Hymn

The second incarnation of Chick Corea's influential fusion group released only a single record, the magnificent Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. Featuring a more rock-oriented approach than the Flora Purim-Joe Farrell band that was responsible for both Return to Forever and Light as a Feather, Corea and old standby Stanley Clarke join forces here with propulsive drummer Lenny White and electric guitarist Bill Connors…

With Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Corea continues his streak of simply timeless fusion albums. The best of the electric RTF albums.

Timo Tapio Tolkki is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing member of the band before his departure in 2008. After leaving Stratovarius he formed two supergroups named Revolution Renaissance and Symfonia, both of which have since disbanded. In a 2011 article by Guitar World magazine, Tolkki was included in the all-time top 50 list of fastest guitar players in the world. Hymn to Life is the second solo album by Timo Tolkki. Unlike the first one, Classical Variations and Themes, Hymn to Life does not present Tolkki as a fast and classical heavy metal guitarist, but as a diverse songwriter.

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973) is Return to Forever's third studio album. This was the group's first album with a rock influenced sound and without any vocals. Former members Flora Purim, Joe Farrell and Airto Moreira were replaced by drummer Lenny White and guitarist Bill Connors. The album was originally recorded with drummer Steve Gadd but when Gadd did not want to tour with the band, a new version was recorded with Lenny White. The version featuring Gadd was never released and the whole recording is said to be lost.

New York-bred and Denmark-based saxophonist, Marc Bernstein, has built a rich recording catalog over the last 20 years, centering projects around inspiring musical voices and friends including Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, and David Kikoski. For the eight originals, along with a version of Windmills of Your Mind, making up Hymn for Life, Bernstein focused on the 'Good People' around him and in particular, the mesmerizing vocalist Sinne Eeg, his former student, now colleague at the The Southern Danish Conservatory and Denmark's most prominent jazz vocalist.