[SACD-R][OF] Return To Forever - Musicmagic (Limited Edition, Numbered, Remastered) - 1977/2016 (Jazz-Rock, Fusion)

oobar2000 1.3.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-01-22 08:46:44
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Return To Forever / Musicmagic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11      -4.13 dB   -19.24 dB      7:12 01-01 The Musician
DR11      -4.07 dB   -19.26 dB      3:47 02-02 Hello Again
DR12      -4.25 dB   -19.24 dB     11:06 03-03 Musicmagic
DR10      -4.40 dB   -18.89 dB      6:09 04-04 So Long Mickey Mouse
DR12      -3.83 dB   -20.65 dB      4:00 05-05 Do You Ever
DR11      -4.35 dB   -18.51 dB      9:43 06-06 The Endless Night
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of tracks:  6
Official DR value: DR11
Samplerate:        2822400 Hz / PCM Samplerate: 88200 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   1
Bitrate:           5645 kbps
Codec:             DST64
================================================================================

 

Gayle Moran - vocals, piano, organ
Joe Farrell - saxophone, flute
James Tinsley - trumpet, piccolo
John Thomas - trumpet, flugelhorn
Harold Garret - trombone
James E. Pugh - trombone
Chick Corea - keyboards
Stanley Clarke - electric bass, acoustic bass, vocals
Gerry Brown - drums

Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by pianist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, first came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever's albums.
After playing on Miles Davis's groundbreaking jazz-fusion albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, Corea formed an avant-garde jazz band called Circle with Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul. However, in 1972, after having become a member of Scientology, Corea decided that he wanted to better "communicate" with the audience. This essentially translated into his performing a more popularly accessible style of music, since avant-garde jazz enjoyed a relatively small audience.

Musicmagic is Return to Forever's seventh and final studio album and one of the best jazz recordings released in the fusion genre. The album contains the final line-up of the band with only founders Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke returning from the previous recordings. This 1977 release was the first Return to Forever album in five years to contain vocals, performed here by Corea's future wife Gayle Moran and the surprisingly enjoyable Stanley Clarke. This album also marked the return of original member Joe Farrell on saxophone and flute, along with several new members making up a killer five-piece horn section.
The sound is remarkably more orchestral than anything the group had previously done, a cross between fusion, jazz vocals, big band and grassroots accoustic jazz. Musicmagic celebrates the pure joy of music with contributions from Corea (“The Musician”), Moran (the existential jazz ballad “Do You Ever”), Corea and Moran together (“Musicmagic” and “The Endless Night”) and Clarke (“Hello Again” and the album’s single greatest moment, “So Long Mickey Mouse,” offering particularly great spots for Farrell’s flute and soprano, Corea’s keyboard kaleidoscope and Clarke’s entrancing bass).
The music of this new Return to Forever band overwhelms you with a great sense of accomplishment. The album reached #4 on the Billboard Jazz chart and doesn't lose a beat when compared to previous works by the band.