Light as a Feather


Light as a Feather is the first studio album credited to jazz band Return to Forever led by keyboardist Chick Corea. It features saxophonist/flautist Joe Farrell, bassist Stanley Clarke, vocalist Flora Purim and her husband, drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira, who all performed on Corea's previous album Return to Forever, from which the group took its name.

Content

The style of the music remains mostly the same as the first album, though Purim's vocals were given a larger role. Corea produced the album for Polydor Records. Clarke played double bass, though for most of his later career he has played bass guitar.
"Captain Marvel" is a fast Latin piece that provided the name for Stan Getz's album released in the same year. Airto plays percussion and Purim sings without words during the song's main riff.
The album ends with "Spain", which was inspired by, and whose introduction was taken from, Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.
This was the second of only two albums featuring the band's original line-up. Purim and her husband Airto would leave after its release ; Joe Farrell also left at this time, but would return to the band for their seventh and eighth albums ; bassist Stanley Clarke remained with the band through all of its line-up changes.

Reception and legacy

Light as a Feather won the 1972 Playboy Jazz Album of the year and has been selected by many magazines and polls as one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded. For many years this album has been listed on The Absolute Sound super disc list and the Stereophile list of "Records to Die For". It is also featured in Tom Moon's 1,000 Albums to Hear Before You Die.

Personnel