Stanley Clarke and Hiromi

NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award winning bassist Stanley Clarke teams with frequent collaborator and innovative pianist Hiromi to pay tribute to Chick Corea in a new program of Corea works and original compositions inspired by the late, great pianist. A DownBeat Hall of Famer, NEA Jazz Master, 27-time Grammy Award winner, and keyboard virtuoso, Corea was at the forefront of jazz. From straight ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fusion, Corea had touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is awe-inspiring. Corea attained legendary status after five decades of unparalleled creativity and an artistic output that is simply staggering. Clarke and Corea were longtime friends and bandmates in the iconic jazz fusion band, Return to Forever. “Chick was like a brother to me,” Clarke says, “We shared many, many stages, recording studios, and our passion for jazz, 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.” After a chance meeting in Tokyo, the then 17-year-old Hiromi was invited by Corea to perform with him, the beginning to a musical camaraderie that lasted decades. Their double-album Duet is a masterwork of remarkable pianists of two different generations and cultures who transcend all boundaries to converse with each other with an exuberance and passion. “Every second working with him involved studying and learning something,” Hiromi says, “Every second was like a miracle and a treasure hunt.” It was Corea who recommended Hiromi to Clarke when he was looking for a pianist for his band. Clarke and Hiromi went on to tour and record together, winning a Grammy in 2011 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for The Stanley Clarke Band. Honoring their long histories with Corea and their shared musical journey with each other, Clarke and Hiromi bring audiences a striking program available to perform with renowned string ensemble PUBLIQuartet or charted for 50-piece orchestra. Applauded by The Washington Post as “a perfect encapsulation of today’s trends in chamber music,” and by The New Yorker as “independent-minded,” multiple Grammy Award nominated PUBLIQuartet’s outstanding improvisation and innovative approaches to contemporary classical, jazz, and world chamber music expand the techniques and aesthetic of the traditional string quartet.