Since the recent split-up of Return to Forever, one scam's had Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke conceiving an acoustic band. Electric fusion devotees blue at such news can at least be consoled by School Days. Recorded only last June, most of it keeps the amplified faith. But how is more significant: like a current TV performer who's sold as "sneaky-funny," Days seems sneaky-sensational.

Though...

Two-fifths of the original Mahavishnu Orchestra and one-fourth of Return to Forever have their say on these releases from Nat Weiss's new Nemperor label, and it sounds as if the first real alternative to Columbia's jazz/rock juggernaut may be shaping up. Goodman and Hammer have chosen to work as a duo, achieving an orchestral sound with multiple overdubs, while Clarke has gathered an unusually...