Pianist Chick Corea’s then-shocking turn into jazz populism with Return to Forever in the 1970s was as commercially successful as it was different from intelligent, straight-ahead efforts like his superlative The Song of Singing. And over, just like that.
By 1977, save for a brief series of concerts in 1983, Return to Forever had splintered into solo careers. Could they ever again ascend to the dizzying heights of, say, 1975’s pulse-quickening jazz-funk excursion Vulcan Worlds? A surprise reunion – captured on the two-disc Eagle Records release Return to Forever: Returns, which arrived on March 17, 2009 – definitively answered: Yes, indeed.
Corea was again joined by bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White for a stunning fusion set that recalled all of the glories of Return to Forever’s electric musings in the mid-1970s. Returns was the first recording from this group since Romantic Warrior some 32 years before.
Looking back, a redo seemed to have been building for some time, as Corea appeared on Di Meola’s Consequence of Chaos in 2006; then everyone but Corea shared a stage at the fourth annual Stanley Clarke Scholarship Benefit in Hollywood. All that was left was to shape the content of the shows.
When the principals got together, they quickly ditched the idea of presenting all-new material, as Return to Forever had on those ill-fated ’83 dates, deciding instead to focus on favorites from the catalogue – including the ubiquitous “Children’s Song.” Corea presented only one new cut, “Opening Prayer.” Each member – by then, of course, a star in his own right – got a solo turn: Corea on “Friendship,” Clarke on “El Bayo de Negro,” Di Meola on “Passion, Fire & Grace” and White on “Lineage.”
But it is within their 21st century interplay that this recording finds its best moments. The perhaps logical 1970s musical outgrowth of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew (on which both Corea and White played), Return to Forever remained every bit as athletic as it is wow-man cosmic. (You can then draw a straight line from RTF, as fusion calcified into smooth jazz in their absence, to the jam bands of today.)
Return to Forever bounced unselfconsciously through the old tunes, even on the somewhat dated quasi-mystical stuff. “Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy” and “Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant” retained a surprising amount of their experimental verve. Corea, boasting the same tinkling fullness at 67, was still one of the most distinctive piano voices in jazz. This lastingly adrenalized band, notably in the lead-guitarish work of Clarke, was as complex and energetic as ever.
The packaging and presentation on Return To Forever: Returns was also first rate, with a number of photographs from the 50-date 2008 reunion tour and bonus tracks that include “500 Miles High,” a snippet from a lifetime achievement award presentation on BBC by George Martin (legendary producer of the Beatles among others) and a second performance of “Romantic Warrior.”
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