Return to Forever

Jazz keyboard player Chick Corea's Return To Forever emerged as one of the key jazz-rock fusion bands of the 1970s. Like Weather Report and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, they were formed by an alumnus of Miles Davis' late-'60s bands with the intention of furthering the jazz-rock hybrid Davis had explored on albums like Bitches Brew. At the time, this was seen as a means of creativity, a new direction for jazz, and as a way of attracting the kinds of large audiences enjoyed by rock musicians. Return To Forever started out as more of a Latin-tinged jazz ensemble, but Corea, influenced by The Mahavishnu Orchestra of John Mclaughlin and some of the progressive rock bands coming out of Great Britain, notably Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, moved the group more toward rock, achieving considerable commercial success. A later re-orientation of the band gave it more of a big-band style before Corea folded the unit, retaining the Return To Forever name for occasional tours and other projects.

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