Flora Purim - Flora É M.P.M. (1980 Japanese RCA Vinyl LP)

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Flora Purim - Flora É M.P.M. | Vinyl LP - 1980 Japanese RCA Reissue (PG-144, RVC Corporation)

This is the record that almost nobody heard before Purim became famous. She was 22 and singing in Rio's bossa nova clubs. Dom Um Romão, who would later move to New York and play with Weather Report and Cannonball Adderley, coordinated the sessions and played drums. Rosinha de Valença, one of the most respected guitarists in Brazilian music (and one of the few women playing guitar professionally in the bossa nova scene), provides the harmonic foundation. Raul de Souza, credited by his nickname Raulzinho, plays trombone. The material leans heavily on Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes (four tracks, including "Cartão de Visita," "Maria Moita" and "Samba do Carioca") and on Edu Lobo, who was 21 at the time and being talked about as the next generation of Brazilian composition ("Reza" and "Boranda," both co-written with filmmaker Ruy Guerra, would become MPB standards). "A Morte de Um Deus de Sal" opens the album with a Menescal/Bôscoli piece that already hints at the vocal range Purim would become known for. "Hava Nagila," the Israeli folk song, is the anomaly in the programme, explained by Purim's Jewish heritage.

Three years after this recording, Purim moved to New York and married percussionist Airto Moreira. Gil Evans invited her into his orchestra, calling her voice an instrument. She joined Chick Corea's Return To Forever for Light As A Feather (1972) and Return To Forever (1972), then launched a solo career on Milestone with Butterfly Dreams (1973), winning DownBeat's Best Jazz Singer poll five years running. None of that is audible here. This is straight bossa nova, sung with clarity and restraint rather than the extended vocal techniques she would develop later.

This is the 1980 Japanese reissue on RCA PG-144, number 10 in the Brazilian Summer Collection series, manufactured by RVC Corporation.