#stanleyclarke

You don't have to accept anybody else's definition of you.

~ Stanley Clarke

Crate Digger’s Corner…By DJ Musically Rich

I am going to take a look at the 1976 album from Stanley Clarke, “School Days”. I am listening to an early pressing on vinyl. At this point in time, Clarke has been a part of the jazz fusion lexicon as bass player for Chick Corea’s fusion outfit, Return To Forever, since 1973 and releasing his debut album that same year. Over his first three solo albums, he adhered closer to the jazz rock fusion of RTF. However, with the song ‘Silly Putty’ off his third album he found a sound (and it was heard in places on his first two albums as well, but brought to the forefront here) of just having a really strong bass riff as a foundation of a song and then having the band play off of and over that vamp for the entire tune. That is the idea that he brings to the album School Days as a whole, but he still is able to do interesting things to keep it fresh throughout the album.

Side one begins with the title track. Clearly the single on the album that probably would have been used to advertise/get airplay with when released. It starts out with a very funky and catchy bass riff that, more or less, becomes the basis for the track. Raymond Gomez comes in with a wild guitar solo that leads to the main body of the song, which is handled by David Sancious on keyboards with effects seemingly shooting through the music. The song moves into a slow groove for the beginning of the bridge. That then leads into a minimalist repetitive groove that slowly builds into a massive bass solo over the comping musicians. The synth then leads the band back to the main theme until the end of the track.

After the upbeat, funky opener the album takes a breath for a minute with ‘Quiet Afternoon’, which has a melody that strongly resembles the 1973 hit, ‘Midnight At The Oasis’, by Maria Muldaur. The song then opens up for a Clarke bass solo that evolves into a mini-moog solo by Sancious. Also, I have to mention that Clarke does a wonderful job of comping on the acoustic piano during the solo parts (obviously overdubs were a part of the process in this album).

To finish the first side is polyrhythmic-esque ‘The Dancer’. An interesting rhythmic bed is laid down, but unfortunately, putting a nice melody for the soloists to work with was seemingly left off the table. What happens is there are a lot of solos that feel like they are either shorter than what was planned, or have to do a lot of repetitive/stretching out what they want to play. The song actually fades out during the most interesting solo in the song by Gomez on guitar.

Side two opens with ‘Desert Song’ featuring John McLaughlin on acoustic guitar. If one were just listening to this in the background and not paying attention, this song could get overlooked as a bit of light fluff before getting to some funkier and then heavier music. However, what happens is something different. Clarke opens with some wonderful Arco (bowed) playing; he then switches to pizzicato (plucked) playing. During this, McLaughlin provides a beautiful backdrop w/ Milt Holland giving just the perfect amount of light percussion. Midway through the song it seamlessly shifts, and it is McLaughlin taking the lead as Clarke switches to providing beautiful support. For the final part of the song, they revisit the opening with Clarke first bowing, then plucking to play over McLaughlin and Holland’s bed until the song ends.

‘Hot Fun’ follows, and hot fun it is. It’s a quick blast of hard-hitting funk (less than 3 minutes). Clarke and Steve Gadd hold down the rhythm section, while Gomez and Sancious both rip it up on guitars. The string and horn section subtly add to the songs drive and overall effectiveness of the song.

The final song on the album is the one that harkens back a bit more to RTF or his earlier solo albums. ‘Life Is Just A Game’ starts off with just piano and strings and leads to a very grand opening. There is a vocal verse, and following that a very tasteful guitar solo by Icarus Johnson. The song then drops into a funky, double time bridge allowing George Duke to let it loose on keys, then bring the guitar back in for a shredding solo through the playing of Billy Cobham. For that part, Cobham was playing a great pocket groove behind the beat, but then Clarke drops in for his solo and Cobham changes up the vibe and all of a sudden is pushing Clarke by being just in front of the beat. At this time Clarke drops a monster solo to lead you to the last section in which the band joined by the strings and horns play to the end of the album.

 4/5 Stars

Available On LP/CD/Cassette/8-Track

RIYL: Lettuce- Outta Here, Billy Cobham- A Funky Thide Of Sings, Marcus Miller- Live And More, Victor Wooten- Live In America

To see photos of other albums in my collection follow my IG: djmusicallyrich

To listen to a track from the album...

A JAZZ SUPERGROUP (STAN GETZ, CHICK COREA, STANLEY CLARKE AND TONY WILLIAMS) - CAPTAIN MARVEL.

The jazz supergroup featuring Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Tony Williams famously performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 23, 1972. While sometimes misdated as 1971 in casual mentions, official records and subsequent releases confirm the 1972 date.

This quartet represented a significant shift for Getz, moving from his famous bossa nova and cool jazz sound toward the rising jazz fusion movement.

Performance Details.

The Lineup: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone), Chick Corea (electric piano), Stanley Clarke (acoustic/electric bass), and Tony Williams (drums).

Context: At the time of this performance, Corea and Clarke had recently formed the core of the influential fusion group Return to Forever.

Stanley Clarke – Journey To Love (1975)

Stanley Clarke, George Duke – The Clarke / Duke Project

The Clarke/Duke Project was the first collaborative album by American musicians Stanley Clarke and George Duke.

Stanley Clarke – School Days