Light as a Feather - Return to Forever

Light as a Feather is the second album by Return to Forever, the fusion group led by pianist Chick Corea, recorded in October 1972 during a residency at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London and released on Polydor Records in 1973. The lineup features Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, Joe Farrell on tenor saxophone and flute, Flora Purim on vocals, and Airto Moreira on drums and percussion. The album blends post-bop jazz improvisation with Brazilian rhythms, bossa nova, and Spanish influences, anchored by Corea's Fender Rhodes electric piano — often run through a wah-wah pedal for a distinctive, shimmering tone. The centerpiece is "Spain," an instrumental that opens with a passage from Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez before launching into a flamenco-tinged theme that became one of the most widely performed jazz compositions of the last fifty years. "500 Miles High" and "You're Everything" have also entered the jazz repertoire as standards. Purim's wordless, ethereal vocals give several tracks a quality distinct from the more aggressive fusion being recorded by contemporaries like the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Playboy named it Jazz Album of the Year, and it has appeared on numerous all-time lists. The original quintet dissolved shortly after the album's release, with Corea reconstituting Return to Forever as a louder, electric jazz-rock band.