Record Reviews

AIRTO MOREIRA & FLORA PURIM ~ LIVE IN BERKELEY AIRFLOW 801097003840 (Barcode: 801097003840) ~ BRAZIL ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 1990 Released: 2012 This is an archival live recording by the Brazilian Jazz “Royal Couple” of percussionist / drummer / vocalist / bandleader Airto MoreiraFind albums by this artist and his wife singer / songwriter Flora PurimFind albums by this artist. The music was recorded in a tight quintet format with bassist Gary BrownFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Helio AlvesFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Widor SantiagoFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven lengthy tracks, two of which are well known pieces associated with the couple’s stint in the Return To ForeverFind albums by this artist group led by Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist. The album offers exceptional sound quality, especially for a live recording. With four Brazilian musicians on board, the music offers a brilliant Jazz-World Fusion tribute to Brazilian sources. Two of the tracks are trio performances, four others are full quintet performances with Purim on vocals and one is a solo piece by Airto. Alves proves to be a brilliant pianist, truly shining in the over twenty minutes long rendition of “La Fiesta”, but his performances on all the tracks is nothing short of phenomenal. Another RTF piece “Light As A Feather” also gets a fourteen minutes’ treatment, which causes goosebumps to appear on every listener’s skin, probably even in case of deaf persons. Although Airto and Flora recorded several live albums together, this is undoubtedly their absolute best, in every respect – the exceptional material, brilliant performances and sublime sound just all fall together perfectly. Overall, this is a surprising reminder of how great Airto / Flora and their cohorts sounded live, which of course I have experienced in person many times, but never heard on records in such glorious manifestation. For the couple’s many fans, this is an absolute must have, a sublime mixture of Jazz and Brazilian music, which sound still absolutely gorgeous, now thirty-three years later.

Updated: 17/05/2023Posted: 17/05/2023

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