Jazz Articles about Return to Forever

Return to Forever: Returns

by Doug Collette
April 17, 2009

The reunion of jazz-rock fusion pioneer Return to Forever was a much-ballyhooed event before, during and after it took place in 2008. As captured on the double-CD Returns, it's easy to see why it attracted old school fusion fans plus prog music aficionados of all ages.

In purely technical terms it is a tour de force. Each man in this group--keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White--is a master of his respective instrument, ...

Return to Forever: Returns

by John Kelman
March 11, 2009

Seventies fusion supergroup Return to Forever's reunion and 2008 world tour was one of the year's biggest jazz events. At performances including its Ottawa International Jazz Festival show, the group did more than give a bunch of grays and no-hairs a chance to relive their youth. With a combination of prerequisite testosterone ("This is a man's band," said drummer Lenny White) and some updating to the material, the group proved that its music remains relevant. Returns--a two-CD set that documents ...

Return to Forever: Return to Forever: The Anthology

by Tom Greenland
August 11, 2008

In support of their 2008 reunion tour, Concord Records has released Return to Forever: The Anthology, a selective overview of the quartet's classic 'middle period.' Formed by principal composer/keyboardist Chick Corea, RTF included bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White and guitarists Bill Connors or Al DiMeola. An alumnus of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969), inspired by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, as well as Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes, Corea recorded two RTF albums with Clarke (a former compatriot ...

Return to Forever Featuring Chick Corea: Where Have I Known You Before / No Mystery

by John Kelman
August 3, 2008

With the release of the remixed and remastered Return to Forever: The Anthology (Concord, 2008) fans of the reunited '70s fusion supergroup, touring North American and Europe since late May, including an attendance-breaking June 26 performance at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, were given the chance to hear keyboard icon Chick Corea, guitarist Al Di Meola, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White more clearly than ever before. With two of the high volume, high intensity group's four discs included ...

Return to Forever in Cleveland

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 4, 2008

Return to Forever Plain Dealer Pavilion Cleveland, OH June 24, 2008

Considering bouts with rain, flooding, high humidity and other anomalies that have marked a typical northeastern Ohio summer, you certainly couldn't have asked for a better evening weather-wise as the iconic fusion group Return to Forever appeared at the Plain Dealer Pavilion. Of course, the diehard fans that filled the venue to capacity would have probably hung in for the long haul ...

Return to Forever Plays the Paramount, Denver, June 3

by Geoff Anderson
June 10, 2008

Return to Forever Paramount Theater Denver, Colorado June 3, 2008

The movie version of Sex and the City opened last weekend, and the entertainment pages reported that theaters were jammed with women sporting the most expensive fashions they or their credit cards could handle. Seven hundred dollar Manolo spike heels were everywhere. In contrast, the crowd at Tuesday night's Return to Forever concert looked like a music nerd's convention. A typical fashion statement included ...

The Anthology

by John Kelman
June 5, 2008

One of the seminal fusion bands of the 1970s, keyboardist Chick Corea's Return to Forever, alongside like-minded but completely different groups including Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, not only went to vinyl sales territory few jazz artists had gone before, but to arena tours more normally associated with big ticket rock groups. But the music of RTF was never meant to be intimate. The high velocity and high volume playing was far more fitting ...