I'm beginning to think that as composers, jazz bassists may simply be built different. We've heard Jaco Pastorius pen some absolutely nutty tracks (both on his solo debut as well as on Heavy Weather), and for my money, the work of Charles Mingus is even greater. Stanley Clarke, bassist par excellence, upholds that vaunted tradition with this week's album, School Days—six all-original tracks that achieve a truly sublime synthesis of jazz, funk, rock, and more.

We actually had our first taste of Clarke last week:¹ as a close friend of Corea, Clarke was the only other permanent member of Return to Forever.² Don't pigeonhole him as "the RtF bassist though"—of the five Grammy Awards he's won, three are for his solo work; along the way he's recorded with members from groups like The Police, The Rolling Stones, and y'know, The Beatles (McCartney called up Clarke for bass-slappin’ lessons). Even Clarke's first foray into jazz and its many fusions was happenstance: he originally "intended to become the first black musician in the Philadelphia Orchestra until he met jazz pianist Chick Corea" (per Wikipedia).

As for the tracks themselves, "School Days" immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album with Clarke's chunky power chords, and it doesn't take long before his soloing begins—if you weren't already a believer, Clarke will make you one in just under eight minutes. "Quiet Afternoon" turns down the temperature for a breather with some subdued electronic-heavy stylings, just so "The Dancer" can liven things up again immediately after. Curmudgeon that I am, I often demand a little pique or intrigue from my jazz—"The Dancer" is unabashedly fun, upbeat, and simply happy throughout, but it's so earnest and successful in its execution that even I can't help but crack a smile. "Desert Song" features beautiful interplay between the guitars (though see Beyond the Blue Horizon for a more obviously Eastern-inspired guitar trek). "Hot Fun" is exactly what it says on the tin: the funk is turned up to 11; blast this as you strut down Harlem. Finally, "Life Is Just a Game" is where the whole album comes together for me: the other tracks are fun, interesting, or catchy, but "Life Is Just a Game" is the only truly epic song of the bunch. I'm fascinated by the blink-and-you'll-miss-them vocals that connect a musical theme to the song's lyrical thesis, only to immediately exit stage left; overall I strongly feel a narrative arc being created through this piece in a way that's highly reminiscent of Birds of Fire. Also, the climactic build near the beginning and end sounds exactly like something that would play after you 3-star every cup in a Mario Kart game. Just sayin’.

In recent weeks, I have been, shall we say, skeptical of the jazz bona fides of certain jazz fusion albums. I don't feel that way about School Days: I can't adequately articulate or point to what distinguishes this from previous entries, but here I feel a genuine partnership between jazz and rock (rather than one subsuming the other).

I began by comparing Clarke to Pastorius and Mingus, but upon further reflection I've come to see him more as a blending of the two: his virtuosic command of the bass rivals Jaco, and he clearly also shares no small measure of Mingus's compositional genius. What ought one do with such tremendous musical talents? Perhaps Clarke already told us:

So life is just a game

And there are many ways to play

And all you do is choose

La la la la la la

Favourite track: Life Is Just a Game