Question

The much-celebrated return of ___________ in 1976 to the united states after fifteen years of living in europe opened the doors to countless other musicians that no one had thought about in decades.

Answer 1

Dexter Gordon

A number of American jazz musicians had lived "in exile" in Europe over the years.  Dexter Gordon was a tenor saxophonist who found less racism in Europe and a more comfortable existence there than in the US in the 1960s.  When he returned to the US, he recorded an album live at the Village Vanguard in New York, which was called his Homecoming album.