Stories To Tell (Remastered 2023) Flora Purim

• 1Stories To Tell (Remastered 2023)03:42
• 2Search For Peace (Remastered 2023)05:53
• 3Casa Forte (Remastered 2023)03:54
• 4Insensatez (Remastered 2023)02:45
• 5Mountain Train (Remastered 2023)03:15
• 6To Say Goodbye (Remastered 2023)04:04
• 7Silver Sword (Remastered 2023)05:39
• 8Vera Cruz (Remastered 2023)04:11
• 9O Cantador / I Just Want To Be Here (Remastered 2023)06:42
• Total Runtime40:05

Info for Stories To Tell (Remastered 2023)

When Flora Purim and Airto Moreira moved to the United States from Brazil in the late 1960s, they brought something new to the samba-based music that North Americans had eagerly welcomed. Listeners discovered in Airto’s percussion a harder edge to the bossa nova, and beneath the lovely surface of Purim’s singing an urgency and a suggestion of modern urban pace that was absent from the languid sounds heard from the Gilbertos, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz, and Charlie Byrd, who had introduced bossa nova here early in the decade. In other words, Brazilian popular music was developing beyond “The Girl from Ipanema,” and Flora and Airto were on top of developments. This 1974 album is a beautiful progress report.

"Though her recordings for Chick Corea's Return to Forever provide a better introduction to her vocal talents, Stories to Tell is an excellent outing by Flora Purim and friends. Assisted by a cast of jazz/fusion all-stars led by husband Airto Moreira, Purim shows off the wide range of her abilities: from wordless vocal soaring to songs with lyrics in English and Portuguese, from uptempo percussion-driven workouts to beautiful ballads. In addition to Airto, the assembled cast includes bassists Miroslav Vitous and Ron Carter, keyboard wunderkind George Duke, guitarists Earl Klugh and Oscar Castro-Neves, and trombonist Raul de Souza. Also, Carlos Santana turns in one of his patented sizzling guitar solos on "Silver Sword." With material from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vitous, Milton Nascimento, McCoy Tyner, and Purim herself, this is an album worth savoring." (Jim Newsom, AMG)

Flora Purim, vocals
George Duke, keyboards, ARP synthesizer
Earl Klugh, guitar
Airto Moreira, drums, percussion
King Errisson, conga drums
Carlos Santana, guitar (track: 7)
Miroslav Vitouš, bass and Moog synthesizer (track: 1), ARP synthesizer (track: 7)
Ron Carter, bass (tracks: 2, 3 and 8)
Raul de Souza, trombone solo (tracks: 3, 6 and 8)
Oscar Brashear, flugelhorn (tracks: 3 and 8)
George Bohanon, trombone (tracks: 3 and 8)
Hadley Caliman, flute, alto flute (tracks: 3 and 8)
Oscar Castro-Neves, acoustic guitar (tracks: 4, 5, 6 and 8)
Ernie Hood, zithers, vocals (track: 5)
Larry Dunlap, piano (track: 5)

Recorded May to July, 1974 at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
Produced by Orrin Keepnews

Digitally remastered

Flora Purim
With a rare six-octave voice, Flora Purim has been one of the leading Brazilian jazz singers since the 1970s.

Born March 6, 1942, in Rio de Janeiro to a Russian immigrant father who played the violin and a mother who was a pianist, Flora had mastered the guitar and piano by the time she left Brazil to escape the repressive military regime of the time. Upon arriving in New York in 1967, she and Airto Moreira became active in the experimental electric jazz groups that were beginning to emerge.

Her first invitation to record and perform came from Blue Note recording artist Duke Pearson. This led to a tour with legendary arranger Gil Evans. And soon after, she found herself working with Chick Corea and Stan Getz.

In late 1971 she joined Corea, Stanley Clarke and Joe Farrell to form Return To Forever. The two resulting albums – Return To Forever and Light As A Feather are regarded as landmark recordings of the fusion movement.

Flora released Butterfly Dreams, her first solo album, in 1973, to much critical acclaim and contributed to some of the 1970s’ greatest recordings, including those of Carlos Santana, Hermeto Pascoal and Mickey Hart.

In the mid-1980s, Flora resumed her musical partnership with Airto and recorded two albums for the Concord label.

In 1990, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim formed Fourth World. The group toured consistently in the United States, Europe, South America, Russia and the Far East.

In 1992 Flora sang on Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, which won a Grammy for Best World Music Album, and on the Dizzy Gillespie United Nations Orchestra’s self-titled album, which also won a Grammy for Best Jazz Album.

In 2022, Flora Purim released “If You Will“, her first studio album in over 15 years. Envisioned as a celebration of her music and collaborations, the album features new compositions together with fresh versions of Flora’s favorite personal songs and positive lyrics from across her varied career.

Title track ‘If You Will’ reinterprets a song from her outstanding collaborations with George Duke: “You will find… good love, real joy, so much peace of mind, if you will…”; the resilient ‘This Is Me’ updates an Airto jam band tune ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Myself Again’; ‘500 Miles High’ marks the prime of the late Chick Corea’s Return To Forever band and ‘Zahuroo’ is a song by Claudia Villela about “a shapeshifting animal creature, a messenger who acts as a bridge between our thoughts and the universe.”

“If You Will” was recorded primarily in Curitiba and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Participants include many of Flora’s closest circle of musicians including Airto Moreira, guitarist José Neto, Flora’s daughter, Diana Purim, on vocals and percussionist Celso Alberti.

This album contains no booklet.