When guitarist
Al DiMeola left
Return to Forever (again) after their 2008 reunion tour,
Chick Corea solicited the help of the band's original axeman,
Bill Connors, to rejoin the band for another tour. He did. While he rehearsed with
Corea,
Stanley Clarke, and
Lenny White, health issues forbade him from returning to the road.
Corea then enlisted his former
Elektric Band guitarist
Frank Gambale, as well as guest violinist
Jean-Luc Ponty. The 2011 tour, by all fan accounts, blew the doors off the 2008 reunion.
Gambale, every bit the technical virtuoso as
Di Meola, is the stronger jazz player of the two. And with
Ponty's added fireworks, the vintage
RTF material took on an entirely new life, as did other pieces performed here. This two-CD/DVD package offers visual as well as audio proof that the fans were correct. While the set opens with a gorgeously played "Medieval Overture" from
Romantic Warrior, it then shifts into what is perhaps the most intense version of "Señor Mouse" on record at over 12 minutes. Next up is a medley of
White tunes in "The Shadow of Lo/Sorceress," clocking in at nearly 17 minutes While the first part is a largely acoustic piece, it gives way to the band's full slate of jazz chops full-on.
Clarke,
Gambale,
Ponty, and
Corea all shine, while
White is so ambitious and propulsive, he makes this entire jam sound more like prog rock than fusion.
Ponty's 19-plus minute "Renaissance," from 1975's
Aurora, is a showcase for his composition. As a soloist, he remains fully committed to the fusion aesthetic and is every bit as technically gifted as he was in the '70s. He's dazzling, as is
Clarke, in his swinging pizzicato bass solo. Disc two begins with a burning, free-flowing "After the Cosmic Rain" that heads directly into an extended version of "Romantic Warrior" before shifting gears into a gorgeous medley of composer
Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto Aranjuez paired with
Corea's "Spain." Things get massively funky on
Clarke's "School Days" before heading off into a straight -- and brief -- "Hymn to the Seventh Galaxy" to close it all out. It's a breathtaking 110 minutes. The included DVD contains a documentary called Return to Forever: Inside the Music, concert performances of "After the Cosmic Rain" and "The Romantic Warrior," and a sneak peek trailer for the forthcoming film, The Story of Return to Forever. ~ Thom Jurek