Rock On! Wednesday, 2 april 2025 – Return to Forever, The Brecker Brothers, Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra & Brand X

Psychedelic, heavy, prog and more innovating sounds spanning the late 60s and the early 70s – Dan’s pick of the week: Return to Forever (Romantic Warrior ), The Brecker Brothers (The Brecker Bros.), Soft Machine (Third), Mahavishnu Orchestra (Between Nothingness & Eternity) & Brand X (Unorthodox Behaviour).

Return to Forever was een Amerikaanse jazzfusionband die in 1972 werd opgericht door pianist Chick Corea. De band heeft veel leden gehad, met als enige vaste bandgenoot van Corea bassist Stanley Clarke. Samen met Weather Report, The Headhunters en Mahavishnu Orchestra wordt Return to Forever vaak genoemd als een van de kerngroepen van de jazzfusionbeweging van de jaren 1970.

Brendan Schroer van Sputnik Music: “As Chick Corea’s premier fusion act Return to Forever became more of a band than a solo project, their virtuosity and progressive elements continued to increase. Some may argue that this lessened the charm and beauty of their work, but I strongly beg to differ. Perhaps it’s the prog nerd in me projecting, but the way the group could still maintain their composing prowess while strengthening their ensemble interplay was really gripping. Corea was still clearly at the helm, but he brought in the best players to flesh out his vision as a jazz fusion luminary. The true magic of the collective’s work was in how these musicians could work off each other and make something both emotionally resonant and musically abstruse. Thus, Romantic Warrior plays out as a wonderful – if slightly flawed – melding of incredible technical feats and inner-band chemistry.(…)

It’s hard to determine whether Romantic Warrior is Return to Forever’s best album – they have a stellar catalogue, after all – but at the very least, it’s certainly one of them. The fact that such a technically demanding record didn’t get derailed by overt self-indulgence is quite impressive, and the beauty and charm of the pieces is preserved wonderfully as a result. Chick Corea has a lot to be proud of here and with Return to Forever in general (as well as solo work, collaborations, Elektric Band, etc. etc.), both as a composer and an phenomenal musician. And while he may not be with us anymore, we can at least look back at the amazing body of work he’s left behind and marvel at how we got such a brilliant musical mind in this lifetime.”

Wednesday, Wednesday, 2 April 2025 12:00 noon CET Brussels – 11 a.m. GMT London. Repeated: 16:00 & 20:00 hrs CET Brussels, 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. GMT London
Ends: 12 midnight CET Brussels, 11 p.m. GMT London.