Anyone with even a passing interest in the past 25 years of American and
Latin-American Jazz will be well aware of the extraordinary vocal
stylings of Flora Purim. After leaving Brazil in 1967 with her musical and
personal partner, the great percussionist Airto Moreira, her associations with
great American Jazz artists like Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Duke Pearson, Chick
Corea, Dizzy Gillespie and Cannonball Adderley formed her musical sensibilities
and brought her both popular and critical acclaim.
The daughter of a Russian émigré violinist father and a talented pianist
mother, Flora complements her six-octave vocal range with her excellent
piano and guitar abilities. As a member of Return to Forever with
Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell and Lenny White, she pioneered the ‘70s
fusion movement with the classic albums 'Return to Forever' and 'Light as a
Feather.' Releasing her first U.S. solo recording, 'Butterfly Dreams'
in 1973, Ms. Purim also contributed her vocals and arrangements to major
‘70s recordings by Carlos Santana, Hermeto Pascoal and Grateful Dead drummer
Mickey Hart.
In the mid-‘80s, Ms. Purim and Airto resumed their collaboration and
produced two Grammy-nominated albums for Concord Records, 'Humble
People' and 'The Magicians,' eventually leading to their formation of the
explosive Latin Jazz band Fourth World in 1991.
Continuing to pursue various projects, Ms. Purim sang on two Grammy
winning albums in 1992 - Mickey Hart’s 'Planet Drum' (Best World Music Album)
and Dizzy Gillespie’s 'United Nation Orchestra' (Best Jazz Album) and has
garnered four 'DownBeat' Magazine Best Singer citations. Her 1995 album
'Speed of Light,' featuring a cadre of Jazz and Latin Jazz heavyweights
proved that Flora Purim will always continue to evolve as an artist, in
addition to delivering beautifully infectious musicality.
