By j. poet | Published June 2022
For her first studio album in 15 years, Purim combines a career spanning retrospective of tunes, formerly recorded with her favorite collaborators, with new numbers that showcase her continuing artistic growth.
The singer recently celebrated her 80th birthday, but her voice remains supple and expressive. The set opens with the title track, a new version of a song she recorded with George Duke 21 years ago. She steps back and lets her daughter Diana sing lead, adding her own wordless improvisations between verses.
The percussion supplied by Airto Moreira and Mika Mutti intensify the arrangement’s Brazilian feel. “This is Me,” written by Diana and her husband, Krishna Booker, is based on Airto’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Myself Again.” Flora’s lead vocal is impressive, sliding up and down the scale to show off her range, supported by the impressive keyboard work of Bryan Velasco.
Purim cut Chick Corea’s “500 Miles High” for the second Return To Forever album in 1972. Corea passed as she was finishing this recording and her understated vocal adds an element of poignancy to this take.
José Neto’s “Newspaper Girl” gets a sparse treatment, featuring Neto’s acoustic guitar, with Flora and Moreira scatting in a manner that suggests the full range of Brazilian percussion instruments.
If You Will: If You Will; This Is Me; 500 Miles High; A Flor Da Vida; Newspaper Girl; Dandara, Zahuroo; Dois + Dois = Tres; Lucidez. (42:31)
Personnel: Flora Purim, Diana Purim, Claudia Villela, vocals; Mika Mutti, keyboards, percussion; Fábio Hess, bass; Léo Costa, drums; Airto Moreira, vocals, percussion; Grecco Buratto, guitar, backing vocals; Bryan Velasco: piano, keyboards; Andre de Santanna, bass; Léo Costa, drums; Alberto Lopes, Gibi dos Santos, percussion; Krishna Booker, backing vocals, percussion; Davi Sartori, electric piano; Thiago Duarte, bass; Endrigo Bettega, Stéphane San Juan, drums; José Neto, guitar; Frank Martin, keyboards; Gary Brown, bass; Celso Alberti, drums, percussion; Café da Silva, bata; Filó Machado, acoustic guitar, backing vocals; Vitor Pinheiro, backing vocals; Fabio Nascimento, guitar; Todd M. Simon, flugelhorn; Léo Nobre, bass; Filipe Castro, percussion.
Ordering Info: strut.k7store.com
