S-M-V

One week ago today, a colleague of Eli's at the Embassy, and a friend of mine, called me to invite me a concert. She said that Stanley Clarkey was in town, and asked if I wanted to go. I had no idea who Stanley Clarke was (although I didn't readily admit this to her), but I figured that a night out on the town was well-deserved and would be fun, so I accepted her invitation.

Later in the day, she called back to say that Stanley would be playing in a trio. Again, this meant just about nothing to me (except that I DO know what a trio is!!). I was picturing a boring concert with three guys sitting on the stage playing, well, I'm not sure what I was picturing. What I certainly was not picturing was what transpired that evening between 9:30 and 11:30 at the Sava Center in Belgrade. I had no idea that I was in for such a treat!

Growing up with a mother who was an incredibly talented musician was great, but my mother's musical tastes, for the most part, did not extend beyond classical and liturgical music. Thus, when Stanely Clarke evidently was rocking the world of bass guitar in the 1970s, I was oblivious. This "legend" had never entered my radar screen, and honestly, until last Thursday night, I can say (with a tad bit of embarrassment) that I had very little appreciation for the bass guitar.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Stanely Clarke or his current band, S-M-V, you may want to click on this link (http://www.smvmusic.com/about.html) and read all about these totally cool and super talented guys: Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Nashville's own Victor Wooten. Suffice it to say (I realize that I am using that phrase a lot on this blog -- not sure why) that these guys are LOADED with talent. They rocked the house in Belgrade, and were going on to 10 or so other European cities to do the same for other audiences.

The best thing about the evening was that my friend, Roslyn, and I got to go backstage and hang out with the guys after the concert. Roslyn approached one of the sound guys during the encore, mentioned that we were with the US Embassy in Belgrade, and asked if we could go back to say hello. They obliged, and I must say that that it was so cool to meet these guys. They are just normal guys like you and me, but somehow, one feels a bit sheepish in their presence, given the depth of talent and musicianship that oozes from them when they are onstage.

After the concert, I let a few friends in Nashville know about the experience, and it turns out that some of them regularly go to see the Wooten Brothers (three of Victor's four brothers) on Wednesdays nights in Nashville at 3rd and Lindsley. What a small world. Victor had told me the night before that his older brother, Regi, taught him to play guitar when he was 2 or 3 years old. I would commend SMV and/or the Wooten Brothers to anyone who has the opportunity to see either of these bands, even if, like me, you're not quite sure what's so great about the bass guitar. You may just find, like me, that just watching (much less listening to) such talented musicians is worth the price of admission. My guess is that, if I ever could get her there, even my own mother would think these guys were pretty amazing!

Talk to ya'll soon!!