Stanley Clarke is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fusion bassist to headline tours, sell out shows worldwide and have recordings reach gold status.
Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhunters, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever albums.
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion album by Chick Corea recorded over two days in February 1972 and released on ECM September that same year—Corea's fourth release for the label. It is the debut of a quintet featuring singer Flora Purim, flautist/saxophonist Joe Farrell, bassist Stanley Clarke and percussionist Airto Moreira, who would go on to record under the name Return to Forever.
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy is a studio album by American jazz fusion band Return to Forever. It was released in October of 1973 by Polydor. It was the first album not to feature Flora Purim, Airto and Joe Farrell, and marked a shift away from the largely acoustic fusion they created. Drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors make their first appearances with the group. Connors would leave shortly after the albums release.
No Mystery (1975) is a studio album by jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever, and the second featuring the quartet of Chick Corea, guitarist Al Di Meola, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White.
Where Have I Known You Before is a studio album by Return to Forever, the first featuring guitarist Al Di Meola, and the second since leader Chick Corea switched to mostly electric instrumentation, playing music heavily influenced by progressive rock, funk and classical.
Romantic Warrior is a studio album by the American jazz fusion band Return to Forever, their first recorded for Columbia Records, after releasing their previous four albums on Polydor. In February of 1976, the group retreated to Caribou Ranch near Nederland, Colorado to record. It was the first album to remove the "featuring Chick Corea" credit from beside the band name on the album cover. Despite the music being more dense and avant-garde than the funkier No Mystery, it remains the band's highest selling album with over 500,000 copies sold in the US alone.
My Spanish Heart is a studio album by Chick Corea, recorded and released in 1976. Prominent guest musicians include Corea’s Return to Forever bandmate Stanley Clarke on basses, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, drummers Steve Gadd and Narada Michael Walden and Corea’s wife Gayle Moran on vocals.
Return to the 7th Galaxy: The Anthology is a 1996 compilation of 1972-1976 recordings made by bands assembled by Chick Corea under the name Return to Forever. The collection includes tracks from the albums Light as a Feather, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Where Have I Known You Before and No Mystery, together with four previously unreleased tracks.
Journey to Love is the third solo album by jazz fusion bassist Stanley Clarke.
Echoes of an Era is an album by American R&B/jazz singer Chaka Khan, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, released in 1982 on Elektra Records.
Captain Marvel is a 1974 jazz album by saxophonist Stan Getz recorded on March 3, 1972 and released on Columbia two years later. The quintet features pianist Chick Corea, who composed most of the material, bassist Stanley Clarke, Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira and drummer Tony Williams.
Returns is a live album by American fusion band Return to Forever. Released in 2009 by Eagle Records, it is the first recording by the band after a hiatus of 32 years. Also in 2009 a video recording of the band's live performances from the "Returns" tour at Montreux, Switzerland and Clearwater, Florida was released by Eagle Rock Entertainment as Returns: Live at Montreux 2008.
The Stanley Clarke Band is an album by the Stanley Clarke Band led by jazz bassist Stanley Clarke. It was released by Heads Up Record in June 2010 and was produced by Clarke and Lenny White. Band members include Ruslan Sirota on keyboard, Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums and featured performer Hiromi on piano.
The Mothership Returns is a live two CD/single DVD set by the fusion band Return to Forever. Released 18 June 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment, it documents music performed during the 2011 tour, for which Return to Forever was expanded to a quintet with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White and new members Jean-Luc Ponty on violin and Frank Gambale on guitar. The album peaked #6 in the 2012 and 2013 Jazz Album charts.
The Vigil is an album recorded by Chick Corea and released sixth of August 2013. In the Billboard Jazz albums charts the album peaked at number 4. The album won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
Forever is a double CD album of live acoustic recordings recorded in California, Tokyo and Seattle in 2009 by the Return to Forever pianist Chick Corea, bass player Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White and studio rehearsals with guests Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Connors and Chaka Khan. It was released on the Concord label I 2011.
"500 Miles High" is a jazz fusion song by American musician Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Composed by Corea with lyrics by Neville Potter, it was recorded in 1972 for the group's second album, Light as a Feather, which was released in 1973. Brazilian singer Flora Purim provides the vocal and the piece became her signature song and a jazz standard.
Just Family is the third studio album by American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.
