Flora Purim

**Flora Purim** (born 6 Mairch 1942 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian jazz sangster kent primarily for her wirk in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her pairt in Chick Corea's laundmerk album *[[Return to Forever]]* (1972). She haes recordit an performit wi numerous creetically acclaimit airtists, includin Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Mickey Hart o the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jaco Pastorius, an her husband Airto Moreira.

In 2002, Purim wis the recipient o ane o Brazil's heichest awairds; the 2002 Ordem dae Rio Branco for Lifetime Achievement.

## Biografie

Purim's parents wur baith classical muisickers, her Romanie faither played violin an her Brazilian mither wis a pianist. Flora discovered American jazz, when her mither played it while her husband wis oot o the hoose.


"She wad bring hame those 78 vinyl RPMs an when ma faither wis at wirk, she wad play them. That wis hou A got exposed tae jazz muisic... basically listenin tae Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, an Frank Sinatra. But a lot of piano players an aw, such as Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson an Errol Garner, those wur ma mither's favorites."


Purim began her career in Brazil durin the early 1960s. Durin this period, she made a recordin, titled "Flora e M.P.M.", in which she sang bossa nova staundarts o the day bi Carlos Lyra an Roberto Menescal. Later in the 1960s, Purim wis lead sangster for the Quarteto Novo, led bi Hermeto Pascoal an Airto Moreira.

Efter reachin young adulthuid, Purim mixed jazz wi radical protest sangs tae defy the repressive Brazilian govrenment o that time. A 1964 militar coup in Brazil led tae censorship o sang leerics, an she later commentit aboot this period o her life as follaes: "A wantit tae leave Brazil. Thare's a river thare cried the San Francisco River. A uised tae sing tae the river, that, as it flowed oot tae the ocean, it wad take me tae Americae."

Shortly afore leavin Brazil, Purim an Airto Moreira marriet. Aroond 1971, thair dochter Diana Booker wis born. Bi 1998, Diana marriet Krishna Booker, son o jazz bassist Walter Booker, nephew o saxophonist Wayne Shorter an godson o pianist Herbie Hancock.
Diana later describit life with her parents as "[growing] up on the road traveling the world like a gypsy".

Arrivin in New York in 1967, Purim an Moreira became immersed in the emergin Electric Jazz. Thay toured Europe wi Stan Getz an Gil Evans. In 1972, alangside Stanley Clarke an Joe Farrell, thay wur, for the first twa albums, memmers o Chick Corea's fusion baund Return to Forever, which released first a sel-titled album, *[[Return to Forever (album)|Return to Forever]]*, in 1972, follaeed the same year as *[[Light as a Feather]]*; baith which receivit glowin reviews. In 1973, Purim released her first solo album in the Unitit States, titled, *Butterfly Dreams*. It wis well receivit, an suin thareefter she wis chosen bi the *[[Down Beat]]* reader's poll as ane o the tap five jazz sangsters. Purim wirkit wi Carlos Santana, Mickey Hart, an Janis Joplin an aw at outdoor festivals, an on jazz an classical albums throu the 1970s. In the early 1970s, Purim wis arrestit an briefly incarceratit for cocaine possession.

Throughoot the 1970s, Purim released a string o albums for the Milestone label.
She an her husband Airto wur involvit wi the Uruguayan baund Opa (which means "hi", but juist in Uruguay) an aw, Flora collaboratit in vocals in the baund's seicont album *Magic Time*, an in return, Opa played in "Corre Niña" in Flora's album, *Nothing Will Be as It Was... Tomorrow.* (Warner Bros. Records)

In the 1980s Purim toured wi Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra culminatin wi Gillespie's Grammy Awaird-winnin album *Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation Orchestra* - *[[Live at the Royal Festival Hall (Dizzy Gillespie album)|Live at the Royal Festival Hall, Lunnon (10.6.1989)]]* released in 1990, an then in the 1990s sang on Grammy Award-winnin album for Mickey Hart, the umwhile Grateful Dead drummer. Later in the 1990s Purim released her awn album an warld tour, *Speed o Light* stairtin wi a month at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho wi a new baund wi contreibutions frae Billy Cobham, Freddie Ravel, George Duke, David Zeiher, Walfredo Reyes, Alphonso Johnson, Changuito, Freddie Santiago, an Giovanni Hidalgo, wi important writin an performin contreibutions frae Chill Factor an her dochter Diana.

Throu the 1990s, Purim wirkit on a nummer o broader projects. Ane o sic wis a hivy Latin jazz group cried "Fourth World", which in addition tae hersel consistit o her husband Airto Moreira, Gary Meek, Gary Brown, Jose Neto an Jovino Santos Neto. Thay ad release a nummer o albums an 12" singles; "Fourth World", "Encounters With the Fourth World", "Last Journey" an an album featurin remixes tae thair sangs bi several popular electronic DJ's frae aroond the warld cried *Return Journey*. The baund's last album release wis in 2000.

In 1996, Purim an her husband Airto collaboratit wi P.M. Dawn on the sang "Non-Fiction Burning" for the AIDS-Benefit Album Red Hot + Rio producit bi the Red Hot Organization.

The new millennium saw the release o twa recordins, *Perpetual Emotion* (2001) an a crossower homage tae ane o Brazil's great composers, *Flora sings [[Milton Nascimento]]* (2000). In 2005, she reunitit wi her auld Return to Forever baundleader, Chick Corea. As o 2010, Purim is still actively tourin.

Ane o Purim's major muisical influences is the Brazilian muisicker Hermeto Pascoal. She haes said, that Pascoal "play the Hammond B3 organ, flute, saxophone, percussion, an guitar. He is ane o the maist complete muisickers that A iver met." He helpit train her vyce an aw. She owes a great debt tae Chick Corea an aw, discoverin the fusion jazz style for which she is best kent when Corea asked her tae add vocals tae some recordins o his compositions.

Purim haes a rare sax octave vyce. Her vocal style is influencit bi Sarah Vaughan an Ella Fitzgerald, which drifts frae leerics tae wirdlessness athoot iver losin touch wi the melody an rhythm. She expandit her vocal repertoire durin early tours wi Gil Evans. While tourin the warld for three years wi Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra in the 1980s, she broadened her repertoire tae include traditional mainstream jazz, bebop, an doin nummers in 4/4 time instead o the traditional Brazilian 2/4 beat.

Purim haes confidit, that in recent decades "Thare are twa albums that are at ma bedside. They are *[[Miles Ahead]]*, the first collaboration atween Miles Davis an Gil Evans an *[[Blow by Blow]]*, bi Jeff Beck. They are wi me ivery nicht."

## Faith
Purim's mither is Brazilian. Her faither, Naum Purim, is Romanie, who emigratit tae Brazil via the Roushie Empire. Purim is the name o the annual Jewish festival commemoratin the deliverance o the Jews frae a plot tae exterminate them an aw, as recordit in the Biblical Beuk o Esther. Hence Flora Purim presumably haes Jewish ancestry throu her faither. She adheres tae the Bahá'í Faith thanks in lairge pairt tae Dizzy Gillespie an aw.

## Discografie

### As leader

*1964: *Flora e MPM" (RCA Brasil)
*1973: *Butterfly Dreams* ([[Milestone Records|Milestone]])
*1974: *500 Miles High" (Milestone Records)
*1974: *Stories to Tell* (Milestone Records)
*1976: *Open Your Eyes You Can Fly* (Milestone Records)
*1976: *Encounter*  (Milestone Records)
*1977: *Nothing Will Be as It Was... Tomorrow* (Warner Brothers)
*1978: *Everyday Everynight*  (Warner Brothers)
*1978: *That's What She Said* (Milestone Records)
*1979: *Carry On* (Warner)
*1988: *The Midnight Sun* (Virgin)
*1992: *Queen of the Night* (Sound Wave)
*1995: *Speed of Light* (B&W Muisic)
*2000: *Flora Purim sings Milton Nascimento* (Narada)
*2001: *Perpetual Emotion* (Narada)
*2003: *[[Speak No Evil (Flora Purim's album)|Speak No Evil]]* (Narada)
*2005: *Flora's Song* (Narada)
 

**Wi [[Airto Moreira]]**
*1972: *[[Free (Airto album)|Free]]* (CTI)
*1973: *[[Fingers (album)|Fingers]]* (CTI)
*1974: *[[Virgin Land (album)|Virgin Land]]* (Salvation)
*1985: *Three Way Mirror*(Reference Recordings)
*1985: *Humble People* (Concord)
*1986: *The Magicians* (Concord Crossover)
*1988: *The Colours of Life* (In+Oot)
*1989: *The Sun Is Out* (Concord)

**Wi Fourth World**
**[[Live at Ronnie Scott's (Fourth World album)|Fourth World Recorded live at Ronnie Scott's]]* (1992)
**Fourth World* (1994)
**Fourth World [live]* (1995)
**Encounters of the Fourth World* (1995)
**Last Journey* (1999)

### As contributor

*Duke Pearson - *[[How Insensitive (album)|How Insensitive]]* (1969)
*Duke Pearson - *[[It Could Only Happen with You]]* (1970)
*Chick Corea an Return to Forever - *[[Return to Forever (album)|Return to Forever]]* (1972)
*Chick Corea an Return to Forever - *[[Light as a Feather]]* (1972)
*Santana - *[[Welcome (Santana album)|Welcome]]* (1973)
*Santana - *[[Borboletta]]* (1974)
*Hermeto Pascoal - *[[Slaves Mass]]* (1976)
*OPA - *[[:es:Magic Time (álbum de Opa)|Magic Time]]* (1977)
*Rhythm Devils - *[[The Apocalypse Now Sessions]]* (1980)
*Dizzy Gillespie - *[[Live at the Royal Festival Hall (Dizzy Gillespie album)|Live at the Royal Festival Hall]]* (Enja, 1990)
*P.M. Dawn an Airto – *[[Red Hot + Rio]]* - "Non-Fiction Burning" (1996)
*Lawson Rollins - *Infinita* (2008)
*Lawson Rollins - *[[Espirito]]* (2010)
 

## Filmografie

### As a Leader

* 2006: *Airto & Flora Purim: The Latin Jazz All-Stars*

### As sidewumman

**With [[Dizzy Gillespie]]**
**[[Rhythmstick]]* CTI Records  (1990)
*Dizzy Gillespie an the United Nation Orchestra - *[[Live at the Royal Festival Hall (Dizzy Gillespie album)|Live at the Royal Festival Hall, London (10.6.1989)]]* (Enja 1990)

**With [[Bobby Hutcherson]]**
**Cool Summer* (2006)

## References

## Freemit airtins