Returning To Forever John Beasley & Frankfurt Radio Bigband

• 1 Captain Señor Mouse 07:56
• 2 Space Circus 11:03
• 3 No Mystery 07:44
• 4 Vulcan Worlds 09:16
• 5 Medieval Overture 06:03
• 6 You're Everything/La Fiesta 10:14
• 7 Return to Forever 08:52
• Total Runtime 01:01:08

Info for Returning To Forever

Return To Forever, led by the legendary Chick Corea and featuring bassist Stanley Clarke, was one of the great fusion bands of the 1970s. The group evolved through three distinct phases: the Brazilian fusion group with vocalist Flora Purim, percussionist Airto, and reed/flute player Joe Farrell; the rock-influenced quartet with drummer Lenny White and either guitarist Bill Connors or Al DiMeola; and a later ensemble with six horns, drummer Gerry Brown, and Coreas wife, singer Gayle Moran.

In 2019, pianist/keyboardist, arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, music director, and educator John Beasley embarked on an ambitious project: reimagining Return To Forevers music for the GRAMMY-nominated Frankfurt Radio Big Band (hr-Bigband.) While some of Coreas pieces (and Clarkes Vulcan Worlds) have been performed in various ways over the years, they had never been adapted for a large jazz orchestra at this level. Due to the COVID pandemic, the music was not recorded until 2023, and is now being released as Returning To Forever.

Before starting the project, Beasley reached out to Corea for his blessing. Chick gave me his blessings and offered his original handwritten charts. He asked me to share my arrangements with him. I was amazed by how open-minded he was, says Beasley. He wrote four arrangements, but before he could send them, the world learned of Coreas passing on February 9th, 2021.

Beasley preserved each chosen songs form, theme, and essence while making the pieces sound like a natural fit for a big band. Starting with the excitement of Captain Seor Mouse, Returning To Forever includes exhilarating transformations of Space Circus, No Mystery, the funky Vulcan Worlds (with the horns playing transcriptions of Coreas keyboard solos), the passionate Medieval Overture, the lyrical ballad Youre Everything which also includes La Fiesta, and the episodic Return To Forever.

“John Beasley, the one-time keyboardist for Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, whose playing reflects a variety of generational influences, incorporating the emphatic chordal clusters of Herbie Hancock, the rhythmic quirkiness of Monk and the lush intelligence of Art Tatum into a highly refined personal voice.” (Los Angeles Times)

John Beasley, piano, musical director
Frankfurt Radio Bigband:
Heinz-Dieter Saverborn, alto soprano Saxophone, flute, piccolo flute, clarinet
Oliver Leicht, alto saxophone, flute, clarinet, alto clarinet
Denis Gãbel, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet
Steffen Weber, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet
Rainer Heute, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Frank Wellert, trumpet, flugelhorn
Thomas Vogel, trumpet, flugelhorn
Martin Auer, trumpet, flugelhorn
Axel Schlosser, trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet
Gunter Bollmann, trombone
Felix Fromm, trombone
Christian Jaksjø, trombone, baritone horn
Robert Hedemann, bass trombone, tuba
Martin Scales, guitar
Hans Glawischnig, bass
Jean Paul Höchstädter, drums

John Beasley
pianist, composer, and arranger John Beasley has built a genre-spanning career bridging jazz, classical, pop, and film/TV music. A musical shapeshifter with deep jazz roots, he rose to prominence in his 20s performing with Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard, and has since collaborated with artists including Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, Chaka Khan, Chucho Valdés, and Steely Dan.

Beasley’s acclaimed recordings include the 2x GRAMMY® winning, 14x nominated MONK’estra trilogy, Bird Lives, Returning to Forever, El Trio, Maria Mendes, and Positootly! and two Latin GRAMMY nominations, reflecting his wide-ranging impact as both a composer, arranger, and producer.

As Music Director for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, Beasley leads the globally broadcast International Jazz Day gala concerts, staged in cities including Istanbul, Havana, Osaka, and Tangier, with Chicago hosting in 2026. His musical direction for Jazz at the White House earned an Emmy nomination.

In 2026, Beasley will mark the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane through five major projects. Central among them is Unlimited Miles, a new ensemble he will lead on a global tour beginning in March. In collaboration with Marcus Miller, Beasley will reimagine Tutu and Amandla with the Metropole Orkest. He will conduct Hamburg’s NDR Big Band playing his reimagination of Filles de Kilimanjaro, and with Frankfurt’s HR Big Band featuring Isaiah Collier, he will explore the music of Coltrane. In Sweden, Beasley will mark the triple centennials of Miles, Coltrane, and Stockholm’s Konserthuset Concert Hall by revisiting the repertoire from historic concerts Miles and Coltrane performed at the legendary venue. In between, Beasley will continue to tour with Dianne Reeves and squeeze in a gig with his own MONK’estra.

Upcoming releases include Invisible Piano with the SWR Big Band, recorded on a Steinway Spiro (o-tone music), and Unlimited Miles: Live from Blue Note Tokyo (Mack Avenue Records). When not touring, Beasley collaborates closely with 15-x Oscar-nominated composer Thomas Newman, contributing to major film scores including Skyfall and Spectre, and joining Newman on the upcoming Star Wars feature.

This album contains no booklet.