Bassist Stanley Clarke was barely out of his teens when he exploded into the jazz world in 1971. Fresh out of music school, he arrived in New York City and immediately landed jobs with famous bandleaders such as Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Pharaoh Saunders, Gil Evans, Stan Getz and Chick Corea (with whom he formed the pioneering fusion band, Return To Forever). All of these musicians recognized Clarke's ferocious dexterity and complete musicality on the acoustic bass. Following his ground-breaking 1975 solo album, `School Days' Clarke went on to become the first bassist in history to headline tours, sell out shows worldwide and craft albums that achieved gold status. He was also the first bassist to double on acoustic and electric bass with equal virtuosity and fire. Clarke follows his 2006 DVD 'Night School' with the release of `The Toys of Men', a 13-track CD that examines the emotional sweep of war, and features guest appearances by vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding and percussionist Paulinho da Costa. `The Toys of Men' also includes acoustic bass interludes that provide a stirring counterpoint to Clarke's more well known fiery electric bass attack. Personnel: Stanley Clarke - (electric & acoustic bass), Ruslan Sirota - (keyboards, acoustic piano), Mads Tolling - (violin), Jef Lee Johnson - (guitar), Ronald Bruner Jr. - (drums), Esperanza Spalding - (vocals - 1,5), Michael Landau - (guitars - 2), Phil Davis - (keyboards - 8,9), Paulinho da Costa - (percussion - 9)