Return to Forever

Return to Forever

Return to Forever From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Return to Forever was the name of a jazz fusion band founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. The band cycled through many members, with only consistent band mate of Corea's bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often seen as the core of jazz fusion music in the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola first became well-known through their performances on Return to Forever's albums.

After playing on Miles Davis's albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, Corea formed an avant-garde jazz band called Circle with Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul. However in 1972, after becoming a disciple of Scientology, Corea decided that he wanted to "communicate" with the audience. This essentially meant that he wanted to make more commercial music, since avant-garde jazz had a relatively small audience.


* 1 The first line-up (1972 - 1973)
* 2 The jazz-rock era (1973 - 1976)
* 3 The last album (1977)
* 4 Reunion (2008)
* 5 Discography
o 5.1 Studio albums
o 5.2 Live releases
o 5.3 Collections
* 6 Personnel
* 7 References
* 8 External links

The first line-up (1972 - 1973)

The first Return to Forever band played latin-oriented music. The initial band consisted of singer (and occasional percussionist) Flora Purim, her husband Airto Moreira on drums and other percussion, Corea's longtime musical co-worker Joe Farrell on saxophone and flute, and the young bassist Stanley Clarke. Especially in this first line-up, Clarke played double bass in addition to electric bass. Corea's electric piano was the leading instrument in this group's sound, but Clarke and Farrell were also given plenty of solo space. Purim's vocal gave some commercial appeal for their music, but many compositions were instrumental and more or less experimental in their nature. The music was composed by Corea with the exception of the title track of the second album which was written by Stanley Clarke. Lyrics were often written by Corea's friend Neville Potter, and were often related to scientology, though this is not necessarily easy to recognize for outsiders. Clarke was involved in Scientology through Corea, but left the church in the early 1980s.

The first album, named simply Return to Forever, was cut for ECM Records in 1972 and was initially released only in Europe. This album featured Corea's famous compositions Crystal Silence and La Fiesta. Shortly afterwards, Corea, Airto, Clarke and Tony Williams formed the band for Stan Getz's album Captain Marvel (1972), which featured Corea's compositions including some from the first and second Return to Forever albums. The second album, Light as a Feather (1973), was released by Polydor and included the famous song, Spain.

The jazz-rock era (1973 - 1976)

After the second album, Farrell, Purim and Moreira left the group in order to set up their own band. Guitarist Bill Connors, drummer Steve Gadd and percussionist Mingo Lewis were taken on. However, Gadd was not willing to go touring and leave his job as a hard working studio drummer. Lenny White (who had played with Corea in Miles Davis's band) replaced Gadd and Lewis, and the group's third album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973), was rerecorded. The first recording featuring Gadd was never released and is said to be missing.

The nature of the group's music had now completely changed to "jazz-rock", similar to what The Mahavishnu Orchestra and some progressive rock bands were doing at the same time. The music was still relatively melodic, relying on strong themes, but traditional jazz feel was almost completely gone. Distorted guitar had become prominent in the band's new sound, and Clarke played mostly electric bass. A new singer had not been hired, and all the songs were now instrumentals. This however, did not lead to a decrease in the band's commercial success - Return to Forever's jazz-rock albums always found their way to US pop album charts.

The second jazz-rock album, Where Have I Known You Before, (1974) was similar in style to the previous album, but Corea played synthesizers in addition to electric piano, and Clarke had developed his famous electric bass sound and style. Since Bill Connors had wanted to concentrate on his solo career, the group had also hired a new guitarist. Earl Klugh played guitar on some group's live performances but he was soon replaced by the 19 year old guitar wizard Al Di Meola, who played guitar on the album.

The next album, No Mystery (1975), was made with the same line-up as its predecessor, but the style of music was more varied. The first side of the record consisted mostly of jazz-funk, while the second side featured Corea's acoustic title track and a long composition that borrowed partly from Spanish music. On this and the following album, each member of the group composed at least one of the tracks. No Mystery won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group.

The last album by the most long-lasting lineup of Return to Forever was Romantic Warrior (1976). By this time the group had left Polydor for Columbia Records. The album became the best selling of all Return to Forever albums, eventually reaching gold disc status. This album continued experiments in the realm of jazz-rock and related genres, and is also famous for its technically demanding playing.

After "Romantic Warrior" and its subsequent tour, after signing a multi-million dollar contract with CBS and to the surprise of the rest of the band, Chick Corea decided to change the lineup of the group without White and di Meola.[1]

The last album (1977)

The final version of Return to Forever featured a four piece horn section and Corea's wife Gayle singing vocals, and recorded just one studio album, Musicmagic (1977). The music had returned closer to the gentle feel of the music of the first line-up. However, instead of strong Latin influences, the last album features bombastic arrangements for horn section and synthesizers. Compositions remained relatively complex.

After Musicmagic, Chick Corea officially disbanded the group. Reasons are speculative, but Stanley Clarke's leaving the Church of Scientology is believed to be a factor. In the years following the breakup, Al di Meola commented on the complications of reuniting the di Meola/White lineup "I think we have a Scientology problem to deal with, possibly due to Stanley leaving Scientology. That doesn't sit very well with Chick."[2]

In 1983 the White/Di Meola line up returned briefly on the stage, but did not record a new album, only one track issued on Corea's Touchstone album entitled "Compadres".

Reunion (2008)

According to Lenny White,[3] Return to Forever will reunite to play shows throughout the U.S. starting in summer 2008, and move the tour to Europe in 2009. The possibility of recording a new album at the end of 2008 is also in the works. A special Return to Forever anthology set, featuring remixed and remastered tracks from the albums Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery, and Romantic Warrior, will be released to coincide with the tour.[4] According to Chick Corea, a concert DVD is much more likely than a new studio recording.[5]

Discography

Studio albums

* Return to Forever (1972, ECM)
* Light as a Feather (1972, Polydor)
* Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973, Polydor)
* Where Have I Known You Before (1974, Polydor)
* No Mystery (1975, Polydor)
* Romantic Warrior (1976, Columbia)
* Musicmagic (1977, Columbia)

Live releases

* Live (1977; later re-released in 1999 as Live: The Complete Concert)

Collections

* Best of Return to Forever (1980)
* Return to the Seventh Galaxy: The Anthology (1996, covers years 1972-1975)
* This Is Jazz, Vol. 12 (1996, covers only last two albums)
* Return to Forever: The Anthology (2008)

Personnel
Return to Forever Band Members (1972-1973)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Flora Purim - vocals
* Joe Farrell - saxophone
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Airto Moreira - percussion

(1973)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Bill Connors - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Steve Gadd - drums
* Mingo Lewis - percussion

(1973)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Bill Connors - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Lenny White - drums

(1974)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Earl Klugh - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Lenny White - drums

(1974-1976)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Al Di Meola - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Lenny White - drums

(1977)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Gayle Moran - vocals, keyboards
* Joe Farrell - saxophone
* John Thomas - trumpet
* James Tinsley - trumpet
* Jim Pugh - trombone
* Harold Garrett - trombone
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Gerry Brown - drums

(1977)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Gayle Moran - vocals, keyboards
* Joe Farrell - saxophone
* John Thomas - trumpet
* James Tinsley - trumpet
* Jim Pugh - trombone
* Harold Garrett - trombone
* Ron Moss - trombone
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Gerry Brown - drums

(1977 - 1982)

BAND SPLIT
(1983)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Al Di Meola - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Lenny White - drums

(1984 - 2007)

BAND SPLIT
(2008)

* Chick Corea - keyboards
* Al Di Meola - guitar
* Stanley Clarke - bass
* Lenny White - drums.



Return to Forever
De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Return to Forever fue una banda de Jazz Rock creada hacia fines de 1971 y liderada por el pianista Chick Corea.

* 1 Primera formación
* 2 Nuevo rumbo
* 3 Tercera formación
* 4 Epílogo

Primera formación

Su primera formación estaba integrada por el mencionado Chick Corea en teclados, Stanley Clarke en bajo, Joe Farrell en saxo soprano y flautas y Airto Moreira en la percusión. La esposa de Airto, Flora Purim, ejerció el trabajo vocal de la banda.

Tras un tiempo de experimentación, en febrero de 1972 graban su primer álbum, titulado con el mismo nombre del grupo, en el que se incluyó la célebre composición de Corea llamada La Fiesta. En septiembre de ese mismo año graban Light as a Feather, un compilado de melodías brasileras reinterpretadas desde las influencias del Jazz al que venía apuntando el grupo.

Nuevo rumbo

Sin embargo, en los primeros meses de 1973 Return to Forever toma un rumbo diferente. Al incorporarse el guitarrista Bill Connors y el enérgico baterista Lenny White, el grupo se lanza de lleno al Jazz fusión, y en ese mismo año, en agosto, graban Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, el cual lo transporta hacia el reconocimiento general como uno de los máximos exponentes del movimiento del Jazz Rock, junto a Mahavishnu Orchestra y Weather Report.

En dicha línea musical, en el verano de 1974 se suma a Return to Forever, para reemplazar a Connors, el jóven y virtuoso guitarrista Al Di Meola, con fuertes influencias flamencas recibidas de Paco de Lucía. Con esta incorporación el grupo encontró su momento de máxima creatividad y calidad, grabando varios trabajos que fueron, en todos los casos, fieles exponentes de la energía y plenitud del Jazz Rock, representado de manera inconfundible con esta banda.

Así es que graban, en 1974, Where have I known you before; en 1975 No Mystery; y en 1976 el paradigmático Romantic Warrior, considerado por algunos críticos como su obra maestra.

Tercera formación

Una tercera edición del grupo Return to Forever surgió en 1977, al incorporarse nuevos músicos auxiliares en vientos, el percusionista Gerry Brown y la por entonces futura nueva esposa de Corea, Gayle Moran, en la voz. Esta nueva formación grabó el álbum Music magic, y el cuádruple Return to Forever Live, el cual refleja la tremenda energía de la banda en sus perfomances en vivo, y consituye su última grabación antes de la disolución del grupo.

Epílogo

Transcurridos más de veinte años, en 1999, Stanley Clarke junto al baterista Lenny White, ex miembros de la banda, deciden convocar a otros músicos de renombre, tales como el guitarrista Richie Kotzen, la teclista Rachel Z, y la multifacética y virtuosa violinista Karen Briggs, con el objeto de formar el grupo Vertú, considerado por algunos críticos como la continuación musical de Return to Forever.

Return to Forever - Light as a Feather (1972)

1 - You're Everything
2 - Light as a Feather
3 - Captain Marvel
4 - 500 Miles High
5 - Children's Song
6 - Spain.

Stanley Clarke - Bass
Chick Corea - Keyboards, Piano (Electric), Engineer
Joe Farrell - Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Airto Moreira - Percussion, Drums, Vocals
Flora Purim - Percussion, Vocals.

Of the three versions of Return to Forever, the initial version is of the greatest interest from the jazz standpoint. With Joe Farrell on reeds, bassist Stanley Clarke, Airto on drums and percussion and Flora Purim contributing vocals, this contingent was one of the finest groups of the 1972-73 period even if they only actually cut two records. This particular set includes the original version of Chick Corea's greatest composition ("Spain") along with versions of "500 Miles High" and "Captain Marvel." This music crosses many boundaries and still sounds fresh two decades later.