Flora Purim, “If You Will” (Strut)

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Nearly 60 years after she waxed her first recording in her native Rio de Janeiro, vocal stylist extraordinaire Flora Purim returns to the studio following a decade-long hiatus. The results are a sizzling nine-track set that leaves no doubt: Her reputation as the queen of Brazilian fusion remains unassailable. If You Will offers an aural panorama of styles Purim and her husband, percussionist Airto Moreira, have perfected over the decades, from myriad rhythm-saturated Brazilian modes to trademark ’70s-forged jazz fusion and sensuous balladry. The session also pays homage to the duo’s propitious relationships with two late fusion legends, keyboardists George Duke and Chick Corea. The title tune, featuring Flora and Airto’s vocalist daughter Diana Purim, is a tune Duke wrote for Flora and recorded with the singer in 2000. The revisited version grooves with the same pop samba vibe but is more compelling as it glides briskly over a vocal chorus backdrop, a bass solo by Fábio Hess and synth accents by keyboardist Mika Mutti. Purim’s spin on “500 Miles High,” a Corea-penned hit from her days with the keyboardist’s Return to Forever group, reaffirms her mastery of her expansive vocal range and tangy wordless accents. Not everything on the session is rooted in the nostalgia of past triumphs. “Dandara,” named for a venerated figure in Afro-Brazilian folklore, is rendered as a lightly dancing samba. The beguiling melody was written by 14-year-old Felipe Machado with lyrics by his grandmother Judith De Souza and acoustic guitar work by his noted grandfather, Filó Machado. Another melodically entrancing track, “Lucidez,” was composed by Purim’s son-in-law, Krishna Booker, in the 1980s, but never recorded. Treated to a hybrid bossa-samba rhythm crafted by Airto on drums and a large ensemble backing the singer, the harmonically lustrous arrangement is the perfect set closer. While she doesn’t break any new ground on If You Will, Purim, at age 80, is still a fount of creative energy. — Mark Holston https://open.spotify.com/album/54jqOozz2WPoJV9KXs7eRh?si=wZA0Ng1USQS6aKxlTzeztA