Return To Forever

Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The group emerged as a core ensemble of the 1970s fusion movement alongside Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Corea formed the band after leaving Miles Davis in 1970, where he had played electric piano on fusion projects including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. His new commitment to Scientology and desire for more accessible music than his avant-garde Circle project prompted the change. In 1972, Corea recorded the debut for ECM Records with vocalist Flora Purim, percussionist Airto Moreira, saxophonist Joe Farrell, bassist Stanley Clarke, and himself on Fender Rhodes. The warm Latin-jazz sound featured melodic Brazilian-flavored compositions including Corea’s signature piece Spain and 500 Miles High.

Light as a Feather (1973) became the ensemble’s commercial breakthrough. Recorded in October 1972 at London’s IBC Studios for Polydor Records during a residency at Ronnie Scott’s club, the album won Playboy Jazz Album of the Year. Corea’s innovative Rhodes work, often fed through a wah-wah pedal, defined his fusion voice. However, he sought the high-voltage intensity of John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra rather than repeating this formula. When Purim and Moreira departed and Farrell temporarily left, Corea recruited electric guitarist Bill Connors and drummer Lenny White. This trio, augmented by guitarist Al Di Meola, released four major albums: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973), Where Have I Known You Before (1974), No Mystery (1975), and Romantic Warrior (1976). Return to Forever became a jazz-rock powerhouse selling gold records and headlining stadiums.

Romantic Warrior marked the creative peak with Corea, Clarke, White, and Di Meola as the stable quartet. All four members contributed compositions and shared production credits. Clarke’s electric bass and Di Meola’s distorted guitar anchored Corea’s layered keyboards in suite-like arrangements that achieved widespread commercial success. Clarke remained the sole consistent bandmate across all transformations, proving essential as the band evolved from acoustic Latin fusion to electric rock fusion. After Musicmagic (1977), Corea officially disbanded Return to Forever in 1978 after recording seven studio albums in its initial run. The group reunited periodically for live performances: a 1983 tour of the United States and Japan, a 2008 European and American tour with a remixed anthology box set, and additional touring through 2011 with various configurations. Corea died on February 9, 2021, at his home in Tampa, Florida, from a rare cancer, ending decades of occasional reunions. Return to Forever’s legacy endures as a bridge between jazz sophistication and rock accessibility, with its albums remaining central to fusion’s canonical recordings and its musicians achieving prominence through the group.