Richard Quentin Laird was an Irish musician, best known as the bassist and a founding member of the jazz fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra, with which he performed from 1971 to 1973.
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" and "Windows" are widely considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth of jazz fusion. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever. Along with McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, Corea is considered to have been one of the foremost pianists of the post-John Coltrane era.
John McLaughlin, also known as Mahavishnu, is an English guitarist, bandleader, and composer. A pioneer of jazz fusion, his music combines elements of jazz with rock, world music, Western classical music, flamenco, and blues. After contributing to several key British groups of the early 1960s, McLaughlin made Extrapolation, his first album as a bandleader, in 1969. He then moved to the U.S., where he played with drummer Tony Williams's group Lifetime and then with Miles Davis on his electric jazz fusion albums In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, Live-Evil, and On the Corner. His 1970s electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and rock with Indian influences.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 and from 1984 to 1987. With its first line-up consisting of musicians Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, and Rick Laird, the band received its initial acclaim for its complex, intense music consisting of a blend of Indian classical music, jazz, and psychedelic rock as well as its dynamic live performances between 1971 and 1973. Many members of the band have gone on to acclaimed careers of their own in the jazz and jazz fusion genres.
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.
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer.
Narada Michael Walden is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy.
Visions of the Emerald Beyond is the fifth album by the jazz fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the second released by its second incarnation.
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.
Mad Hatter is a studio album by Chick Corea. Released in 1978, it is a concept album inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The Leprechaun is a studio album by Chick Corea, released in 1976. It features horn and string sections, and vocals from Corea’s wife Gayle Moran, formerly of Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Secret Agent is a studio album by Chick Corea, recorded and released in 1978. It is a musically diverse release that features Corea’s long-standing collaborators Joe Farrell on reeds and woodwinds, percussionist Airto, and vocalist Gayle Moran. Al Jarreau sings “Hot News Blues”, and a four piece brass section and string quartet also appear.
Bernard "Bunny" Brunel is a French-American bass guitarist who has played with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band CAB and is involved in musical instrument design and film and television scoring. He was a bass and music teacher for jazz bass player Kyle Eastwood.
Musicmagic is a studio album by fusion band Return to Forever, their final work until 2008.
Live is a concert recording by fusion band Return to Forever. It was recorded at the Palladium in New York City on May 20th & 21st, 1977 as part of the tour to support the Musicmagic album. This was the only tour to feature the 1977 group, which included original members Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke and saxophonist Joe Farrell, along with keyboardist/vocalist Gayle Moran, and a six-piece horn section.
Trilogy is a 2013 live album by Chick Corea and his trio, featuring Corea on piano with Christian McBride on double bass and Brian Blade on drums. The three-disc album was recorded live in Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California, and in Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Turkey, and Japan. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart in 2014. It won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
Tone was a jazz-fusion band founded in 1974 by former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious and drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter. They made half a dozen albums between 1974 and 1980, some of which were billed as Sancious solo projects.
Antidote is a studio album by Chick Corea and The Spanish Heart Band. The album received a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
