Columbia Legacy 88697848332 | Stanley Clarke (b, p, perc, v), David Sancious (kys, g), George Duke (kys), Raymond Gomez, John McLaughlin, Icarus Johnson (g), Gerry Brown, Steve Gadd, Billy Cobham (d), Milton Holland (perc) and brass. Rec. 1 June 1976

Seek no more, questors for The Grail that is jazz rock. School Days, like Inner Mounting Flame or the first couple of Return To Forevers is simply a classic of that very American blossoming of what others (not Clarke’s preferred moniker) call fusion. From the shock and awe of that timeless title track riff, to the Brazilian hipsway of ‘The Dancer’, from McLaughlin’s Shakti-coloured acoustic on ‘Desert Song’ (yes, there are real dynamics here, it’s not all blood and thunder), to the Isley brothers getting out Isley’d on ‘Quiet Afternoon’, all wrapped up by the brass laden ‘Life Is Just A Game’ with Duke doing his funky keyboard thang, there’s not a dull moment to be found. Sure, there’s intimations of future pretension (Clarke titles himself as ‘Conductor’ throughout) but essentially this is a bunch of young guys having a ball yet totally in control of the finished party. Thirty-five years young. Enjoy.

- Andy Robson