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Fantastic News! I have waited decades to see these guys! I saw the Al Di Meola Project in Manchester and London in 1985, but I am a little bit too young to have seen RTF live. For me this will be the concert the year - and I don't care who else is coming Down Under - no-one plays like Return to Forever. Check out the Return to Forever Returns CDs & DVD from their 2008 US tour - should be able to find clips online - then buy your tickets!!

Well said Simon - this is indeed a very nice Christmas present (even if we have to wait until Feb). I had no idea they were touring but quickly purchased a ticket after picking myself off the floor. Should be absolutely massive!!

Great news indeed!! It was disappointing that we missed out on the 2008 reunion world tour, but good to see they are starting this tour in Australia. I am very glad to see them bringing the original guitarist from the electric version of RTF, Bill Connors. There may be many people who don't realise he preceded DiMeola in this seminal band. The added bonus here is the inclusion of a fifth member, none other than Jean-Luc Ponty!
I wonder if they might play some of Ponty's material? I have my tickets, this will be massive!!!

Roy
AJTC (Australian Jazz Travellers Club)

Is there a support band? It would be really great to see a local band have the opportunity, like Chris Poulsen Trio did with the Yellowjackets a few years ago...

Is there any way that you can revise this promotional material to also include Frank Gambale (guitarist ) who is also on this RTF Australian Tour 2010 Frank has played many years with Chick and I am sure you know is an Australian from Canberra! His career has been as profound as any artist's can ever be and we should be showering him with praise and publicity. I am so excited that he will be touring here and everyone should know!
Kind Regards
Kris

Thanks Kris, Frank Gambale was only recently advertised in the line up (Bill Connors was first on the bill). So this is good news indeed.
Talk soon!

I too have waited 30 years to see these guys - my musical heroes!! Last year when Chick toured with the Five Peace Band, I met him backstage in Adelaide, 25 years after I first met him in Sydney as a young fan. I told him that while I have been blessed to have seen him 5 times, in different cities of the world, my life would only be complete if he could bring RTF to Australia. He acknowledged that they had missed Australia on their 2008 world tour and promised to try and bring them. I'm sure he would have planned it anyway, but I'd love to think I had something to do with this great fortune! I will be travelling to Melboune to see RTF with seveal members of my family and then again in Adelaide 2 days later. I want to see all these guys but Stanley and Lenny have been top of my list of those I have yet to see for soooo long. I have been so lucky to have seen many very great jazz legends in my life, and this will just top it off for me. Lucky, lucky, lucky......

Wow! I booked tickets and didn't realise Frank Gambale was playing. What a fantastic bonus! Can't wait.

I take it he has actually replaced Bill Connors? Does anyone know why Connors pulled out? Whilst it is always great to see Frank G. in action, I was really looking forward to seeing Connors, he was virtually off the scene for many years!

Frank Gambale is likely a worthy replacement for Bill Connors. And he's a true local hero of the international jazz guitar scene to boot.

But I'm still disappointed that this concert, at these prices, has changed billing from: "The real deal, the band exactly as it was on the album".. to: "A great lineup, with some of my favourite players".

I thought that my $300 (for two tickets) was buying Return To Forever of the "Hymn of The Seventh Galaxy" era. That's what it said on the poster when we bought the tickets. Specifically.

Isn't there a Trade Practices Act to cover this situation?

Or, at least, an email from the Opera House (they know where I live) letting me know of the material change of circumstances. An offer of a refund wouldn't go astray either (I don't want one). But they should have informed, and offered.

I heard about the changed line-up entirely by chance, today.

Yes, i was looking forward to seeing Bill Connors too. Perhaps he is sick ?

I would like to know why he can't appear. ....ABC - can you advise here utilising your incredible resources ??

But Frank Gambale should be interesting also, not having ever seen him live. I hope he may offer some variety other than all sweep picking - I do enjoy that and he is impressive but would love to hear/see him challenge himself in other areas in a more surprising and subtle manner. You never know.

I read they will play upto 3 hours ? And separately also. Be great if Chick did some stuff he did with Jean Luc Ponty on My Spanish Heart album... Rhumba's and such ....An amazing lineup all told !!!

Is Frank Gambale aka "THE WIG" oh I love him

I'm with Peter Walker (above) on the unfairness of the sudden switcheroo.

As noted from Ticketmaster site :
"Bill Connors has a medical situation that will not allow his traveling to Australia at this time. We all wish him a speedy and full recovery. He is making good progress. Although the circumstances are unfortunate, the guys are thrilled that Frank Gambale will be joining Return to Forever."

Maybe of interest to others if not already seen, has a video of rehearsal :
http://chickcorea.com/wp/2011/01/return-to-forever-iv-the-hymn-of-the-se...

Hi Ubop. The promoter, Michael Coppel Presents has this statement on their Facebook page:

The fiery-fingered Australian guitarist Frank Gambale, a veteran of the Chick Corea Elektric band of the ‘80s and ‘90s, will take the place of Bill Connors throughout the Australia - New Zealand tour, the group saying:
“Bill Connors has a medical situation that will not allow his traveling to Australia at this time. We all wish him a speedy and full recovery."

I'm going to see them in Perth. In just over a week. So excited! I still remember the first time I heard them - lay on the floor in the dark and listened to the Romantic Warrior LP, which I still have, naturally. It was a heady and moving experience. Of course that was with Al Di Meola, but I'm looking forward to hearing Frank Gambale, and Jean Luc Ponty, and would like to send best wishes to Bill Connors too. Bring it on!

Frank is no longer "The Wig", he is now a fully fledged member of "The Pate".A dream come true gig, especially to hear Jean Luc and Frank .

What a concert. First time I have seen Stanley Clarke live, and he is amazing. All the band were terrific, and JLP added some excellent content, Chick was as good as ever, Frank took up the guitar duties with all the right riffs, and added his own magic, Lenny White held it all together, with some very good fusion but not over the top fusion drumming. Also liked his high hat.

A great night for the fans... a terrible night for the sound engineer. Why bother bringing some of the world's leading jazz musicians to the Opera House and then letting someone (patently) incompetent sit behind the mixing desk? I'm the first to acknowledge that live mixing is a challenge (and, one person's ideal mix is another person's horrible noise). Incompetence, however, is just plainly obvious - it's not a matter of taste. Is there any other explanation for the bizarre level of processing and EQ applied to the mix - such that all softer, more subtle musical moments were drowning in various forms of hiss and noise?

If the hiss was "unfixable" (e.g. the guitar amp had a bad night), here's a tip for all budding engineers: ride the faders! Fade it out during the quiet moments, grease it back in when the band starts up again. Don't (don't!) turn it on and off capriciously, which merely draws more attention to it.

Here's another two tips: (1) this is a JAZZ event, not rock'n'roll. There's no need to pin people in their seats with volume. This leads to tip (2): the Opera House is a difficult venue for amplified music (ask anyone!). Mostly, you can't beat its (excessive) reverb time in the bass end - it was designed for un-amplified classical music, which generally benefits from the longer reverb. When you turn up a PA to the levels of last night's show - the bottom end (Stanley) becomes indecipherable. RTF's music is complex and interwoven; sensitivity is required (from the engineer) to reproduce it appropriately. None was in evidence.

I've heard that the sound in Melbourne was also highly questionable... Michael Coppel (the promoter) - are you listening? Not good enough.

If you're still reading, here's an even more appalling (technical) aspect of last night's show: the on-stage fold-back. We humble punters don't hear it, but the musicians rely on it almost entirely to hear each other on such a large stage. I was close enough to see members of the band struggling all night to get it adjusted up, down, up, down... they never looked comfortable! The foldback engineer can ruin a performance even more thoroughly than the front-of-house guy. When the musicians are fighting the system, struggling to get a sound and enduring feedback - as they were all night - it's a mighty distraction and hardly conducive to settling in to lay down a hot solo. If you were there last night, ask yourself: how many times did Stanley and Frank adjust their volume and tone controls during their solos? I can tell you: dozens! Every few seconds they would tweak, and tweak some more. Why? Because they couldn't get "comfortable" with their sound. Thank you, the foldback engineer.

Sadly, both engineers seemed to spend most of the night looking at the frequency spectrum displayed on their laptops. Here's my last tip: when mixing sound, the most important tools are your ears, your brain and your sensitivity. And a warning: next time, my partner will NOT be able to restrain me from bumping you out of the way and taking over.

P.s. The music was great.

Hi Peter - we're always happy to get a review on the site...!

Some of us were also in the Sydney audience (although up in the rafters). But the sound was pretty reasonable from up the back, where there was less sense of the acoustic space and more direct sound from the PA stacks positioned in the rear third of the room. So we were getting mostly electric sound... which wasn't too bad.

It seems like an ongoing discussion about the rooms which will attract mainstream audiences in Australia and what acoustic properties those rooms possess...

But we all agree, the music was great and it was fantastic to see this RTF line-up in Aus...

Anyone else get to one of the gigs?

Hi all

Yes I made it to the Melbourne gig at the Regent Theatre. It was a great show and it was nice that we had some lighting, smoke and a backdrop this time (including the RTF projection). I too must question the quality of the amplification. I was rather surprised that they went for 'rock concert' volume rather than something a little more subtle and sensitive. Up in the balcony I was bashed with rather a lot of noise in the first set making it difficult to hear Chick's keyboards or Frank's guitar playing. Lenny's drums were way too loud - even when he was hanging back they still dominated. Things improved as the night went on as Chick sent a heap of frantic hand signals to the sound board. Inexcusable was a very annoying and intermittent buzz which no-one on the sound board seemed to hear. Lenny mustn't have had any foldback because he couldn't tell his snare was vibrating loudly in the quieter passages while he wasnt playing. Otherwise he would have simply put his hand on it or turned it off!

Enough complaining - it was a great show. Chick graciously gave plenty of limelight to J-LP and Stanley Clarke - the latter premiered his piece 'New York' to a very receptive audience. J-L P's 'Mirage' also got a guernsy and so to did Stanley Clarke's 'School Days'.

The RTF repertoire was fresh, energetic and played with exuberence. It was wonderful to see how songs such as 'Senor Mouse' and 'No Mystery' have evolved over the years. I lost count of the number of key changes Chick introduced towards the end of 'No Mystery'!

Encore? You bet! Nothing less than a red hot performance of 'Spain' of course, complete with audience participation (normally this would make me shudder, but this time I sang and clapped until my hands were sore). I never thought I would see Chick to 'Spain' live - I read somewhere that he had 'retired' it.

Seeing RTF live is now something that I can cross off my bucket list! Please come again some day...

I hope Mr. Coppell hires Peter Walker to engineer the sound for future jazz performances at the Opera House. Mr Walker has the ears, brain, sensitivity, and skills needed to do the job well.

Thanks all - keep the reviews coming...

Can't complain about the sound in Perth. I hadn't been to a concert in the Riverside Theatre at the Convention Centre before. We were quite amused that the seats had swing up benches for lectures- we could have taken notes!! Anyway, the sound was great. Perfect volume and pretty much crystal clear. Chick was wonderful, Stanley amazing, Jen Luc sizzled, Frank did a sterling job and Lenny White, well, what a groove machine. (I'm in love) My friends and I, (all big fans from way back), thought the whole thing was brilliant. :)

Saw this last night in Brisbane. What a treat. What a line up!! What a bunch of pros!!! 40 years practice playing together does pay off. One of my best concerts ever.

Checked the band last night in Brisbane. Heavenly stuff. They seemed to have most of those engineering problems above sorted out (and the Concert Hall is clearly better then those stages mentioned above).

Hard to fault, one of the best 3 concerts Ive ever been too. The Jean Luc violin allows for more soaring through the heavens, and Frank's work was very fine. Chic was totally on top of every area. The good spirits and humour of the group came through as well - far better atmosphere than that generated by synthesised laughs, over-produced dirges and sombre musicians in black and white gear.

The band are still growing together I think, and I sure hope that a performance will be released before the end of the year. That should be one for the ages.

I attended the Melbourne concert at the Regent Theatre. Although I'm no sound engineering specialist, there was some sort of amplification buzzing occuring in one or two of the pieces the guys played. Its was distracting and in some instances lasted for over 10 seconds or so.

Musicianship wise the guys were brilliant and highly professional. Its great going to a concert of this calibre and having members of the band speak to the audience and throw out a couple of jokes. I've listened to Chick Corea's music since the 70's as a teenage kid, although, i wasnt full on into jazz/fusion etc, i did respect the musicianship part of it and Mr.Corea's use of synthesiser/electronic keyboards.

I've been a student of classical piano on and off for many years and its only been of late that i have started to study and compose complex jazz music. Attending this concert creates inspiration and motivation. I would love to see Chick Corea come out with the Electrik Band :-)

Regards
Billy

Alright, well it seems pretty unanimous that Brisbane's Concert Hall is the best Australian venue for acoustics and supporting engineering etal.

But more to the point - will ABC be presenting any of these fine concerts on the Jazz site sometime soon ??

I also attended the QPAC concert and can concur that the sound was brilliant. Nothing short of a 100% standing ovation. Rare for a jazz band in Australia. Amazing concert

Well said Frank. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

100% standing ovation in Perth too. The audience was rapt.

Not quite sure how you arrive at the "unanimous" verdict, Blind Freddie, but glad you enjoyed as much as I did :)

Um, Cathy. I was saying - 'pretty unanimous'. There's been no argument from the fans, above ! And although your a Perth resident Im sure you will be agreeing with me about the Brisbane venue too. Suggest you fly up here next time the RTF perform.

Just going over some concerts I've been to this year and saw the above reviews. I went to the Brisbane show and was very disappointed in the sound - it started out terrible as though no sound check had been done at all - my head was swimming and confused in the levels bouncing around the room. It did improve after the first 30 seconds but still wasn't great. The second set was a fair bit better but I can't help but feel this was mostly due to the songs chosen being more minimalistic than anything the engineer did.

I spoke to some friends who were sitting up front and said the sound was fine but up at the back was a different story. Maybe they were getting a lot of stage spill and sitting behind/under FOH... guess it's worth paying the extra $ to avoid the risk of disappointment. I thought my $99 would've covered a decent mix.

I still enjoyed the night but it took concentration to just hear the music instead of thinking about what the heck is going on with the sound!? Not what I've come to expect from QPAC and especially engineers mixing for internationally touring artists.