Return to Forever

Brazilian beginnings

Return to Forever was founded in New York in late 1971 by the pianist Chick Corea, with Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, Joe Farrell on soprano sax and flute, Airto Moreira on drums and percussion and Flora Purim on vocals, according to Corea's own site. The debut was recorded on February 2 and 3, 1972 for ECM, including "La Fiesta", and was first released only in Europe under Corea's name. Light as a Feather was recorded on October 8 and 15, 1972 at IBC Studios in London and released on Polydor in January 1973. Purim, Moreira and Farrell left in early 1973, and the group moved from a Latin-oriented sound, with lyrics often by Neville Potter, to instrumental jazz rock with overdriven guitar and synthesizers.

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy was recorded in August 1973 with Bill Connors on guitar and Lenny White on drums and released that October; AllMusic's Daniel Gioffre called it an indispensable disc of 70s fusion. Al Di Meola, aged nineteen, replaced Connors in summer 1974, and the quartet of Corea, Clarke, White and Di Meola made Where Have I Known You Before (1974, 32 on the Billboard 200), No Mystery (1975, which won a Grammy) and Romantic Warrior (1976, Columbia, recorded at Caribou Ranch in Colorado, the best-selling studio album, gold in 1990). Musicmagic (1977) used an expanded line-up and the group disbanded in 1978.

Reunions

They reunited briefly in 1983 for a US and Japan tour (released in 2021 as Together Again: Live in Japan 1983), and in 2008 Corea, Clarke, White and Di Meola toured the world; a Montreux concert came out on DVD in May 2009 and the live Returns on Eagle. A 2011 tour began in Australia with Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale in place of Di Meola, with the albums Forever (2011) and The Mothership Returns (2012). Chick Corea died on February 9, 2021 in Tampa, Florida, aged 79. Wikipedia counts the group among the core 1970s fusion bands with Weather Report, the Headhunters and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.