BroadStage and Santa Monica College have partnered to create a series of documentary shorts chronicling Stanley Clarke’s Artist Residency at BroadStage. Rhythm of the Future premiered Tuesday, December 3 at SMC’s Center for Media Design, and is a captivating exploration of Clarke’s mentorship. The documentary features inspiring interviews with students and band members, offering a glimpse into the evolution of young talent under Clarke’s guidance, with performances from Stanley Clarke’s 4EVER Band and BroadStage’s inaugural Future Sounds of Jazz Festival.
These documentary collaborations between BroadStage’s Artist Residency program and Roxanne Messina Captor, Emmy nominated filmmaker and SMC Professor. You can check it below:
BroadStage of Santa Monica announced today that the Future Sounds of Jazz Festival curated by jazz legend and local Angeleno Stanley Clarke will take place on Saturday, Sept 21 at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Tickets to the full-day celebration of intergenerational music, art, culture and community will go on sale to the public July 18, 2024. More information is available here.
The festival features Judith Hill; Gretchen Parlato with Gerald Clayton, Alan Hampton, Clarence Penn; The Gemini Project with Isaiah Collier and Jeremiah Collier; A Keith Jarrett Celebration by Cameron Graves, Connie Han, Jahari Stampley, and Ruslan Sirota; INSTANT ALTER with Emilio Modeste and Natasha Agrama; Stanley Clarke with Santa Monica College Jazz Combo and with Santa Monica High School Jazz Combo; Spiñorita; and more!
“There has never been a more important time to enliven the culture of creativity than the times we are living in,” said BroadStage Artist in Residence Stanley Clarke. “That is why I am so thrilled to have this wonderful opportunity to contribute to the future of culture in my long-time adopted hometown. This festival represents the culmination of our values and ideals, and now is the most crucial moment to hold space for culture to live and thrive in our beloved city and the world.”
“Future Sounds of Jazz Festival will showcase unparalleled innovation and talent while nurturing this vibrant and evolving art form so integral to BroadStage’s own institutional ethos,” said Eric Bloom, Director of Artistic Planning. “Perhaps most importantly, this event represents the planted seedlings we plan to grow into a self-sustaining annual festival attracting thousands from all across the globe as we contribute to the rich history and legacy of Jazz in America.”
“The impact of Stanley Clarke as BroadStage’s Artist in Residence will be visible at the festival when the Santa Monica College and Santa Monica High School student musicians step on stage to play with this iconic artist,” said Ilaan Egeland Mazzini, Director of Programs and Activations, BroadStage. “His mentorship truly has raised all boats to a higher level toward being professional musicians, and launching careers for all to see and hear!”
“Future Sounds of Jazz reinforces our broader organizational vision and artistic intent, to curate experiences that bridge the generational gap between legendary artists and emerging talents, while fostering a sense of community,” said Rob Bailis, Artistic and Executive Director, BroadStage.
Driven by a true commitment to empower the next generation of performing artists, BroadStage’s Artist in Residence program fosters a dynamic creative exchange. Seasoned artists share their mindset, skills, histories, and aspirations with eager students, cultivating new possibilities and futures for all.
Future Sounds of Jazz Festival will feature eight musical acts, food trucks, vendors, and one of LA’s top DJs, DJ Spiñorita, a unifying force in Los Angeles’ vinyl and underground music culture.
BroadStage is generously supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, and Karen Hohman Almeida.
There’s some artists that have such a tremendous impact on the planet that they seem so invincible. Jeff had the best sense of humor. Some might’ve thought it to be a bit strange. I liked it. This guy really lived.. he was not a person that was dead while he was alive if you know what I mean.
I enjoyed every moment on the stage with him and all the times we recorded together.
Jeff had so much fire and patience at the same time in his playing along with an unmatched uniqueness.
I have so many great memories with him.
I remember once staying at his place outside of London in Tunbridge Wells along with Mike Garson…we were rehearsing for something and Jeff had his guitars laid out all over the place in every nook and cranny. We had a great time. We went from playing music to messing around with what I believe was Jeff’s greatest love…. his cars. He had the most amazing cars, American cars.
He loved his roadsters.
He had this beautiful brown roadster I believe it had red fire decals on the side. What a fine looking car….
I can only wish that he’s in that traveling to his next stop….
Safe travels, my friend!!!
Four-time Grammy Award winner Stanley Clarke is thrilled to be back on the road with his exciting new band 4EVER. Already in 2022/2023 the tour has played international and domestic venues with immense success.
“After the Pandemic hiatus, I’m invigorated being back on the road. The audience, creativity of the band and new music arrangements, makes my artistic life complete,” stated Clarke.
The Stanley Clarke N•4EVER tour’s emphasizes Clarke’s jazz fusion legacy. In addition to playing the hits that the audience expects, Clarke has put together other stellar with complicated arrangements. True to the evolution of jazz fusion, expect a powerful combination of jazz harmony and improvisation with rock, funk, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music influences.
Joining Clarke, 4EVER’s young band members bring a dynamic youthful energy and freshness to the music. All extraordinarily consummate musicians and performers, the 4EVER band includes Jeremiah Collier on drums, Beka Gochiashvili piano and keyboards, Colin Cook on guitar, Emilio Modeste on saxophone and, of course, Stanley Clarke on acoustic and electric bass. This band is a true concert band with a big jazz band sound. They excel in creating an electrifying performance, always pushing the boundaries of their instruments.
Pianist/keyboard player Beka Gochiashvili is an award-winning child jazz piano prodigy and has performed with many of the jazz greats of our time. He was brought to the US in 2008 with the help of Condoleezza Rice, then U.S. Secretary of State and an accomplished pianist herself. Rice brought Gochiashvili to New York to participate in auditions at the Juilliard School and at the Manhattan School of Music. Not surprisingly, he was accepted in both schools. He has released two of his own albums and is a Clarke touring veteran.
Drummer Jeremiah Collier is from Chicago’s Southside. 22-year-old Collier is a fierce drummer with a wide understanding of music genres. He combines technique with enthusiastic physical energy. Jeremiah has been performing with Clarke for several years and performed with him in concert when Clarke won the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master honor in Spring 2022.
Tenor saxophonist Emilio Modeste is a gifted young musician from Williamsburg, VA. With his lyrical style, he is one of the greatest young jazz sax soloist in the country today. Modeste began playing sax at the age of eight and has performed and studied with world-renowned musicians. He was also a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on tour and has travelled the world. Clarke considers Modeste to be in the Wayne Shorter school of playing. He is also a talented composer.
Guitarist Colin Cook is a remarkable musician originally from McLean, VA, with a new, fresh and exhilarating approach to jazz. He studied at USC’s Thorton School of Music and since has become a sought after artist, performing his with his searing guitar style in a number of bands.
Stanley is scheduled to begin a week-long residency at the famed Blue Note in New York City starting on April 29 running through May 7th. The run will be highlighted by pairings with numerous notable guests, including Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kenny Barron and Billy Hart, DJ Premier and Cory Henry with Cameron Graves and Jeremiah Collier. Tickets for the shows can be purchased here. If you’re in the New York, come check out the shows!!!
Stanley has been selected as a 2022 recipient National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship. The fellowship is the highest honor that the United States bestows on jazz artists. Clarke’s fellow honorees for next year are saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., drummer Billy Hart and vocalist Cassandra Wilson.
“It’s an honor to be chosen as a 2022 NEA Jazz Master along with its generous fellowship in commemoration of my long career in jazz as a recording artist, performer, composer, conductor, arranger, producer and film score composer,” stated Clarke. “It is a tribute to now be included among such an elite group of past fellowship winners.”
Since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a select group of 165 fellowships to great figures in jazz. Clarke and the other recipients will receive a substantial monetary award and will be formally honored at a special ceremony and concert held in collaboration with and produced by SFJAZZ on March 21, 2022, at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
Regarding the announcement of Clarke as a recipient, Jon W. Poses, Columbia Daily Tribune, wrote, “Stanley Clarke stands as one of the most facile, technically brilliant instrumentalists in modern jazz.”
I want to thank all my friends who reached out with condolences who knew that Chick was like a brother to me. We shared many many stages, recording studios, and our passion for Jazz and “Mama Corea’s Beef Cutlets”…..but what really created the bond between us was our similar beliefs in the power of the individual to create the most beautiful and inspiring art, “the great healer,” for people. We sure had fun sprinkling that magic all over the world!!I will miss doing that with him. He was the best all-around musician that I’ve ever stood shoulder to shoulder with. I will miss standing next to him on the stage as much as many of you who have had the pleasure to stand with him. And to all his fans, his impact in musical art was of such a great magnitude that it will be impossible to lose sight of him. His spirit is always with us.I love you Chick and I know you’re doing just fine… Travel well my friend and very very well done…
