Return to Forever unveils dates for comeback run
Jazz fusion supergroup Return to Forever has mapped out a hefty summer schedule for its first tour in 25 years, with tour legs in both Europe and North America.
Keyboardist Chick Corea , bassist Stanley Clarke , guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White will hit more than 30 North American cities on the May-through-August trek, which kicks off May 29 with the first of two shows in Austin, TX, and also includes an extensive European run in July. US dates are included below; the band's overseas schedule can be found at the group's official website.
The trek will feature music from the Grammy-winning band's four chart-topping records. A special Return to Forever anthology set, featuring remixed and remastered tracks from the albums "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy," "Where Have I Known You Before," "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior," will be released to coincide with the tour.
"It's been a long time coming, and I think it's going to be a blast!" group founder Corea said in a statement. "We plan to take the songs from the albums we made in the '70s and just play them like they've never been played before."
Di Meola added that the reunion--which features the same lineup the band sported from 1976-1974 and again for a brief stretch in 1983--is something the men have talked about for decades. "We've come close a few times, but finally the timing was right," he said.
"What made me want to do it," Corea told the Los Angeles Times recently, "was just recalling how great the feeling was playing with these guys. Just the experience of playing, when I thought, 'Wow, yeah, that was an amazing period--fun, creative, exciting.'"
All four members continue to tour behind their own projects. Clarke is backing his new CD, "The Toys of Men," which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz chart last month. Di Meola is supporting two recent releases: "Consequence of Chaos" and "Diabolic Inventions and Seduction for Solo Guitar, Vol. 1: Music of Astor Piazzolla."
Corea collaborated with virtuoso banjo player Bela Fleck last year on "The Enchantment"; his most recent jazz fusion disc, "The Ultimate Adventure," came out in 2006.
May 2008
29, 30 - Austin, TX - Paramount Theatre
31 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Center
June 2008
1 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theater at Grand Prairie
3 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall
6 - Portland, OR - Schnitzer Concert Hall
7 - Medford, OR - Britt Music Festival
8 - Seattle, WA - The Paramount
9 - Vancouver, British Columbia - The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts
11, 12 - San Francisco, CA - The Grand At The Regency Center (2 shows each night)
13 - Universal City, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
14 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
17 - St Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
18 - Omaha, NE - Holland Performing Arts Center
19 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
20 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
21 - Detroit, MI - Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
22 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
24 - Cleveland, OH - The Plain Dealer Pavilion
25 - Toronto, Ontario - Sony Centre
26 - Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Jazz Festival/Confederation Park
27 - Montreal, Quebec - Pelletier Hall/Place Des Arts
28 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Freihofer's Jazz Festival
July 2008
30 - Miami, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach
31 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
August 2008
1 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
2 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
4 - Baltimore, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
5 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center For The Performing Arts (w/ Bela Fleck and The Flecktones)
6 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion (w/ Bela Fleck and The Flecktones)
7 - New York, NY - United Palace
- Artist Links:
LiveDaily News Break: March 14, 2007 [March 2008]
Jazz In Miami Gardens [March 2008]
New Releases, May 27: Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Return to Forever [May 2008]
Return to Forever reunites for 2008 trek [December 2007]
Album Review: Stanley Clarke, "The Toys of Men" (Heads Up) [October 2007]



























































































