Flora Purim

Flora Purim / Flora Purim, "Stories to Tell, " (Milestone M-9058) / Flora Purim is a jazz vocalist whose musical roots can be traced through Chick Corea's Return to Forever group, for which she sang. Those of you (like myself) who are unfamiliar with Corea's work will instantly recognize in her singing the Astrid Gilberto-"Girl From Ipanema"-Bossa Nova-Brazilian sound that kept the whole country humming and swaying some ten years ago. On this album, however, Ms. Purim's singing goes beyond the usual provocative rhythms and sensuously detached mood of that idiom to suggest something more- an ethereal, mysterious, Third World quality that puts you in touch with ever subtler, crueler, more ecstatic regions of inner space. Her voice is a stunning instrument, always clear and pure, with its unearthliness complemented well by ARP and MOOG sounds on many cuts on this album, as it produces sounds ranging from siren-like wails (on "Silver Sword") to torch-song desolation (on "To Say Goodbye") to ecstatic sighs (in a duet with her percussionist-husband Airto Moreira on "O Cantador"). She sings songs about dreams, heaven, hearts, flying, shadows, twilight, love, hope, silence and desire, all with masterful clarity and utter abandonment. Her flawless diction communicates unmistakable messages whether she sings in her native Portuguese, or in an accented English that will drive you wild. / --Ed Reckford