Clarke/Duke 3 Project
(1990)
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!! The year was 1990.
In the end we probably should have stuck to our original idea of having the record built around our talents instead of diluting the music with so many other musical personalities. Well, they say hindsight is 20/20. This record, in sheer energy alone, really reminds me of our live performances though.
I won't go through the songs one by one, but let me mention that our drummer was Dennis Chambers, who is incredible!!
One deep change on this record was the presence of rappers on "No Place To Hide." On the same tune is a young Rahsaan Paterson. He was a teenager at this time, I think around 15 years old.
Another great moment on this CD is "Mothership Connection." I called all my buddies that were in town and told them to come on down to the studio and bring their thang wit um! Besides being funky, we had the opportunity of working with George Clinton on the video.
One of my favorite tunes is "Right By My Side," written by Stanley, with Gerald Alston singing the vocal. I love his passion and delivery. Now that's what singin' is all about!
"Lady" was another ballad in the style of "Sweet Baby." A real nice tune with one of my better vocal performances on record.
The interesting thing about "Find Out Who You Are," besides the subject matter, is the appearance of Joe Henderson on tenor sax and Wayne Shorter on Soprano Sax. Stanley and I spent many hours working on the environment for this tune, which were all samples patched together. We wanted the listener to be able to visualize themselves in this scenario right at the beginning of the song.
Stanley and I toured for awhile in the States and Europe, and I can tell you, this material got over very well, especially in Europe.
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Stanley Clarke