A Night To Remember (Oct 24, 2002-Hollywood) The third annual Stanley Clarke Scholarship Concert at Musicians Institute was again a winner for students and all fans of music. The 3-hour, celeb-filled event was highlighted by some incredible performances and moments. Throughout the various settings, from a straight-ahead jazz combo, to full-tilt rock fusion, to a 22-piece string orchestra, the common thread was great music. The evening opened with Stanley's band of Gerry Brown on drums, Nick Smith and Mark Stephens on keyboards and bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco. Joined by Rayford Griffin on drums, they kicked off with a slammin' version of "Wild Dog." A horn section joined the group for "Goodbye Porkpie Hat."Then came a brilliant straight-ahead performance with trumpeter Wallace Roney, keyboardist Patrice Rushen, former RTF band-mate Lenny White on drums, and Benny Maupin on saxophone.Sinbad emceed the event, and kept the place roaring during some of the set changes.An acoustic trio of Stanley, Bela Fleck on banjo and Karen Briggs on violin performed a show-stopping rendition of "Song to John". A fiery performance by Sheila E. highlighted a jam which featured Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Stewart Copeland, and Rodney Franklin among others.The excitement of the night continued to build as Stanley welcomed to the stage, a contingent of ten of the greatest bass players in the world for an incredible performance of "School Days." The world-class percussion section of Brown, Ndugu Chancler and Stewart Copeland backed bassists Armand Sabal-Lecco, Bunny Brunel, Wayman Tisdale, Jimmy Johnson, Flea, Alex Al, Brian Bromberg, Billy Sheehan, Stuart Hamm, and Marcus Miller. And just when everyone thought the evening couldn't get any better, Stevie Wonder showed up and played a short set with Stanley, highlighted by a beautiful vocal of his song "Overjoyed" which took off into impromptu versions of "Everyday I Have The Blues." and "Giant Steps."Prior to the final part of the show, a celebration of Stanley’s movie composing career, Stanley and MI president Phil Burks awarded three scholarships on stage to deserving students.Video clips from Quincy Jones and John Singleton introduced a retrospective of Stanley’s film scores. With Stanley conducting the orchestra and a band, which included Paul Jackson Jr. and Michael Thompson on guitars, they performed music from "Passenger 57" and "Boyz N The Hood”, and then finished the segment with a stirring rendition (in synch to video) of "Anna Mae" from "What’s Love Got To Do With It". The closing number had Stanley playing a beautiful acoustic solo with the ensemble. Halfway through, he hesitated, and asked the orchestra to pause. After trying one more time, he laid the bass down, turned to the audience and said, "I think I’ve played too much bass tonight. The hand can only take so much." Thirteen hours of rehearsal and performance that day had taken their toll. As he walked off the stage, the audience rose to its feet in a rousing ovation. For all who were lucky enough to be in attendance, it will simply go down as a night that they will never forget.

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