Chick Corea’s Return To Forever came out in 1972. I was introduced to his music much later. Then began the journey of learning to appreciate Corea’s music. As one of the pioneers of jazz fusion, Chick Corea and that album in particular for me, opened the door to fresh possibilities of combining so-called disparate elements of my life to say something that couldn’t be said any other way. Such is the nature of music, is it not?
But what was it? What indeed was Chick Corea trying to say? I’m not sure of the extent to which I’m really interested to know. For me, what matters is the process of gathering and curating, which gives meaning to a vocabulary that cannot be fully fathomed apart from experiencing the music of the musician.
Return To Forever is an invitation for listeners, all of us creatives as active participants worldwide, to join in the reimagining of the elements of sound, a combination of sonic potentials that bridges the world we live in and the world yet to come. If you are looking for “forever” you might begin here via Chick’s live concert solo: https://youtu.be/NGJ2AaIVGl8?t=2245.
But don’t forget to check out Psalm 23 for a sense of where “forever” might be.
The Lord Is My Shepherd
23 A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 23:title–6.
