Flora Purim - If You Will (2022)

One of the all-time greats of Brazilian jazz fusion, Flora Purim, returns with her first studio album in over 15 years, ‘If You Will’.

Conceived as a celebration of her music and collaborations, the album explores new compositions alongside fresh versions of Flora’s favourite personal songs and positive lyrics from across her varied career. Title track ‘If You Will’ reprises a song from her inspired 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 heyday of the late Chick Corea’s Return To Forever band and ‘Zahuroo’ interprets a song by Claudia Villela about “a shapeshifting animal creature, a messenger who acts as a bridge between our thoughts and the universe.”

A family affair recorded primarily in Curitiba and Sao Paulo, ‘If You Will’ brings together many of Flora’s closest circle of musicians including Airto Moreira, guitarist José Neto, her daughter Diana Purim on vocals and percussionist Celso Alberti.

The album is the latest chapter in Flora’s long, illustrious and varied career. As well as her celebrated partnership with Airto and her early days with Quarteto Novo, Flora has worked with Stan Getz, Gil Evans, Miriam Makeba, George Duke, Chick Corea (as an original member of Return To Forever), Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra, Uruguayan band Opa and many more. Her solo albums on Milestone remain true jazz fusion classics.