Words By Benjamin Michael Solis Stanley Clarke’s self-titled Stanley Clarke Band won the Grammy for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” this year at the prestigious music awards ceremony. It deserved album of the year. Keeping in line with his jazz-rock-fusion roots, the record is a stunning achievement for the genre, and Clarke as well. “I Want To Play For You Too,” a track of solid, old-school funk, revisits Clarke’s ability to slap over chord changes – a feat most of his predecessors were unable to accomplish. Songs like “Soldier” (penned by Israeli pianist and band member Ruslan Sirota), “How’s The Weather Up There?” and “Larry Traveled 11 Miles and Waited A Lifetime for Vishnu’s Report” are all heavy bangers in the purest sense of what the fusion of hard rock and straight ahead jazz should sound like. Even SCB’s reworking of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever masterpiece “No Mystery” is heavier. Cleaned up by modern recording technology and a new arrangement, this song in particular offer