miller came from a musical family in Jamaica, NY. By age 13, he was already proficient on clarinet and piano and had begun composing, but bass guitar was his true passion. As a teen, he worked regularly in NYC bands and soon played and wrote for flutist Bobbi Humphrey and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith. Miller spent the next few years as a top studio musician, working with Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Grover Washington Jr., among others.
In 1981, he joined his boyhood idol Miles Davis and spent two years with the fabled star. “He didn't settle for anything mediocre," Miller recalls. “And this helped me develop my style. In 1986, Miller collaborated again with Davis, producing the landmark Tutu album, the first of three Davis albums he produced. He appeared as a bassist on over 400 recordings by artists as diverse as Joe Sample, McCoy Tyner, Mariah Carey, Bill Withers, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Frank Sinatra, LL Cool J and Luther Vandross. Solo albums include 1993's The Sun Don't Lie, 1995's Tales and M2 ("M-squared"), which earned him the 2001 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Following his stunning show at the Keswick in April, Victor Wooten is back for the thunder. Regarded as one of the most influential bassists since the late Jaco Pastorius, Wooten is known for both his solo work and tours and as a member of Grammy-winners Bla Fleck & The Flecktones.
Wooten released his acclaimed solo debut, A Show of Hands in 1996. Momentum and accolades built with touring and the release of What Did He Say? in 1997, the Grammy-nominated Yin-Yang in 1999 and Live In America in 2001. He won two Nashville Music Awards for Bassist of the Year and is the only three-time winner of Bass Player magazines Bass Player of the Year. With the honors came gigs with Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Chick Corea, Dave Matthews and Prince. The April release of his Palmystery CD coincided with the release of his novel, “The Music Lesson", the story of a struggling young musician visited by a mysterious music teacher who guides him through a spiritual journey in music and life.
The theme in Wooten's novel may well serve as a prelude to the one-time concert experience that is SMV The Thunder Tour a spiritual journey in music!
By AAJ.
**
Thunder includes guest artists Butterscotch, Chick Corea, George Duke, Patches Stewart and more.
In the hot days of August, a low rumbling sound off in the distant sky usually means something powerful is rolling in. This summer, when an ominous reverberation makes its way across the landscape and rocks everything in its path, be ready for a storm of a different kind.
Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten - each a powerful force of nature in his own right - have done more in recent decades to redefine the electric bass and push the limits of its potential than any other musician alive today. When these three titans - collectively known as S.M.V. - converge on the low frequencies, the results are no less than earth shaking. Thunder (HUCD 3163), their debut collaboration set for release on Heads Up International on August 12, 2008, is a high-energy phenomenon whose impact is guaranteed to resonate throughout every corner of the jazz world.
Three bass heroes: Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten. Clarke is the veteran who helped define jazz-rock. Miller is the master producer who revitalised Miles Davis in the 1980s. Wooten is the driving force behind the Flecktones' Grammy-winning roots-jazz. The packaging of Thunder shows its stars as road warriors, brandishing bass guitars in front of a deserted highway. This might seem an unfortunate metaphor for the contents: strutting, posing and headed for the vanishing point. Fortunately, there's enough ingenuity and fun to keep your interest. Spacious grooves (Mongoose Walk, Lopsy Lu/Silly Putty) leave just enough room to hear what's happening, and if you've ever wanted to hear three basses in harmony, Lil' Victa has all the ponderous grace of dancing hippos. Thunder is all about showing off, but maybe SMV have earned the right.
By John L. Walters, The Guardian.
**
Stanley Clarke: Bass, Electric Bass
Marcus Miller: Bass Clarinet, Synthesizer, Electric Bass
Victor Wooten: Electric Bass
Antoinette Butterscotch- Vocals in “Pendulum”
Chick Corea- Piano in “Mongoose Walk”
and
George Duke, Ruslan Sirota, Karlton Taylor- Keyboards
Patches Stewart- Trumpet
Steve Baxter- Trombón
Ronald Bruner Jr, Poogie Bell, Derico Watson- Drums
Kevin Ricard- Percusión
**
01.SMV
02.Thunder
03.Hillbillies On A Quiet Afternoon
04.Mongoose Walk
05.Los Tres Hermanos
06.Medley: Lopsy Lu/Silly Putty
07.Milano
08.Interlude: Classical Thump/Where's Stanley?
09.Tutu
10.Lil Victa
11.Pendulum
12.Interlude: 'Lemme Try Ya Bass'
13.Grits
**
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