Flora Purim: Open Your Eyes You Can Fly (1976)

Flora Purim: Open Your Eyes You Can Fly (1976)

As an original member of Chick Corea's group Return to Forever, Purim subsequently drew praise as a solo act. Recording for the jazz label Milestone since 1973, Purim's sensual and strong voice was singular enough to withstand the pitfalls that hampered the work of many Latin jazz fusion artists. Open Your Eyes You Can Fly represents a commercial breakthrough, and has the artist again supplemented by adventurous players and top-notch songwriting. The best of the three Chick Corea tracks is the title song. With it's emotive and stinging guitar solo from David Amaro, it features Purim at her most accessible and charming. The remake of "Sometime Ago" has one of Corea's more accessible melodies, as Purim turns in one of her more sweet and fulfilling vocals. The melodic and soothing "San Francisco River" has the artist writing solely with frequent Corea collaborator Neville Potter on the evocative track. Despite the great work here, Open Your Eyes You Can Fly, lacks consistency. But with the great talents assembled and great voice, it's easy to overlook that fact. Hermeto Pascoal's "Andei (I Walked)" has a great synthesizer solo from George Duke and a flute solo from Pascoal. "Ina's Song (Trip to Bahia)" features Purim singing in Portuguese, starting off slow but then enlivened by her passion filled vocalizations. Produced by jazz producer Orrin Keepnews, this features the artist more lucid and joyful than some of her other work. For the reason it is recommended. ~ Jason Elias

Recorded at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, California in 1976. Originally released on Fantasy Records. Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews.

Personnel includes: Flora Purim (vocals); Hermeto Pascoal (flute, electric piano, harpsichord, percussion, background vocals); George Duke (electric piano, Arp & Moog synthesizers, background vocals); David Amaro (acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars); Egberto Gismonti (acoustic guitar); Alphonso Johnson (acoustic & electric basses); Ron Carter (acoustic bass).

1- Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly (Chick Corea-Neville Potter)
2-Time's Lie (Chick Corea-Neville Potter)
3- Sometime Ago (Chick Corea-NevillePotter)
4-San Francisco River (Airto Moreira-Purim Purim)
5-Andei "I Walked" (Hermeto Pascoal)
6-Ina's Song "Trip to Bahia" (Flora Purim)
7-Conversation (Hermeto Pascoal)
8-Medley: White Wing/Blank Wing (Hermeto Pascoal-Flora Purim)

Chick Corea: Return to Forever (1972)

Chick Corea: Return to Forever (1972)

Amazon.com essential recording

The soul of fusion lies not in the barrage of note clusters played through overdriven amplifiers but in the arresting beauty of Return to Forever's lucid vision of music without boundaries. The stunningly virtuosic pianist Chick Corea had already gone through an exploration of free jazz with Circle, tutelage in the Miles Davis Academy of New Electric Music and the soul-searching of "Piano Improvisations" when he arrived at his most brilliant conception. Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke fly through the proceedings, supporting Joe Farrell's flute and soprano sax playing in what may have been the performance of his life. Flora Purim's vocals and Airto Moreira's drums and percussion work discretely in service of the music's serenity. --John Swenson


Corea was at his peak with this '70s release, which brought together his Latin-flavored compositions and writing for singer Flora Purim with his liquid electric piano, Airto's varied gifts on percussion, and the late great Joe Farrell's facility on flute and sax.

One of the approaches to jazz that has unfortunately seemed to pass by the boards is what I'll call extended comp/improv, a blend of formal composition, passages for improvisation and sections that allow for free group interaction. Sonny Rollins and Max Roach were modernists who plowed early ground in this area, and they were followed by, among others, McCoy Tyner, John Handy, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Jack DeJonette, and of course, the master of the form, Charles Mingus. Corea makes a fine contribution to the informal canon with "Sometime Ago/La Fiesta," a hypnotic 23-minute excursion.

For the extended comp/improv to work, all the musicians have to be headed in the same direction without ever losing the sense that there are many paths toward the same goal. "Sometime Ago/La Fiesta" illustrates the beauty of this ideal. Corea, Farrell, and bassist Stanley Clarke all prove their mettle in long, lyrical passages in which they both play and respond to one another. Farrell is particularly inspired on flute and soprano sax, but Clarke will startle you as well with the sounds he gets from his bass.

The rest of the CD? Fine as well, although you might find Purim's vocals an acquired taste. For me, a little generally goes a long way, but on this CD, her voice is tightly interwoven into the compositions and is an asset rather than a distraction.

Those who think of Return to Forever as a rock band will find this record a surprise -- one way or the other. For me, it's vastly superior to the fusion records Corea turned out later in the '70s.

1-Return to Forever
2-Crystal Silence
3-What game shall we play Today
4-Sometime Ago-La Fiesta

Chick Corea: electric piano
Joe Farrell: flutes, soprano saxophone
Flora Purim: vocal, percussion
Stanley Clarke: bass
Airto Moreira: drums, percussion

Flora Purim: 500 Miles High (Live at Montreaux) (1974)

Flora Purim - 500 Miles High (1974)

Live at Montreaux

Tracks

1 O Cantador

2 Bridge

3 500 Miles High

4 Cravo e Canela (Cinnamon and Cloves)

5 Bahia

6 Uri (The Wind)

7 Jive Talk

Recorded when she was at the peak of popularity, a result of her stint with Chick Corea's Return to Forever, 500 Miles High presents Flora Purim in concert at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival. Accompanied by an all-star band including guitarist David Amaro, flutist Herbie Mann, keyboardist Pat Rebillot, bass legend Ron Carter, and husband (and star in his own right) Airto Moreira on drums, vocals, and various percussion, the Brazilian songstress delivers a fiery performance that must have been a joy to behold. Strictly speaking, this is really more of a band album than a Flora Purim album, as Airto and the guys are featured for extended instrumental romps. However, when Purim is in the spotlight, her vocal magic lifts the proceedings to a high level. The trademark "500 Miles High" is wilder and more electric than in its Return to Forever studio version. Special guest Milton Nascimento leads the ensemble through his "Cravo e Canela" (Cinnamon and Cloves), a joyously percussive highlight of the show. Elsewhere, Airto joins his wife for a vocal give-and-take while the band cooks along underneath. The lengthy set closer, "Jive Talk," is really more a showcase for him than for his wife, but when it kicks into high gear, it provides a scorching climax highlighted by the twosome's wordless vocals. Although a fine document of her live show, 500 Miles High is probably not the best place to go for an introduction to the vocal artistry of Flora Purim. Stories to Tell and Butterfly Dreams would serve this purpose better, as would Corea's Light as a Feather. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyably eclectic and exciting outing.