Music Review: Stanley Clarke Acoustic Trio with Hiromi & Lenny White: Jazz in the Garden (Heads Up CD)

Stepping outside their familiar, comfortable context can be a risky proposition even for the most established musicians, and they don’t come more established than bassist Stanley Clarke. The jazz/fusion legend is one of the best-known electric bass guitar players in the world who’s appeared on countless albums as a solo artist, member of Return to Forever and other bands, and in collaborations like the Duke/Clarke Project and SMV. So when you’ve done it all, what do you do next? In Clarke’s case, you go to the basics, as he does on what’s billed as his first acoustic trio solo release, Jazz in the Garden. It’s just Stanley on standup bass, up-and-coming pianist Hiromi and RTF drummer Lenny White. That’s it. And as you’d expect from talent of this level, the results are predictably terrific. Fortunately, the trio has come up with sparkling originals like the opener "Paradigm Shift" and chosen covers that are up to thier talents. While I miss the distinctive elastic tone Clarke achieves on electric bass, he more than holds his own on the acoustic instrument. White locks in with his longtime rhythm partner like no one else and has some great moments here where he drives the trio with his acrobatic drumming, such as on the spry "Take the Coltrane." And both Clarke and White give Hiromi plenty of space to conjure up some stunning 88-key improvisations. It’s no surprise Clarke chose to team up with this gifted player. The recording is clean, giving the instruments lots of breathing room. Dim the lights, spin this on your system and you’ll swear you’re in a smoky jazz club. This thing swings!