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.
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.
Albert Laurence Di Meola is an Italian-American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as guitarist with the group Return to Forever in 1974. From 1976 to 1978 he played with Stomu Yamashta in the supergroup Go on three records. The 1970s and 1980s saw albums such as Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, Casino and Friday Night in San Francisco earn him both critical and commercial success.
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.
Leonard "Lenny" White III is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". He has won three Grammy awards, two nominations and one Latin Grammy.
Baron Browne was an American bass guitarist.
This is a discography of Al Di Meola, an American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin.
The Guitar Trio is a reunion album by Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía and John McLaughlin, released in 1996 after 13 years without playing together. This 1996 effort has three originals apiece from McLaughlin and Di Meola, two by de Lucía and a McLaughlin-Di Meola duet on "Manhã de Carnaval".
Biréli Lagrène is a French jazz guitarist who came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt–influenced style. He often performs in swing, jazz fusion, and post-bop styles.
My Spanish Heart is the tenth solo 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.
The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio is a jazz album released in 1969 by Jean-Luc Ponty on World Pacific Jazz in the US, and is considered to be one of the earliest jazz fusion albums. This was the third album of note for pianist George Duke.
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.
In the 1970s in jazz, jazz became increasingly influenced by Latin jazz, combining rhythms from African and Latin American countries, often played on instruments such as conga, timbale, güiro, and claves, with jazz and classical harmonies played on typical jazz instruments. Artists such as Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola increasingly influenced the genre with jazz fusion, a hybrid form of jazz-rock fusion which was developed by combining jazz improvisation with rock rhythms, electric instruments, and the highly amplified stage sound of rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix. All Music Guide states that "..until around 1967, the worlds of jazz and rock were nearly completely separate." However, "...as rock became more creative and its musicianship improved, and as some in the jazz world became bored with hard bop and did not want to play strictly avant-garde music, the two different idioms began to trade ideas and occasionally combine forces." On June 16, 1972 the New York Jazz Museum opened in New York City at 125 West 55th Street in a one and one-half story building. It became the most important institution for jazz in the world with a 25,000 item archive, free concerts, exhibits, film programs, etc.
The Rite of Spring is a 1913 ballet and orchestral concert work by Igor Stravinsky.
The Infinite Desire is an album by jazz guitarist Al Di Meola that was released in 1998. Pianist Herbie Hancock plays acoustic piano on one pice, guitarist Steve Vai also plays electric guitar on another. Other guests include Pino Daniele on vocals, Mario Parmisano on keyboards, piano and strings and Rachel Z also on keyboards.
Open Strings is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1971 on vinyl by the MPS label.
The Mothership Returns is a live two CD set and one DVD-Video by the fusion band Return to Forever. Released 18 June 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment, the double CD set documents the music performed during the 2011 tour. Return to Forever was expanded for this tour to quintet and featured keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White, guitarist Frank Gambale and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The album peaked #6 in the 2012 and 2013 Jazz Album charts.
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.
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