If You Will (Strut)
Flora Purim
Released April 2022
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2022
Grammy Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album 2023
YouTube:
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About:
One of the all-time greats of Brazilian Jazz-Fusion, Flora Purim, returns with her first studio album in over 15 years, ‘If You Will’. This album is a triumphant celebration, exploring new compositions alongside fresh versions of some of Flora’s favourite songs. Title track ‘If You Will’ revives her past collaborations with producer and long-time friend, the legendary George Duke:
“You will find good love, real joy, so much peace of mind, if you will…”
The
tune sets a positive and inspiring tone that echoes throughout the project and
features vocals from Flora’s daughter, Diana Purim, who guests on four of the
nine tracks. ‘This Is Me’ is a tune rewritten in Portuguese and originally
penned in English in 2005 by Diana and her production partner, husband Krishna
Booker; ‘500 Miles High’ marks the heyday of the late Chick Corea’s Return To
Forever band and ‘Zahuroo’ by Brazilian singer/pianist Cláudia Villela features
Cláudia on an exciting and dynamic group vocal with Flora and husband, renowned
percussionist Airto Moreira.
A true family affair, ‘If You Will’ is one of many albums recorded over the
years by the team of Flora, Airto, Diana and Krishna. The project reunites some
of Flora’s closest circle of musical peers, including guitarist/composer José
Neto and drummer/engineer Celso Alberti who, together with Diana and
Krishna helped Flora produce this album.
Overseen by creative concept and project manager Roberta Cutolo, this is the
latest chapter in Flora’s long, illustrious and varied career. The album was
recorded during the pandemic in Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, Mexico City,
Curitiba and São Paulo. In addition to Flora’s lifelong marriage and musical
partnership with Airto, she has also worked with the likes of Stan Getz, Gil
Evans, Miriam Makeba, George Duke, Chick Corea (as an original member of Return
To Forever), Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra and many more. Her solo
albums on Milestone remain true jazz-fusion classics, which continue to stand
the test of time.
Track Listing:
1. If You Will (George Duke) 04:10
2. This Is Me (Krishna Booker / Diana Purim9 05:24
3. 500 Miles High (Chick Corea / Neville Potter) 06:27
4. A A Flor da Vida (Mario Moya / Diana Purim) 03:25
5. Newspaper Girl (José Neto) 04:53
6. Dandara (Felipe Machado / Judith de Souza9 04:38
7. Zahuroo (Celso Alberti / José Neto / Claudia Villela) 04:27
8. Dois + Dois = Tres 05:37
9. Lucidez (Krishna Booker / Fabio Nascimento / Diana Purim9 04:44
Personnel:
Flora Purim: vocals
Airto Moreira: percussion, drums (9), vocals (5, 7)
Diana Purim: vocals (1-2, 4), backing vocals (4)
Mikka Mutti: keyboards (1, 9)
Fábio Hess: bass (1)
Léo Costa: drums (1-2)
Grecco Buratto: guitar, backing vocals (2)
Bryan Velasco: piano, keyboards (2)
Andre de Santanna: bass (2)
Alberto Lopes: percussion (2)
Gibi dos Santos: percussion (2)
Krishna Booker: percussion (2, 9), backing vocals (9)
Caro Pierotto: backing vocals (2)
Maria Joana: backing vocals (2)
Emina Shimanuki: (2)
Kana Shimunaki: backing vocals (2)
Mari Nobre: backing vocals (2)
Niura Band: backing vocals (2)
Davi Sartori: electric piano (3)
Thiago Duarte: bass (3)
Endrigo Bettega: drums (3-4)
Stéphane San Juan: drums (4)
José Neto: guitar (5, 7-8)
Frank Martin: keyboards (5)
Gary Brown: bass (5)
Celso Alberti: drums (5, 8), percussion (7)
Café da Silva: bata (5)
Filó Machado: acoustic guitar, backing vocals (6)
Vitor Pinheiro: backing vocals (6)
Claudia Villela: vocals (7)
Marcio Lomiramda: keyboards (8)
Stéphane San Juan: drums (8)
Fabio Nascimento: acoustic guitar (9)
Todd M. Simon: flugelhorn (9)
Léo Nobre: bass (9)
Filipe Castro: percussion (9)
Produced by Flora Purim
Co-Produced by Roberta Cutolo
Associate Producer: Filipe Castro
Mixed by Alex Bonney
Mastered by Peter Beckmann
Package photos by Mel Gabardo
Cover illustration by Gabriela Barbalho
Review:
While it’s true that Flora Purim’s voice and disciplined improvisational style embody the very essence of jazz, classifying her as a “jazz singer” is woefully inadequate. Since the middle of the 1960s, she has innovated on the form by melding samba, psychedelic MPB, jazz, and Latin fusion to an inimitable brand of creative improvising. Long regarded as Brazil’s queen of jazz, Purim’s talent has been employed by musicians as diverse as Duke Pearson, Return to Forever, Dizzy Gillespie, Santana, and George Duke among others. At 80, If You Will is her first album since 2005’s glorious Flora’s Song. Produced with Italian DJ Roberta Cutolo, this music crisscrosses her long career. There are re-envisioned tunes from her discography alongside new material. The album captures the arc of Purim’s career as new versions reflect the breadth and depth of her contribution. Her musicians include husband Airto Moreira, daughter Diana Purim, guitarist José Neto, percussionist Celso Alberti, and human beatboxer son-in-law Krishna Booker (he is Diana’s husband and Eyedentity bandmate). The title-track opener is a redo of a tune Purim cut with Duke on 2000’s Cool. Featuring Diana on lead vocals, this version draws directly on samba; it’s faster, more anthemic, with killer scatting vocals, bumping percussion, and Mika Mutti’s funky piano framing Fábio Hess’ basslines. Diana and Krishna also wrote the driving “This Is Me.” Mother and daughter share lead vocals while older daughter Niura appears in the backing chorus. Its layers of percussion cut across knotty piano and electric guitar lines, wedding fiery samba to pop and jazz-funk. “500 Miles High” is included here as a tribute and elegy to Chick Corea, with whom Purim and Moreira played (along with saxist/flutist Joe Farrell) in the original incarnation of Return to Forever. Rearranged by Davi Sartori, its triple-timed snare frames a more insistent Rhodes piano, bumping fusion bassline, and the Purim women’s supple, passionate vocals. Guitarist Neto provided Flora and Airto his “Newspaper Girl” with already completed backing tracks. Their rich, resonant voices make this a delirious swirl of Latin and Brazilian polyrhythms, psychedelic pop, and lush harmony. “Zahuroo” is an acoustically rendered samba penned by singer, poet, and composer Claudia Villela. She appears alongside Flora and Airto in rich three-part harmony atop rippling layers of hand percussion and nylon-string guitars. “Lucidez” is a breezy, modern meld of samba and jazz; penned by Booker and Diana, it didn’t make the final cut on Flora’s Speed of Light in 1995. Here she fronts a septet with dreamy acoustic guitars, shimmering layers of percussion, and a sweeping flügelhorn, putting the tune to rest as if it were her own. If You Will is a revelatory exercise. Purim — whose voice remains unsullied by time — is easily one of the most groundbreaking singers jazz has ever produced, but more, she’s an architect and translator of vastly intricate, gorgeously articulated sound worlds. Flora Purim is a genre unto herself.
Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
