The Questlove Show - QLS Mini: Stanley Clarke on His New Album, Book, Electric Lady & More

Episode Date: October 9, 2026

On this exclusive Questlove Show mini episode, Questlove talks with bass virtuoso Stanley Clarke about Last Train To Sanity, a recent 15-track album he funded himself and is selling only through his own website, with packaging designed by his daughter Natasha and full liner notes meant as a protest against streaming. Clarke also talks about recovering from a nerve injury in his arm, recording School Days at Electric Lady Studios and meeting Joey Ramone there, why he loves playing Detroit, and his plans to write an acoustic bass concerto for schools. Stay tuned for a full Stanley Clarke x episode running very soon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned about your gambling or that of someone close to you, visit connectsonterio.ca. Lisa, tell them about our new show. We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Youanu. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. And I'm Lisa Di Giulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references,

occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast. The True Crime Comedy Podcasts all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them.

What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The Questlove Show is a production of I Heart Radio.

Hey, what's up, y'all? How you doing? Welcome back to the Quest Love Show. We have an upcoming full episode with the virtuoso God himself, Stanley Clark. You'll be hearing that soon. But I also wanted to do a mini-conversation to give some light to this very heavy. Yeah, this is, what is in here? Because this is... I've never felt a record. This is the last train to Stan. Yeah, this is the last train to Stanley. What a point in a slip?

No, the last train to sanity. Yeah. Stanley Clark. Wait, speaking of the weight of it all, this question I always wanted to know. At this stage in your life, how is, you know, I've spoken to flee about this. I've spoken to Bootsie Collins who, you know,

had to put his axe up. how taxing is it to play a bass in this day and time in this present time that we're speaking of? You know, probably at this point for me, I notice the difference like age playing, but it's very, very minute. I mean, I've always been an avid practiser, a guy that practices to bass. And so I think as I get older, you know, I rely more on my technique, things like I'm going to jump around like I used to. but I may do one jump on the stage. Okay. But, you know, playing is pretty good.

You know, I'm actually playing better acoustic bass now than I ever did. What's your self-care routine for your hands? Well, yeah, I keep my hands together. The main thing is the back. I actually kind of almost lost his arm at one point. I was coming back from Russia. I landed in New Jersey, and this arm just went numb. and I didn't quite sever the nerve, but almost.

And it took me about eight months to get it back together. And so now I had to re-position myself and learn the bass from a different way. I don't play it like this too much anymore. I'm up like that. When I do have to go up there, I'll bend over. But I default back to this kind of, if I'm on a stool, this L here, and it saves everything. Wow. You're serious.

Yeah. So talk to me about the last train of sanity. Like what's, first of all, what was the title that led to this? Well, it's song, Last Train of Sanity. And it's just, you know, we all know I don't have to burden anybody. You know, this, the planet, you know, this country, you know, it's, you know, there's always something going on that, that doesn't sort of seem to be leading toward sanity. but I'll just put it that way.

You know what? I don't think it's leading to sanity, but I do believe it is leading to clarity. It is. And I'll tell you why. Because, you know, like in movies when people are having the porcelain toilet moment where they're like, God, please let me get through this.

I'll never drink again if you just let me get through this night. Sometimes and the worst of times. Like, you know, humans shouldn't have to learn when we're at rock bottom. Right. But, I mean, I will admit that the last 10 years of madness that we went through was probably the motivation for me to really step up my game. It's totally true what you say.

Because sometimes to have cognition or have some kind of epiphany or whatever you want to call it, like you have to see the dirt. You have to see the stuff, you know, and so you can move up. And there's all kinds of stuff out there right now. But this record, that was kind of the flow behind it, which was that. And I basically decided to put this together, fund it myself. I had my daughter, Natasha. She did this because she's a fine singer, but as well, she's a great artist.

Yeah, you have to work on it, man. I never had a, whew. Yeah, and so it's designed very well. Yeah, talk about the packaging. Well, the packaging, this is like an acrylic case here. Yes, it is. You're very hardcore. And Natasha, pretty much, she's the art director and came up with a lot of the ideas here.

And she did a tremendous job. I know she's going to win a Grammy. For packaging. For packaging. And there's a book here that goes from, I think, eight years old to now. There's several books here. Yeah, yeah. This is the two discs, the pieces of vinyl.

Okay, okay, you have a... God, this is like a big deal here. You have the CD right here. Okay. That's a CD. See that? Ah, man. Okay.

And then you have the vinyl. The vinyl is this kind of stuff here. Don't see there's a hologram inside it. Okay, wow, that's amazing. Yeah, and then it's two pieces here. And it's, it's, uh... I love the fact that you provided the pocket for the CD because, you know...

Yeah, some guys don't have the record players. I was going to say the only other album I knew that did that. At one point, Motown would put a little pouch in for songs in the Key of Life so that the 45 could fit inside of the album. But there's also... Well, here's the other one. This is a kind of a protest part of this. You know, the way they stream records, you don't hear anymore, like, who played drums on this,

record who played bass. Liner notes. Liner notes are everything. So this is full liner notes. This is great because it, you know, this has a score to the last train of sanity. All those little dots mean something. And then these are the guys that are in my head, various. All your collaborators. Well, actually people I grew up, you know, McCoy train, all these guys. Oh, some of your collaborators are there. And this is where we recorded. Where was this album recorded? This was done in a studio called Mad Hatter Studio, and we had a lot of fun.

And I just got all the liner notes in there, just like the old school publishing information, everything. That's what I live for. I mean, I live for albums that, you know, that give you information so you can get lost in it. It gives you a tangible thing to hold as you listen to it. Here's a little Natasha who's sitting over there right now. I see. When she was really young. Okay.

We're all, we're forever young. Yeah, exactly. And yeah, it's a real fun thing. Here's... Now, what's this book in my hands? Is this... This is a book. This is a regular book.

Is this your memoir? Yeah, this is called Notes from the Journey, and it has, like... It has everything in here, like, stuff. I got a picture in here of Thundercat when he was, like, eight or nine or ten or something standing next to me. Really?

Yeah, let me see if I can find it here. Okay. a lot of great photos in here. So in this particular book, you're just talking about your life journey through creativity. Yeah, yeah. Look at that right there. Oh, my God. This is before the thunder.

Baby Bruner. This is way before there was no thunder. Okay, which should I put it here? And there's Kamasi there and all those guys. Way before the thunder. So what, you're sharing your life journey? He had a lot of stuff and little lessons and things I've come across, and it's a pretty good read there.

Why was it important for you to, because I know that for us to get this particular record, like we have to buy the album as opposed to, like, streaming it online. Like, what was the decision to make a tangible album and not? Well, you know, I wanted to do something just on my own, something that I could do it exactly the way I wanted to do it. There's 15 tracks, and I wanted to just completely make it exactly the way it's all the way down to the packaging, the music, everything, how it looked. And just it's not quite in the business.

I haven't put it in the business stream at all, music business stream, but eventually it will get there. And right now, I sell it on, you know, you can get the album from my website, Lestrain to Sanity.com. And it feels really nice. There's a nice freedom about it. You know, I mean, that's a cool picture of me and chick right there. You guys can see this? Yeah. Well, you know, if you're watching this on YouTube, I hope you see it at home.

They're like, what the hell? You're just hearing it's like flipping, flipping, flipping. Yeah, yeah, but it took a while. How long did the album take to record? I started a while back. I don't know, a couple of years. you know, maybe two years, something like that. And I just kept doing, come off the road, work on it, work on.

And then the book was really something, you know, like this is the first book. And a lot of people that, a lot of other bass players have written books. And I thought, maybe I should do that. And I did. And because, you know, in my life, you know, I've done so many things, I forgot a lot of things. You know what I mean? And so it was nice to go back, bring these things up. and I had things to say about all these things.

Of your travels, of the places that you've played around the world, what would you say is the one destination point that is the most consistent as far as you enjoying coming there every time to play? I don't know why, but I really love playing in Detroit. Really? Seriously? Yeah, yeah.

I've played, I've been playing there for a long time since the, Is that it? Elvin thing? Like, what is it? Well, you know, the fans there, for some reason, I don't know, man. It's just a connection era. Detroit is a jazz town. Yeah, yeah.

That much I do know. But those people there understood a lot of the, like when we got into what they called jazz rock music and then they changed it to jazz fusion. And they liked all that stuff. You could swing, then you could go play some hardcore funk. Then you could do this and you could play some really. intricate stuff and they were all there. And I played the Detroit Jazz Festival many times.

Matter of fact, the last time I was there, I did, I brought in an orchestra and did a live performance with Boys in the Hood. I took nine scenes from Boys in the Hood, put it up on a screen, and conducted the orchestra. And that was fantastic. And they came out and it was like people, you know, it's so nice to come out and say, man, you don't know what that movie meant to me. I remember as a judge came out, you know, said that to me. He says, like, when I was younger, you know, that movie really meant a lot to me

so people could understand what was happening in the hood. Because Detroit is similar in many ways to Philly, you know. So it's a very potent hood. It is. The Hard Rock Beck Casino app is now in Ontario. The name you know and trust, which means credibility, impeccable 24-7 customer support, and an easy-to-use app, are also here.

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Concerned about your gambling or that of someone close to you, visit connectsonterio.ca. Lisa, we should tell them about our new show. Oh my God, Lexi. We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Youanu. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart.

And I'm Lisa Di Giulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions, and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. I'm not going to get anywhere fighting. That is wild. I learned that about you today. Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business, and I've always got something to say. If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world. We're going to talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older, and a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree.

Because you told us how accommodating you are. Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to fight the fight, but there's only so much fight I can fight. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me.

Liar. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, Or wherever you get your podcast, I don't really care. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcasts, the True Crime Comedy Podcasts, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Debrie, Lamorne Morris, and Nicole Byer.

Ooh, I scammed them. What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And the scams run the gamut. talking about scams from the 1800s all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. Call your grandparents. Tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please.

And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you. So if you like fun, if you like comedy and you like learning and protecting yourself from criminals, start listening to scam goddess on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts. or wherever you get your podcast. I have a theory. There's a gentleman from Detroit. His name is the Electrify Mojo.

And I won't say that he's a rogue figure in radio. But Electrify Mojo was pretty much allowed to play whatever he wanted. It was almost like he was the black character in Robin Williams' Good Morning Vietnam. Right. Even though this is black radio, he's really big. on Afrofuturism. He was big on fusion. He was big on experimental music. So, I mean, at one point, I mean, he will mix in Prince, Olivia Newton, John, and then he will play a work. He'll play fusion. It's almost like he raised his entire audience's palette. Exactly. To expand further than what the

boundaries of terrestrial radio is. Was this all recorded at the same studio? Pretty much. So there, and then a lot of it was done at my house. And it was mainly just those two places. You and I shared recording at Electric Ladies Studios in New York. Yeah. What was it like recording there in the 70s? My period there was like in the 2000s with DeAnd. No, it was great.

Electric Lady. I actually recorded there recently. I did some recording. Someone called me to play there. But I had a lot of fun. It was funny when I walked in the studio, I went right to the a spot that I recorded school days. And I remember when I was there.

Wait, school days was recorded at a lecture grade? Of course. I did not know that. Where else could it be recorded? You're right. Electric lady, man. You know, so, but I remember, here's a, this is an interesting thing. I was doing school days there.

I think it was school days or maybe the album before. And I come outside where they have that round sofa used to sit. And I'm sitting there, I'm eating a sandwich, and there was this guy next to me. And we were talking for a long time. This guy kind of looked kind of, he had his long hair, really skinny guy, tall guy. And this guy was Joey Ramon from the Ramones. And I didn't know much about the band. He invited me downtown when they were just playing.

And I went in there, they were throwing stuff off the stage and people spitting and all that kind of. So an authentic Ramon show? Absolutely. That's the cool thing. Back in those days, man, it was like, you're just a musician. The type of music that you played was secondary. We were musicians. You were out there trying to make.

And I said, yeah, I'm back there. I play. Matter of fact, I told me, he asked me, what kind of music do you do? And I said, I don't know what it is, but I'm a jazz musician, and I like this, and I like that. And he didn't really define his music either to me.

It just says, yeah, we do some stuff, you know, and that was it. So you two just bonded socially, really without knowing the pedigree and the... Because it didn't exist, because I think when you look back retrospectively at stuff that happens in art, that's when you put a

name to it. If you really want to get real specific about this, if you look at the classical composers, I promise you, they were not calling their music classical music. We called it. The word didn't exist back then. They were just, you know, like Mozart was like Prince.

You know, he was a wild dude, you know, and yeah. So, But anyway, Electric Ladyland is special, and I love playing. Did you choose it because of the kinship of Hendricks building the spot? Absolutely, absolutely. And then also, it had a great sound. Because I recorded there. It was a song I did there with Chick and John McLaughlin, too.

Song to John was the name of the tune. And I have a great picture in the house of that. Yeah, it was great. It was a great time. And the room sounded good, you know, and I loved it. Are you a sentimental collector? Like, this album is in the packaging of it. I was like right up my alley.

Yeah, yeah. I'm big on collecting artifacts. What's the wildest thing that a fan has ever shown you of your own memorabilia? Well, there was a guy a long time ago. His name escapes me, but he was a really famous jeweler at that time. And he came backstage and gave me a bass, an Olympic base. and the limbic base with diamonds on it, and he hands it to me.

And I take it and left it in a hotel. No, man, no. You serious? Yeah, I was, I forgot just, I was a bit of a scatterbrain back then, you know, but that was wild because I never come back to you and be like, where is it? I never saw the guy, but I saw his company.

It was one of these guys out there. I think it still exists. and it was beautifully done. Like the detail was amazing. And I know somebody picked that up, said. God. Yeah. How do you, like, how do you, because I've heard many nightmare stories about

bass traveling in my own band, getting your acts on board with you and not in pet. I have a guy with me at some furies of engineer. He mixes a sound for some reason, whenever he's carrying the electric base, nobody says anything to him. And he's one of these guys, you know, real stoic-looking dude kind of like that. When I carry the thing, I'm much taller than him, you know, hold on.

And you got to negotiate. To this day? To this day, man. You can't be like, I'm Stanley Clark. Do you not carrying the base on? I mean, I'll even have a guy carry it on, then bring it to me again, and I'll put it up in the, you know, but just walk. I don't know, for some reason, it stands out.

As far as I know, is there any level of creative benchmark that you have yet to, let me re-ask it, are you satisfied? You know, I'm definitely satisfied with my life and musically what I've done, but there's still some things that I want to do. I want to write an acoustic bass concerto that I've started, you know, something I'll go in schools, education, It's pretty good, too. And then a couple orchestral things.

And then I, you know, I used to enjoy producing singers. I produced a record for Natalie Cole. I produce a few other things. How are you at different things? I would really like to produce some stuff for some singers, you know. Is there a hidden talent that you have that is non-musical? Like, are you a good cook? Do you like archery?

That's your best. question. No, I want to know, I ask you 100% music questions. I would have to, I'd have to ask my kids. If you weren't doing music, what else do you like doing? Like, just driving or? Well, you know, I do like fast cars. Okay.

Are you a car collector? I did have a lot of cars at one point. What was the highest number? At one point I had about four. four, five cars, which isn't a lot. That's a lot. That's a lot. I have three and it's hard to maintain.

Now I have like one, two, three, four, four. Yeah, that's still, yeah. But I love fast cars. Well, again, this is the last train of sanity. Awesome, awesome packaging. This will fit nice at home with me with my other artifacts. And again, stay tuned for our. full episode where we go

kind of from soup to nuts to his life's journey. And I hope you guys stick in with us. All right. It's Questlove Show Mini. The Quest Love Show is a production of I Heart Radio. Lisa, tell them about our new show. We have a new podcast. It's called

Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Yuwanu. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. And I'm Lisa DiGulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business. Listen on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Hi, this is Kylie Breakman. Angela Geratana. Jeremy Colhane. Patrick McDonald. And we're the hosts of the Artists on Artists on Artists Podcast. The Improvised Character Comedy Podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the Pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. He gets right up next to the microphone.

I hear you can almost hear the eyelashes hit each other. You never seen Italy so quiet as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to Artists on Artists on Artists every Thursday on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Skk Scam Goddess podcast, the True Crime Comedy Podcasts, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What?

I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.