Chick Corea, the keyboard player, founded and led Return to Forever jazz fusion band. Although the band had many members, Corea remained his only constant band mate in Stanley Clarke. These bands, along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra are often regarded as the foundation of jazz fusion music from the 1970s. Clarke, Flora Purim and Al Di Meola were among the first to be well-known for their performances on Return to Forever albums. Corea, along with Barry Altschul, Anthony Braxton, and Dave Holland, formed an avant-garde jazz group called Circle after playing on Miles Davis’s albums In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew. Corea became a Scientology disciple in 1972 and decided to “communicate with” the public. Corea wanted to make commercial music since avant-garde jazz was only able to reach a small audience. The first line-up (1972-1973) The first Return to Forever group played Latin-oriented music. The original band was composed of Flora Purim (singer and occasional percussionist), Airto Moreira, Corea’s longtime musical colleague Joe Farrell, on drums, and other percussion. Also, Stanley Clarke, the young bassist, became the only permanent member of the band, apart from Corea. Clarke was a double bass player, as well as an electric bassist in the first lineup. Corea’s electric keyboard was the main instrument of this group, but Clarke as well as Farrell had plenty of solo space. Although Purim’s voice was a commercial hit, many of their compositions were more instrumental and experimental. Corea composed the music, with the exception that the title track on the second album was written by Stanley Clarke. Corea’s friend Neville Porter often wrote lyrics. These lyrics often had scientology references, but this can be difficult to identify for outsiders. Clarke was involved with Scientology through Corea but left the cult around the 1980s. ECM Records released the first album, simply called Return to Forever in 1972. It was originally only available in Europe. The album included Corea’s most famous compositions, Crystal Silence and La Fiesta. Corea, Clarke, Tony Williams, and Airto formed the band for Stan Getz’s album Captain Marvel (1972). This album featured Corea’s compositions, including some from the second and first Return to Forever albums. Polydor released the second album Light as a Feather (1973), which featured the well-known song, Spain. The jazz-rock era (1973-1976) Purim and Moreira quit the group to start their own band. Farrell, guitarist Bill Connors and Mingo Lewis, drummer Steve Gadd, and drummer Steve Gadd, also left. Gadd refused to leave his job as a studio drummer and go on tour. Lenny White, who had previously played in Miles Davis’s band, replaced Lewis and Gadd. The group’s third album Hymn Of the Seventh Galaxy (1973) was rererecorded. Gadd’s first recording was never released, and it is believed that it is missing. The group’s music was now “jazz-rock”, much like what The Mahavishnu Orchestra or other progressive rock bands were doing simultaneously. Although the music was still melodic and relied on strong themes, it was almost entirely gone from a traditional jazz feel. The band’s new sound featured distortion guitar, while Clarke played mainly electric bass. All songs are now instrumentals and no new singer was hired. However, this did not affect the band’s commercial potential. Return to Forever’s jazz rock albums have always topped the US pop album charts. Although the style of Where Have I Known You Before (1974), was very similar to the first, Corea used synthesizers and Clarke developed his electric bass sound. The group also hired a new guitar because Bill Connors wanted to focus on his solo career. Earl Klugh was a guitarist on some of the group’s live performances, but he was quickly replaced by Al Di Meola (a 19-year-old guitar wizard), who played on the album. No Mystery (1975) was the next album. The line-up was the same as the previous one, but the music style was different. While the first side was dominated by jazz-funk, the second featured Corea’s acoustic title song and a lengthy composition that borrowed from Spanish music. Each member of the group contributed at least one track to this album and the next. No Mystery won Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance By a Group. Romantic Warrior (1976) was the last album released by Return to Forever’s longest-lasting line-up. The group was now signed to Columbia Records by Polydor. This album was the most popular of all Return to Forever albums and eventually reached gold disc status. The album was a continuation of the experimentation in jazz-rock and related genres and is well-known for its technical demands. The final album (1977) This album featured a four-piece horn section and Corea’s wife Gayle singing vocals. Only one studio album was recorded, Musicmagic (1977). The music was closer to the soft, gentle sound of the original line-up. The last album, however, features a horn section and synthesizers that are bursting with Latin influence. The compositions remained complex. The White/Di Meola lineup briefly returned to the stage in 1983, but they did not record a new CD. Only one track was released on Corea’s Touchstone album “Compadres”. In 2008, the original Corea, Di Meola and Clarke lineup reunited to tour the United States. After the tour was over, the band’s official website announced that they would be releasing a concert DVD. The band also released “The Anthology”, a two-CD set that included remastered versions most of the songs from the four albums they recorded with Corea/Di Meola/Clarke/White. You can also access user-contributed text under the Creative Commons By–SA License.