Band | Jazz Fusion | 1972–1977

Return to Forever was Chick Corea's primary vehicle from 1972 to 1977 and the band through which he pursued a sustained investigation into what jazz could absorb from Brazilian music, rock, and European classical composition. The name first appeared as the title of an ECM album recorded in February 1972 with bassist Stanley Clarke, saxophonist and flautist Joe Farrell, Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, and vocalist Flora Purim. That debut and "Light as a Feather" (Polydor, 1973), the album that contains "Spain" and "500 Miles High", represent a Latin-inflected, melodically open phase that has aged better than what followed. By 1973 Corea had introduced electric guitarist Bill Connors and drummer Lenny White, producing "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy" and moving the band decisively toward the high-volume fusion of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Al Di Meola replaced Connors in 1974, and the Corea/Clarke/Di Meola/White lineup recorded "Where Have I Known You Before" (1974) and "No Mystery" (1975) before the band shifted again toward progressive rock territory on its final two Columbia albums. Clarke was the only musician present across all lineups. The band briefly reformed in 1983 and again in 2008 for touring but produced no further studio recordings of consequence.