MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
Return to Forever IV to Close the Avantgarde Jazz Festival
Rovinj, July 12, 2011 – The first Avantgarde Jazz Festival will be closed by the latest line-up
of one of the most significant bands of all times - Return to Forever IV. The final concert
organized as part of this year’s Avantgarde Jazz Festival will be held on Sunday, July 17, 2011
in the backyard of the former Rovinj Tobacco Factory.
Next to the Miles Davis band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the Weather Report, Return to
Forever is one of the most famous fusion movement bands of the 1970s. It is also the most
famous band led by Chick Corea, a versatile pianist and composer. The latest line-up, now
known as Return to Forever IV, gathers three musicians from the original Return to Forever
band, namely Chic Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, accompanied by legendary
violinist Luc Ponty from the Mahavishnu Orchestra and renowned guitarist Frank Gambale.
Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim are the members of
the original Return to Forever band that emerged in 1972. The band combined samba, jazz
and fusion into a new, progressive and influential beat. The following line-up - Corea, Clarke,
Bill Connors and Lenny White – was a result of seeking to find the appropriate texture and
bring the concept to perfection. After Connors left the band, Di Meola joined it, the new,
stable line-up was formed and RTF became one of the most popular and most successful
electronic bands of the early 1970s. The band took a different approach, turning completely
to the jazz-rock beat – harder, louder, more energetic, with elements of funk - yet still nicely
melodic, featuring masterful improvisations by all band members. The band performed and
recorded at an enviable pace. They were constantly touring or recording at the studio,
working on RTF albums or solo projects. In the period from 1974 to 1977, they recorded as
many as four albums - Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Where Have I Known You Before, No
Mystery (a Grammy-award winning album in the category of Best Jazz Performance)
and Romantic Warrior, a gold album (500,000 units sold). During the following two years
(1977 and 1978), the band also recorded one studio album, Musicmagic, and one concert
album, RTF Live.
Being outstanding musicians, all of the above-mentioned names launched successful solo
careers and continued with independent research of different approaches to the beat. In
2011, the quintet reunited again as Return to Forever IV combining the band's history with
an exciting vision of one of the most influential bands of all times.
The Avantgarde Jazz Festival is supported by: Maistra, Rovinj Tourist Board, Zagrebačka
banka, Coca-Cola, Ožujsko, Jutarnji list, Otvoreni radio, Tportal.hr, Muzika.hr.
The tickets to the concerts organized as part of the Avantgarde Jazz Festival are available for
purchase at the following Maistra hotels: Monte Mulini, Eden, Park and Adriatic, at Eventim
ticket stores, and online at www.eventim.hr.
More Info:
www.avantgardejazzfestival.com
About the Performers:
http://www.return2forever.com
YouTube:
Return to Forever IV.
Official Press Photos:
Return to Forever IV.
For interviews and additional press material (biography, official video), please contact our
press service at: press@avantgardejazzfestival.com
Media Contact:
Ana Mikin
+385 91 4874 744
press@avantgardejazzfestival.com