05/16/11

Return to Forever IV Announces 32-City Tour

Corea, Clarke and White to tour US with Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale

By Lee Mergner

Three of the core members of the seminal jazz-rock group Return to Forever have joined forces again for a blockbuster tour, this time adding violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and guitarist Frank Gambale to the mix. The five will be doing a 32-city tour, beginning on August 7. Sharing a bill with RTF IV, as they’re calling themselves, will be Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa, a tribute from son to father.

In a press release received at JazzTimes, Corea said: “Since all the guys in the band are such good composers, I wanted to have everyone’s compositions add to the new RTF IV vibe. So we all agreed: let’s open it up — which is the way we like it, and I think the way the fans like it too.”

Here are the dates as currently scheduled for the tour:

8/7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
8/8 - Buffalo, NY - UAB Center for the Arts
8/9 – Baltimore, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
8/10 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center
8/11 - Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion
8/12 – New York, NY - The Beacon Theatre
8/13 – New York, NY - The Beacon Theatre
8/16 - Columbus, OH – The Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
8/17 - Cleveland, OH – State Theatre
8/18 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion at Riverbend
8/19 - Detroit, MI – MeadowBrook Music Festival
8/20 - Chicago, IL - The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino
8/21 - Indianapolis, IN - The Murat
8/22 – Nashville, TN – Schermerhorn Symphony Center
8/24 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
8/25 - St. Louis, MO - Fabulous Fox Theatre
8/26 - Kansas City, MO – The Midland By AMC
8/27 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
8/28 - Salt Lake City, UT - Red Butte Garden
9/8 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
9/9 – Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
9/10 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheatre
9/11 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
9/13 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
9/14 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
9/15 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
9/17 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center
9/19 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's By the Bay
9/20 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
9/21 - Davis, CA - Mondavi Center
9/22 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
9/23 - Eugene, OR – Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center
9/24 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre

For more information about the group and tour, you can visit their website.

Here is a video from a recent performance in Australia: