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Return to Forever
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One of the key fusion groups of the '70s, helmed by Chick Corea and featuring an impressive list of leading jazz
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 Store and/or access information on a deviceActive 1970s - 2010s

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Formed 1971 in New York, NY
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Credit: for
Taylor C.aCrothers
link at the Group Members Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Gerry Brown, Lenny White, Al Di Meola, Frank
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Gambale, Joe Farrell, Mingo Lewis, Airto Moreira, Bill Connors, Earl Klugh,
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Flora Purim, Gayle Moran, Harold Garrett, James Tinsley, Jim Pugh, John
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Biography
Return to Forever Biography by William Ruhlmann

Bitches Brew Jazz keyboard player Chick Corea's Return to Forever emerged as
one of the key jazz-rock fusion bands of the 1970s. Like Weather
Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, they were formed by an
alumnus of Miles Davis' late-'60s bands with the intention of
furthering the jazz-rock hybrid Davis had explored on albums like
Bitches Brew. At the time, this was seen as a means of creativity,
a new direction for jazz, and as a way of attracting the kinds of
large audiences enjoyed by rock musicians. Return to Forever started out as more of a Latin-
tinged jazz ensemble, but Corea, influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra of John
McLaughlin and some of the progressive rock bands coming out of Great Britain, notably
Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, moved the group more toward rock, achieving
considerable commercial success. A later re-orientation of the band gave it more of a big-
band style before Corea folded the unit, retaining the Return to Forever name for occasional
tours and other projects.

Corea formed Return to Forever in the fall of 1971 while he was working in Stan Getz's band,
and the two groups shared some members. In addition to Corea on keyboards, the initial
lineup featured Stanley Clarke on bass, Joe Farrell on reeds, and the Brazilian husband-and-
wife team of percussionist Airto Moreira and singer Flora Purim. "Return to Forever" was the
name of the first tune Corea wrote for the outfit, and he then adapted it as the group's
name. The band made its debut at the Village Vanguard nightclub in New York City in
November 1971. In February 1972, they recorded their first self-titled album, though it was
not released on ECM in Europe until the following year and did not appear in the U.S. until
1975. Corea, Clarke, and Moreira, all of whom had been playing with Getz, left his band to
concentrate on Return to Forever.

The band toured Japan and recorded a second album, Light as a Light as a Feather
Feather, in London, using some of the songs Corea had written
and recorded with Getz, such as "500 Miles High" and "Spain." It
was released on Polydor Records. Up to this point, Return to
Forever were more notable for their Latin sound than for fusion,
but when Farrell left in the spring of 1973, Corea replaced him with
a rock guitarist, Bill Connors from Spiral Staircase. Moreira and
Purim also left to form their own group, and Corea brought in drummer Steve Gadd and
percussionist Mingo Lewis, unveiling the new lineup at the New York City nightclub the Bitter
End in April. They then cut a new album, but when it became apparent that Gadd, a
successful session musician, wasn't interested in touring, Corea replaced him with Lenny
White of the rock band Azteca, who changed the sound sufficiently that the band went back
into the studio in August 1973 and recut the album, which was released in October under the
title Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. Here, Return to Forever turned decisively toward
progressive rock and fusion, with Corea employing an extensive set of synthesizers. The
result was crossover commercial success; the album spent several months on the pop
charts.

In 1974, Connors left the group and was replaced initially by Earl
Klugh, though only for a tour. The permanent replacement was 19-
year-old Al di Meola, who left the Berklee School of Music to join
 the band. That summer Return to Forever recorded their fourth
album, Where Have I Known You Before, which was released in
September. Backed by an extensive tour that ran through
December and closed at Carnegie Hall, the album reached the pop
Top 40 and remained in the charts more than five months. The band went back into the
studio in January 1975 and quickly cut its fifth album, No Mystery, which was released in
February. It too made the Top 40, though it charted for only three months. It also won the
1975 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group. Corea signed Return to Forever
to Columbia Records, while remaining at Polydor as a solo artist. Romantic Warrior, a
concept album on medieval themes, was the first Return to Forever album not to be co-billed
to Corea on the original LP. Released in March 1976, it became the band's third consecutive
Top 40 hit and went on to become its biggest seller, eventually earning a gold record. But
with its completion, Corea again changed stylistic direction and disbanded the lineup.

Retaining Clarke as always, Corea immediately re-formed Return Musicmagic

to Forever, adding his wife, Gayle Moran, formerly of the
Mahavishnu Orchestra, on vocals and keyboards, returning
member Joe Farrell, and drummer Gerry Brown, along with a horn
section consisting of trumpeters John Thomas and James
Tinsley, and trombonists Jim Pugh and Harold Garrett. With this
personnel, Return to Forever recorded their seventh album,
Musicmagic, which was released in March 1977. It became the band's fourth consecutive
Top 40 album, spending more than four months in the charts. A third trombonist, Ron Moss,
was added for the tour.

On May 20 and 21, 1977, Return to Forever recorded a live album at

the Palladium Theater in New York City, but Corea disbanded the
group after the tour. Live was released in February 1979, and
spent a month on the charts. In 1983, Corea reassembled Clarke,
di Meola, and White for a tour, and after 25 years, Return to
Forever reunited again for a tour of North America and Europe that
began in Austin, Texas on May 29, 2008.

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