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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 24, 2008

In the '70s, when jazz fusion both swung and rocked, Return to Forever was one of the genre's elite, making complex, challenging music that managed to appeal to a wider audience than typical for jazz.

Led by pianist Chick Corea, with his right-hand man bassist Stanley Clarke, the group began life as a Latin-tinged outfit with vocals by Flora Purim, morphed into a high-volume quartet and ended in an expanded version with a horn section.

It's the second incarnation - featuring guitarist Al DiMeola and drummer Lenny White - that made the biggest impact, with albums such as 1974's "Where Have I Known You Before," 1975's "No Mystery" and 1976's "Romantic Warrior" all reaching the Top 40 Pop Album chart in Billboard, a rarity for jazz recordings.

The group inexplicably disbanded soon after "Romantic Warrior," at a commercial and, some would argue, artistic peak.

Rumors claimed there were conflicts between band members over Corea's Scientology, although none of them would speak to that in a recent Downbeat cover story.

Corea sidesteps the question while speaking by telephone from a tour stop in Valencia, Spain.

"The whole experience of that band," Corea says, "was we were on the road all the time. We didn't have time to think about anything but making new music and creating a performance. We weren't thinking about the peak, we just kept playing."

In addition, Corea points out, "by 1975, everyone was also into their own things with their own bands."

But Return to Forever's split seems like a footnote now, as the quartet has reunited for a tour.

Corea says conversations between the band mates over the years, as well as talks with the band's admirers, kept the flame alive.

"We always said we'd like to put Return to Forever back together," Corea says. "So it got kind of intense over the past couple of years, and it kind of built up last year with more and more and more talk until we finally said, 'Look, let's put a schedule together,' and we targeted summer of '08."

With no new material, the band released "Anthology," featuring tracks from its three albums as well as 1973's "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy," which featured Bill Connors on guitar.

"Since we didn't attempt to write new music - there wasn't really time - we just selected pieces from the '70s repertoire. But they all have new twists and turns. It's been a blast."

New music might be in the offing as well.

"We haven't had a lot of time to think about it beyond this tour, but I'm hoping the experience will continue," Corea says. "Return to Forever was a whole part of my life, and it feels good to connect with the musicians that created it."

ON TOUR

Return to Forever

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater; (727) 791-7400

COST: $49.75 and $59.75

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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