In 2012, the album received the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. The AllMusic review past times Thom Jurek states "Disc i is taken straight from concert appearances across the globe. The standards function good – considering how busy Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, together with Lenny White tin live together as good as solo... The gems are saved for disc two, which consists mainly of rehearsals for the tour recorded at Mad Hatter Studios inwards San Francisco, consummate amongst off-mike banter... With its looseness, this 2d disc offers the existent dynamic potential for RTF inwards the hereafter together with reveals the depth of nigh symbiotic communication betwixt the bandmembers". John Fordham inwards The Guardian noted "Clarke's beautiful tone together with dramatic phrasing, White's melodic percussion playing together with deft embroidery of catchy grooves, together with Corea's fluency together with lyrical grace convey a novel spark to standards... The electrical disc is a lot funkier... together with the low-cal impact together with feel of enjoyment of the acoustic one-half to a greater extent than oftentimes than non survives intact". All About Jazz correspondent John Kelman observed, "Eschewing RTF's relentless testosterone, the trio is as capable of elegance together with understatement as it is of unequivocal virtuosity". PopMatters' Will Layman wrote "The trio recordings are masterful inwards execution but perhaps slightly "been there, done that" inwards repertoire... On the bonus disc, nosotros become to a greater extent than of a mishmash.. The band is loose as tin live inwards this rehearsal, tossing phrases dorsum together with forth, the whole firm seeming similar the dialogue that jazz is ever supposed to be".
This double-disc ready documents Return to Forever's unplugged tour of 2009. Its xix tracks consist mainly of rearranged RTF tunes together with jazz standards for pianoforte trio, though at that spot are wonderful surprises on disc two. Disc i is taken straight from concert appearances across the globe. The standards function good -- considering how busy Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, together with Lenny White tin live together as good as solo. "On Green Dolphin Street," "Waltz for Debby," together with "Hackensack" all swing, though they produce characteristic moments of RTF's requisite knotty counterpoint. Originals include Clarke's novel tune, the beautiful "La Canción de Sophia," as good as "Bud Powell" together with "Windows" from 2 Corea solo recordings, together with "Señor Mouse" together with "No Mystery," both RTF tunes, circular it out. The modest electrical load is that these 3 play together with thence stridently together with "perfectly" that they audio to a greater extent than similar a studio band instead of a quick-thinking alive unit. Everything is exceptionally played together with recorded. The gems are saved for disc two, which consists mainly of rehearsals for the tour recorded at Mad Hatter Studios inwards San Francisco, consummate amongst off-mike banter. Corea dons his Rhodes together with other keyboards for an first-class version of "Captain Marvel" together with a fully fused-out “Señor Mouse,” “Space Circus,” together with “After the Rain,” all amongst original RTF guitarist Bill Connors playing his donkey off amongst his onetime together with hereafter bandmates (Frank Gambale volition assume guitar duties on tour). Violinist Jean-Luc Ponty volition besides bring together the novel band formally inwards 2012, together with he begins inwards that purpose here, appearing on "Armando's Rhumba" (he played on the original off Corea's My Castilian Heart LP), his ain "Renaissance," a fine rendition of "I Loves You, Porgy" (one of 2 tunes amongst Chaka Khan on vocals), "After the Cosmic Rain," together with "Space Circus." The other 2 surprises on disc 2 are a real soulful dyad betwixt Corea (on acoustic piano) together with White on John Coltrane's "Crescent" together with a stellar acoustic trio version of RTF's measure "500 Miles High," which was recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival together with contains enough of fire. With its looseness, this 2d disc offers the existent dynamic potential for RTF inwards the hereafter together with reveals the depth of nigh symbiotic communication betwixt the bandmembers.
As successful as its massive 2008 earth tour was—stopping at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, together with yielding both a alive CD (Returns) together with DVD (Returns: Live at Montreux 2008) from Eagle Entertainment the next year—it was evidently clear that Return to Forever couldn't maintain amongst guitarist Al Di Meola. It was, however, every bit sure that RTF's remaining members—keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke together with drummer Lenny White—felt corking nigh coming together, nearly xl years after they start met, as they later on striking the road, for their first-ever trio tour, inwards 2009.
The double-disc Forever brings together i CD of textile from dates inwards the States together with Japan, together with a bonus disc of rehearsals for the trio's 2009 Hollywood Bowl date, joined past times original RTF guitarist Bill Connors, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty together with singer Chaka Khan. At the core of both discs is the vibrant simpatico shared past times Corea, Clarke together with White, their acoustic ready combining well-known standards together with roughly every bit iconic Corea material, from his early on entry into The Real Book, the swinging "Windows," to the championship rail to RTF's No Mystery (Polydor, 1975), expanded to nearly a quarter-hour inwards length. Approaching his 70th birthday later this year, Corea has only never played better; bolstered past times the every bit unfettered together with exploratory Clarke together with White, his staggering solo demonstrates this trio's unfailing empathy inwards an album highlight of improvisational construction.
Eschewing RTF's relentless testosterone, the trio is as capable of elegance together with understatement as it is of unequivocal virtuosity. White's fragile ride cymbal gently propels the opening to Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby," fifty-fifty as he adopts a stronger backbone during Corea's solo, while, on Clarke's balladic "La Canción de Sofia," the bassist's arco proves every fleck as lyrical as his sinewy pizzicato is muscular.
With Connors bowing out of the RTF IV tour early on (citing wellness reasons), Forever's 2d disc is a glimpse into what mightiness induce got been. His replacement, Frank Gambale, volition no dubiety live terrific, but hearing Connors dig into textile from his sole RTF outing, Hymn of the Seventh Milky Way (Polydor, 1973)—Clarke's anthemic "After the Cosmic Rain," together with Corea's thundering "Señor Mouse" together with funkified "Space Circus"—fulfills, at to the lowest degree partially, long-past hopes together with dreams of fans who, buying tickets to RTF's 1973/74 tour expecting to demand heed Connors, were unpleasantly surprised past times his teenaged replacement, Di Meola. Decades later, Connors soundless doesn't possess Di Meola's chops, but he remains the to a greater extent than soulful player, amongst a grittier tone together with substance-over-style approach. The bonus disc besides includes trio versions of Latin-era RTF stapes "Captain Marvel" together with "500 Miles High," the Spanish-tinged Corea/Clarke/Ponty trio feature, "Armando's Rhumba," from My Castilian Heart (Polydor, 19076), and, amongst White joining in, the lighter fusion of "Renaissance," from Ponty's Aurora (Atlantic, 1976), combining to furnish a compelling precursor of what's sure enough to come upwardly this summer, when RTF IV hits the North American festival circuit.
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Track listing:
All compositions past times Chick Corea except where noted.
Disc one
1. "On Green Dolphin Street" (BronisÅ‚aw Kaper, Ned Washington) – 8:41
2. "Waltz for Debby" (Bill Evans) – 9:55
3. "Bud Powell" – 7:10
4. "La Canción de Sofia" (Stanley Clarke) – 7:38
5. "Windows" – 8:54
6. "Hackensack" (Thelonious Monk) – 7:30
7. "No Mystery" – 10:55
8. "Se̱or Mouse" Р12:06
Recorded at Yoshi's, Oakland, on September sixteen & 17, 2009 (tracks 1–4, vii & 8), at The Blue Note Tokyo, Nippon on Nov 28, 2009 (track 5) together with at Jazz Alley, Seattle, on Dec 12, 2009 (track 6)
Disc two
01. "Captain Marvel" – 4:13
02. "Se̱or Mouse" Р10:06
03. "Crescent" (John Coltrane) – 1:45
04. "Armando's Rhumba" – 5:12
05. "Renaissance" (Jean-Luc Ponty) – 6:29
06. "High Wire: The Aerialist" – 3:41
07. "I Loves You, Porgy" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:13
08. "After the Cosmic Rain" (Clarke) – 10:38
09. "Space Circus" – 6:06
10. "500 Miles High" – 12:45
Recorded at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, on September 1, 2009 (tracks 1–9) together with at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, on September 30, 2009 (track 10).
Personnel:
Chick Corea – pianoforte (Disc i together with disc two, tracks 3–7 & 10), keyboards (Disc Two, tracks 1, 2, 8 & 9)
Stanley Clarke – double bass (Disc i together with disc two, tracks 1, 4–7 & 10), electrical bass (Disc Two, tracks 2, 8 & 9)
Lenny White – drums (Disc i together with disc two, tracks 1–3 & 5–10)
Bill Connors – guitar (Disc two, tracks 2 & 7–9)
Jean-Luc Ponty – violin (Disc two, tracks 4–5 & 7–9)
Chaka Khan – vocals (Disc two, tracks 6–7)
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