Light as a Feather | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1973 | |||
Recorded | October 8 & 15, 1972 | |||
Studio | IBC, London, England | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
Length | 42:46 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Producer | Chick Corea | |||
Return to Forever chronology | ||||
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Chick Corea chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
SputnikMusic | [2] |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [3] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [4] |
Light as a Feather is the second studio album by the first edition of the jazz fusion band Return to Forever led by pianist Chick Corea. It features saxophonist/flautist Joe Farrell, bassist Stanley Clarke, percussionist Airto Moreira and his wife, vocalist/percussionist Flora Purim.
The style of the music remains mostly the same as the first album, though Purim’s vocals were given a larger role. Corea produced the album for Polydor Records. Clarke played double bass, though for most of his later career he has played bass guitar.
"Captain Marvel" is a fast Latin piece that provided the name for Stan Getz's album released in the same year (with Corea, Clarke and Moreira guesting). Airto plays percussion and Purim sings without words during the song's main riff.
The album ends with "Spain", which was inspired by, and whose introduction was taken from, Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (1939).
This was the second of only two albums featuring the band's original line-up. Purim and her husband Airto would leave after its release (to be replaced by guitarist Bill Connors and drummer Lenny White); Joe Farrell also left at this time, but would return to the band for their seventh and eighth albums ( Musicmagic and Live ); bassist Stanley Clarke remained with the band through all of its line-up changes.
Light as a Feather won the 1972 Playboy Jazz Album of the year and has been selected by many magazines and polls as one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded. For many years this album has been listed on The Absolute Sound super disc list and the Stereophile list of "Records to Die For". It is also featured in Tom Moon's 1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die. [5]
All tracks are written by Chick Corea except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "You're Everything" | Chick Corea, lyrics by Neville Potter | 5:11 |
2. | "Light as a Feather" | Stanley Clarke, lyrics by Flora Purim | 10:57 |
3. | "Captain Marvel" | 4:53 | |
4. | "500 Miles High" | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 9:07 |
5. | "Children's Song" | 2:47 | |
6. | "Spain" | Corea, Joaquín Rodrigo | 9:51 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Matrix" | 8:10 | |
2. | "Light as a Feather" (Alternative Take) | Clarke, lyrics by Purim | 10:46 |
3. | "500 Miles High" (Alternative Take) | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 10:32 |
4. | "Children's Song" (Alternative Take) | 3:58 | |
5. | "Spain" (Composite Alternative Take) | Corea, Rodrigo | 5:33 |
6. | "Spain" (Alternative Take) | Corea, Rodrigo | 9:02 |
7. | "What Games Shall We Play Today?" | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 3:52 |
8. | "What Games Shall We Play Today?" (Alternative Take 1) | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 4:06 |
9. | "What Games Shall We Play Today?" (Alternative Take 2) | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 3:46 |
10. | "What Games Shall We Play Today?" (Alternative Take 3) | Corea, lyrics by Potter | 3:49 |
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1973 | Billboard Jazz Albums | 6 [6] |
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.
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, 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 jazz pianists of the post-John Coltrane era.
"Spain" is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by jazz pianist and composer Chick Corea. It is likely Corea's most recognized piece, and is considered a jazz standard.
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.
Flora Purim is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with numerous artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Opa, Stan Getz, George Duke, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jaco Pastorius, and her husband Airto Moreira.
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion album by Chick Corea, simultaneously functioning as the debut album by the first edition of the band of the same name. Unlike later albums by the group, it was released by the ECM label and produced by Manfred Eicher. The album was not released in the USA until 1975. The record is often considered one of the classic albums in electric jazz.
Joseph Carl Firrantello, known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.
Airto Guimorvan Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the Brazilian ensemble Quarteto Novo, he moved to the United States and worked in jazz fusion with Miles Davis and Return to Forever.
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy is the third studio album by American jazz fusion band Return to Forever. It was released in October 1973 by Polydor. Flora Purim, Joe Farrell, and Airto Moreira were replaced by drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors. It would be the only album with Bill Connors as guitarist; he left after its release and was replaced by Al Di Meola.
No Mystery (1975) is the fifth studio album by jazz-rock fusion band Return to Forever.
Secret Agent is the twelfth 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.
Return to the 7th Galaxy: The Anthology (1996) is an anthology of recordings made from 1972 to 1975 by bands assembled by Chick Corea under the name Return to Forever. The album is a compilation of 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.
Musicmagic is the seventh and final studio album of fusion band Return to Forever.
Tap Step is an album recorded by Chick Corea in 1979 and 1980.
Captain Marvel is a jazz album by saxophonist Stan Getz released in 1974 on the Columbia Records label. The album features performances by Getz with Chick Corea, who composed most of the material, Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira and Tony Williams. Shortly before recording this album Corea, Clarke and Moreira had formed the core of the group Return to Forever, and Captain Marvel shares the Latin jazz and jazz fusion sound that Corea was exploring in this era. Three pieces from this album, La Fiesta, Five Hundred Miles High and Captain Marvel, were already published on Chick Corea's previous solo record titled Return to Forever in 1972.
Outback is a jazz album by Joe Farrell on the CTI Records label. It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in November 1971.
Free is an album by Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira with performances recorded in 1972. The album was released by CTI Records and reached No. 30 on the jazz album chart at Billboard magazine.
"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.
Open Your Eyes You Can Fly is the fifth solo studio album by Brazilian jazz singer Flora Purim. It was released in 1976 via Milestone Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. The album features contributions from Airto Moreira on percussion and vocals, David Amaro and Egberto Gismonti on guitars, George Duke on keyboards, Hermeto Pascoal on electric piano and flute, Alphonso Johnson and Ron Carter on bass, Robertinho Silva and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler on drums, and Laudir de Oliveira on congas. One of the songs featured here, Sometime Ago, was composed by Chick Corea with lyrics by Neville Potter and was featured on the eponymous album by Return to Forever produced in 1972, Flora Purim and her husband Airto Guimorvan Moreira also played on that album.