CHICK COREA: RETURN TO FOREVER

It has been a long time coming but I can thankfully say after listening to RTF's debut album I can say it was well worth the wait. Chick Corea in many respects bridged the gap between chaotic jazz and melodic prog jazz with his fusion input. I often listen to Bitches Brew and other Miles Davis albums and as much as I enjoy them there is this mad edge to the sound. When CC decided to go another route with RTF he established a rich vein of sound more in a melodic jazz fusion envrionment. People like Jean Luc Ponty, Weather Report and even Daryl Stuermer benefitted immensley by these influences. Even John Mclaughlin!! The title track on this album is by far the most rewarding but overall the sound is richly textured and even the progressive offbeat elements sometimes construed as 'weird' hold true witha firm message that CC was one of the finest prog jazz fusion artists outthere. A fine album, much admired and an even finer cover. Four solid stars.