BOSTON, MA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Return to Forever, Return to Forever's classic lineup of keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White have announced a tour that will represent their first extensive engagements together in 30 years.
The worldwide tour was booked by Ted Kurland Associates, exclusive agents for Return To Forever and Chick Corea. The foursome will play more than 50 dates across North America and Europe, featuring primarily classic music from their chart-topping albums. Beginning in Austin, Texas, on May 29th, the legendary supergroup will swing across the U.S. and Canada in June, cross the Atlantic for July dates in Europe from Lithuania to London, then return to the States for an East Coast run of major venues.
The tour includes major outdoor festivals such as the Montreux Festival, the Montreal International Festival, Spain's San Sebastian festival, France's Nice Festival and the Freihofer's Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY, as well as theaters and concert halls chosen to showcase what LA Times critic Don Heckman calls Return to Forever's "rich improvisational symbiosis."
"What made me want to do it," Corea told the Times, "was just recalling how great the feeling was playing with these guys. Just the experience of playing, when I thought, 'Wow, yeah, that was an amazing period — fun, creative, exciting.'"
Heckman, who attended the band's first rehearsal, said the group is now "bringing a 21st century perspective to the visceral blend of rock energy with the improvisation and compositional structures of jazz that made the quartet a phenomenon of the '70s."
A special Return to Forever anthology, compiled from the group's extensive back catalog and featuring dramatic sonic improvements, will also be released to coincide with the tour in a double-CD package
Tour Dates
May
29-30 (Thu-Fri) Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre
31 (Sat) Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Center
June
1 (Sun) Dallas, TX – Nokia Theater at Grand Prairie
3 (Tue) Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
4 (Wed) Salt Lake City, UT – Kingsbury Hall
6 (Fri) Portland, OR – Schnitzer Concert Hall
7 (Sat) Medford, OR – Britt Music Festival
8 (Sun) Seattle, WA – The Paramount
9 (Mon) Vancouver, BC – The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts 11-12 (Wed-Thu) San Francisco, CA – The Grand At The Regency Center (2
shows/night)
13 (Fri) Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre
14 (Sat) Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
17 (Tue) St Louis, MO – Fox Theatre
18 (Wed) Omaha, NE – Holland Performing Arts Center
19 (Thu) Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
20 (Fri) Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre
21 (Sat) Detroit, MI – Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
22 (Sun) Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
24 (Tue) Cleveland, OH – The Plain Dealer Pavilion
25 (Wed) Toronto, Canada – Sony Centre
26 (Thu) Ottawa, Canada – Ottawa Jazz Festival/Confederation Park 27 (Fri) Montreal, Canada – Pelletier Hall/Place Des Arts 28 (Sat) Saratoga Springs, NY – Freihofer's Jazz Festival
July
2 (Wed) Vilnius, Lithuania – Vilnius Festival / Utenos Arena
4 (Fri) Warsaw, Poland – Congress Hall
5 (Sat) Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Arena
6 (Sun) Belgrade, Serbia – Belgrade Arena
8 (Tue) Paris, France – Olympia Hall
9 (Wed) Vienne, France – Vienne Jazz Festival
10 (Thu) Madrid, Spain – Via Jazz Festival
11 (Fri) Girona, Spain – Cap Roig Festival / Jardins de Cap Roig
12 (Sat) Lorca, Spain – Lorca Castle
13 (Sun) Valencia, Spain – Palau de la Musica
16 (Wed) Neuhardenberg, Germany / Schlosspark Nehardenberg
18 (Fri) Montreux, Switzerland – Montreux Jazz Festival / Miles Davis Hall
19 (Sat) Essen, Germany – Grugahalle
21 (Mon) London, England – Indigo2
23 (Wed) Nice, France – Nice Jazz Festival / Jardin Stage
25 (Fri) San Sebastian, Spain – Auditorio del
30 (Wed) Miami, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach
31 (Thu) Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
August
1 (Fri) Orlando, FL – House Of Blues
2 (Sat) Atlanta, GA – Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
4 (Mon) Baltimore, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
5 (Tue) Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center For The Performing Arts – w/ Bela Fleck and The Flecktones
6 (Wed) Boston, MA – Bank Of America Pavilion – w/ Bela Fleck and The Flecktones
7 (Thu) New York, NY – United Palace
-CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
