Return to Forever was a jazz fusion group founded and led by pianist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Return to Forever disbanded in 1977 after five years and seven studio albums. The band never released another studio album, but occasionally reunited for live performances until Corea's death in 2021
The original line-up had a distinctively Latinate musical feel, Corea’s keyboard skills added to the Brazilian husband-and-wife team of percussionist Airto Moreira and vocalist Flora Purim. Stanley Clarke was still predominantly playing double bass; it would be a while before he adapted his playing style to the bass guitar, using fuzz-boxes and other effects more readily associated with six-string lead guitar. For a short while, Corea, Clarke and Moreira were still members of Stan Getz’s band, but the trio left to go full-time with the RTF project in 1971. They took their name from the first composition Corea wrote for the new combo, which played their first live show at the famous Village Vanguard venue in New York in November 1971.
In February 1972, they recorded their self-titled debut album, though it was not released on the ECM Records label in Europe until the following year, and did not appear in the U.S. until 1975. The band toured Japan and recorded a second album, Light as a Feather, in London in 1972, using some of the songs Corea had written and recorded with Stan Getz, such as ‘500 Miles High’ and ‘Spain’, and was released on the Polydor Records label. Up to this point, RTF was more notable for its Latin sound than for fusion, but when Farrell left in the spring of 1973, Corea replaced him with a rock guitarist, Bill Connors, and a fine drummer in the shape of Lenny White for 1973’s Hymn of The Seventh Galaxy, with the result that the RTF sound changed radically. Tempos became speedier, the sound was frequently churning and urgent; the interplay between the musicians was impressive, yet melody was not sacrificed on the altar of musical firepower, and the band won considerable plaudits for their change of style.
When Connors left, to be replaced by Al DiMeola, the final piece of the RTF jigsaw fell into place, and their reputation was confirmed by the following three albums – Where Have I Known You Before (1974), No Mystery (1975), and Romantic Warrior (1976), the latter of which was the first for a new recording home, the Columbia/ CBS label. Romantic Warrior had been a commercial and critical high water mark for the band, but White and DiMeola both quit to pursue solo projects, their burgeoning reputation as players also made them much in-demand as session players or recording guests.
It can be a difficult circle to square when a popular band changes line-up; do the remaining musicians soldier on, attempting to build on what they have achieved thus far, or do they take the opportunity to draw a line under that career phase, and strike off into another direction? That was the issue that dominated the album, Music Magic, originally released in 1977, which would turn out to be the last RTF studio album.
Corea and Stanley Clarke were the surviving founding members of the band, joined by a returning Joe Farrell (flute/ sax), with new personnel in the shape of Gayle Moran (vocal and keyboards, and also Mrs Chick Corea), Gary Brown (drums) and a four-piece horn section, comprising - James E. Pugh (tenor trombone), Harold Garret (baritone horn, tenor and bass trombones) John Thomas (trumpet (lead), flugelhorn), and James Tinsley (trumpet, piccolo trumpet).
Gayle Moran had been a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performing on the albums Apocalypse (1974) and Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975). This guitar-less iteration of RTF was a daring move, given the success that the band had achieved with the Di Meola line-up, and it may have seemed like a bold – perhaps even foolhardy roll of the dice, but there is no questioning the desire in Corea’s mind to change the RTF musical approach. It was also a sign that the RTF concept was one that resists the urge to get complacent, musically; another hot shot guitarist could have been recruited, and the musical direction pursued on the Di Meola albums could have been resumed, but the danger of staleness and predictability setting in was a notion that the RTF creative nucleus Corea and Clarke would have resisted.
If anything, the feel of Music Magic harked back to RTF’s Latin musical roots; in places the music took a cooler, less frenetic/ pyrotechnical approach compared to the previous three albums. The induction of Gayle Moran to the line-up opened up an interesting, non-instrumental aspect to the RTF sound. It also emboldened bass player Clarke to make his own vocal contributions. It was far from being a bad album and is undoubtedly a work rich in musical values. Whilst it lacked coherence in places, and was not as sure-footed as previous RTF outings it still managed to sell 500,000 units, peaking at number thirty-eight in the US Billboard Pop Album Charts, and number four in the Billboard Jazz Charts. Its comparatively muted reception was enough for Corea and Clarke to call time on Return To Forever after touring the album to promote its release.
Chick Corea passed away in his home in Tampa, Florida, from a rare form of cancer in February 2021, bringing to a close a career that had seen him garner great critical acclaim, the admiration and respect of fellow musicians, and also translate his musical vision into something that found an appreciative audience around the world, which converted into a considerable volume of record sales. The body of work spans over six decades, in which he won an incredible twenty-five Grammy Awards, and offers rich rewards to those who wish to explore still further.
With thanks to Alan Robinson