Jeff, Jeff, Jeff... The "original" lineup was Corea, Clarke, Flora Purim, Joe Farrell, and Airto Moreira... After their first album, "Return to Forever," Corea, Clark, Airto and Tony Williams were Stan Getz' band on his "Captain Marvel" and would have stayed with him, but he got distracted from touring by being naamed "Artist in Residence" at Stanford. Therefore, the original five reassembled and did, "Light As A Feather." Farrell, Purim and Moreira then left and were replaced by Bill Connors, Steve Gadd, and Mingo Lewis, but Gadd didn't want to tour, so he and Lewis were replaced by Lenny White, but only after "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" was recorded, sent to the vault, and was never heard again. Connors then left, and was briefly replaced by Earl Klugh, before Al Di Meola came on board. Then came, "Where Have I Known You Before" and " No Mystery," and "No Mystery" won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Group. Then came "Romantic Warrior" that sold and sold until turning to gold. Before going on tour to support "Romantic Warrior," Corea shocked Clarke by deciding to drop both White and Di Meola. Then came what some called "The Return to Forever Big Band" with Gayle Moran, Stanley Clark, Gerry Brown, the return of Joe Farrell, and four more horns. This group recorded "Musicmagic" and the 4 LP "Return to Forever Live: The Complete Concert." Then Corea broke up the band.
Thanks, Jeff. I saw RTF in concert in the early '70s. I also saw Chick in solo piano concerts, and in duos with Gary Burton, and I saw the Elektric Band, too. Fresh fantastic fusion..Chick was awesome in any format.
On the back of the RTF albums there was info on contacting them. I was a 17 year old drummer. I sent a cassette of me playing to Lenny White. He sent the tape back and spoke on the tape. He told me what he liked and what I needed improvement on. Great drummer, great guy.
Me too, my favorite band ever, not just fusion. Saw them live three times in the 70's. First time I heard them was on an FM NYC Rock station. Sadly, those days on radio are long gone.
An exceptional band. The first two albums, published in 1972 (Return to Forever & Light as a Feather) are quite differents from the next five studio albums (1973-1977) because the sound changed as the musicians and times changed, becoming more electric and more energetic. I have seen and listened to Corea many times playing in my city, in all kinds of groups. Great Note: I have specifically corrected my comment to include the album "Return to Forever" as the band's first, even though it is technically not often considered an album by the band, but by Chick Corea. In reality it is something of little significance, since the truth is that that album and "Light as a Feather" form a homogeneous pair.
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff... The "original" lineup was Corea, Clarke, Flora Purim, Joe Farrell, and Airto Moreira... After their first album, "Return to Forever," Corea, Clark, Airto and Tony Williams were Stan Getz' band on his "Captain Marvel" and would have stayed with him, but he got distracted from touring by being naamed "Artist in Residence" at Stanford. Therefore, the original five reassembled and did, "Light As A Feather." Farrell, Purim and Moreira then left and were replaced by Bill Connors, Steve Gadd, and Mingo Lewis, but Gadd didn't want to tour, so he and Lewis were replaced by Lenny White, but only after "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" was recorded, sent to the vault, and was never heard again. Connors then left, and was briefly replaced by Earl Klugh, before Al Di Meola came on board. Then came, "Where Have I Known You Before" and " No Mystery," and "No Mystery" won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Group. Then came "Romantic Warrior" that sold and sold until turning to gold. Before going on tour to support "Romantic Warrior," Corea shocked Clarke by deciding to drop both White and Di Meola. Then came what some called "The Return to Forever Big Band" with Gayle Moran, Stanley Clark, Gerry Brown, the return of Joe Farrell, and four more horns. This group recorded "Musicmagic" and the 4 LP "Return to Forever Live: The Complete Concert." Then Corea broke up the band.
@@michaelgwfrogwelge great info!
@@michaelgwfrogwelge I need to acquire you as my research guy. 😆
@@StrateleStudios That's largely what I do in the editing I do.
Sat these guys in ‘74, ‘75 and there reunion tour of 2011. I was hooked on them when I was in high school when my buddies were into Led Zeppelin.
Thanks, Jeff. I saw RTF in concert in the early '70s. I also saw Chick in solo piano concerts, and in duos with Gary Burton, and I saw the Elektric Band, too. Fresh fantastic fusion..Chick was awesome in any format.
On the back of the RTF albums there was info on contacting them. I was a 17 year old drummer. I sent a cassette of me playing to Lenny White. He sent the tape back and spoke on the tape. He told me what he liked and what I needed improvement on. Great drummer, great guy.
Wow that’s awesome
My favorite fusion band ever! Wore out this album No Mystery and Romantic Warrior. RIP Chick Corea.
Me too, my favorite band ever, not just fusion. Saw them live three times in the 70's. First time I heard them was on an FM NYC Rock station. Sadly, those days on radio are long gone.
An exceptional band. The first two albums, published in 1972 (Return to Forever & Light as a Feather) are quite differents from the next five studio albums (1973-1977) because the sound changed as the musicians and times changed, becoming more electric and more energetic. I have seen and listened to Corea many times playing in my city, in all kinds of groups. Great
Note: I have specifically corrected my comment to include the album "Return to Forever" as the band's first, even though it is technically not often considered an album by the band, but by Chick Corea. In reality it is something of little significance, since the truth is that that album and "Light as a Feather" form a homogeneous pair.