Return to Forever Biography
The ’70s supergroup Return to Forever, led by keyboardist/composer Chick Corea, was squarely in the vanguard of jazz fusion, working to expand jazz’s appeal by incorporating the energy and electricity of rock. Corea had been a professional musician since the early 1960s, playing piano behind the likes of Willie Bobo, Stan Getz, Blue Mitchell, Herbie Mann and Mongo Santamaria. He released his first solo album in 1966, and soon began to evolve towards a more electric approach. In 1968, Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ quintet, and subsequently contributed to such Davis albums as Filles de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew and Miles Davis at the Fillmore, which helped to lay the groundwork for fusion.
After leaving Davis and launching the short-lived acoustic free jazz quartet Circle, Corea launched Return to Forever. The new act debuted at New York’s Village Vanguard in November 1971, and released a series of acclaimed LPs. By 1976, when Return to Forever moved from Polydor to Columbia Records, the band had settled into what would be its most popular and influential lineup: Corea, Stanley Clarke on bass, Al DiMeola on guitar and Lenny White on drums. Their first Columbia release was the ambitious Romantic Warrior. That album won considerable favor with rock audiences and became the group’s biggest-selling release, but it would also be the last by that lineup. For 1977’s Musicmagic, Corea and Clarke were joined by guitarist Joe Farrell, keyboardist/singer Gayle Moran, drummer Gerry Brown and a four-man horn section.
Despite their continuing popularity, Corea chose to disband Return to Forever shortly thereafter, although the classic Romantic Warrior lineup reformed for a tour in 1983, and once again in 2008. The fact that the group’s reunions continue to be major events in the jazz world demonstrates the ongoing resonance of Return to Forever’s vintage innovations.
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