Track Listing

1. Paradigm Shift (Election Day 2008)
2. Sakura Sakura
3. Sicilian Blue
4. Take The Coltrane
5. 3 Wrong Notes
6. Someday My Prince Will Come
7. Isotope
8. Bass Folk Song No. 5&6
9. Global Tweak (Improvised Duet)
10. Solar
11. Brain Training
12. Under The Bridge

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18218 in Music
• Released on: 2009-06-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

BBC Music Magazine, (Barry Witherden), August 2009
(5 stars) The album works splendidly...excellent selection of tunes...Clarke displays his skill, scrumptious acoustic tone and melodic adeptness.

The Sunday Times, (Clive Davis), June 28, 2009
(4 stars) Hiromi proves a remarkably understated foil, as does the drummer Lenny White...some dapper originals rub shoulders with intelligent covers.

CD Description
When jazz bassist Stanley Clarke began his career, he played chiefly acoustic bass (on recordings with Pharoah Sanders and Chick Corea, for just two examples). While his dexteritywith the electric variety is where he achieved renown, Clarke never abandoned his original instrument. JAZZ IN THE GARDEN is a seminal disc in his career--this is the first time Clarke has recorded a session on acoustic bass as a leader. For GARDEN, he is joined by two mates with heavy fusion credentials--drummer Lenny White (from their electric Return To Forever days) and Japanese pianist Hiromi. As much as White can lay down the funky beats, he can also summon brilliant subtlety. And Hiromi can dazzle as brightly as Chick Corea at his most colorful, true, but here she plays with almost folk-like simplicity and lyricism.

Customer Reviews

JAZZ TRIUMVIRATE'S GREAT ACOUSTICAL SET
Five ACOUSTICAL Stars!! This is a jazz Triumvirate bristling with freshness, inventiveness, and new musical horizons. Jazz bass colossus Stanley Clarke formed this trio with his old 'Return to Forever' (RTF) drum wizard stablemate Lenny White and the enormously gifted Japanese jazz keyboard artist Hiromi. Mr Clarke is on both acoustical upright double bass and acoustical bass guitar. Messrs Clarke and White are indelibly linked historically with splendid 'RTF' keyboard titan Chick Corea. If your haven't heard Hiromi before, she is influenced both by Chick Corea (see Duet (Chick Corea & Hiromi) and piano legend Ahmad Jamal, and is a formidable pianist/synth artist who leads her own high-energy dynamic groups, such as 'Sonic Boom' as heard on Time Control. Despite the players individual electric roots, these performances are all acoustical (and Clarke 'ups the ante' playing shoulder-slung acoustical bass guitar on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge"). The repertoire consists of jazz fusion, standards, bebop, funk, and Japanese fusion impressionism and everyone is in superb form.

The 'best of the best' begin with the incredible "Global Tweak" with Clarke and Hiromi getting off some prodigious solos amid their interactions, with White sitting out. The most successful performances begin with the very programmatic "Paradign Shift" and and the shimmering "Sakura Sakura". "Brain Training" is wonderfully complex and finds Hiromi swinging hard as Clarke and White push her along and solo in their own right. The beautiful, flowing ballad "Sicilian Blue" has Clarke bowing in a rare beautiful demonstration of his superb acro abilities before Hiromi breaks free for a great but brief solo. "Someday My Prince Will Come" is a huge Clarke solo with ethereal backing. "Take the Coltrane" has Stanley and Lenny in a wonderful dialogue that is a 'wink back' to the legendary interaction of Trane's guys Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. The attractive theme "3 Wrong Notes" has a great solo by Hiromi, showing the influences of Bud, Bird, and Bill pushed by Stanley's idiomatic walking ability. Joe Henderson's "Isotope" is hard-swinging trio joy and Hiromi's left hand, soloing at times, is amazing showing her true ambidextrous ability that puts her in a special class of keyboard wizardry. This is an outstanding trio performance that works on many levels: individually, collectively, and compositionally: wonderfully recorded with all players at a clear, high level on the CD soundscape. Kudos to all concerned. This CD is Highly Recommended. Five EMPATHETIC Stars!

Absolutely brilliant `fusion' jazz
I enjoyed reading the review by RBSProds, whose background knowledge of the musicians playing here is obviously far, far better than mine. Although I have had an interest in jazz since the 1960s, it is not my main musical interest. It is a little unusual for me to listen to a new jazz CD and enjoy every single track, but I certainly did with this album. The selection of pieces is excellent and varied and the standard of musicianship throughout is breathtakingly good. I have seen Hiromi's playing, which always fascinates me, described as 'fusion', but if it is 'fusion' then that label certainly does not make it any less powerful as jazz. Her style of playing to me seems to perfectly compliment the acoustic bass playing of Stanley Clarke, and as well as playing superbly she has contributed some fine compositions and arrangements to the excellent selection on the album. With such a selection, it is difficult to choose a favourite track, but mine would probably be Sakura, this trio's take on a Japanese traditional tune. I have heard this arranged for classical guitar many times over the years, the set of variations by Japanese composer Yuquijiro Yocoh being the most well known. The arrangement on this CD is superb and played impeccably. The acoustic bass does not have the restriction of frets and is able to play the microtones necessary to give the distinctly oriental sound to the scales and harmonies used. One thing that did strike me listening to it a few times, was that the bass playing style, to me, was very reminiscent of the relaxed folk-jazz style of Danny Thompson in his 1960s-70s 'Pentangle' days. But I don't expect everyone will hear it that way!

Overall, a superb CD which I would highly recommend.