Flora Purim was on the crest of the first wave of jazz
fusion in the early and mid 1970’s, and helped create her unique position in
the genre by putting her voice up against a whole blend of Brazilian rhythms,
new sounds and some incredible backing musician talent.
One thing that always helped position Purim and her
music was her playful and exuberant performances, and this rose to an uptempo peak on the excellent ‘Open Your
Eyes, You Can Fly’. ‘Encounter’ then comes as a surprise to the more
fusion-headed fans of Purim, aiming for a much more relaxed mellower mood than
any of her earlier works. The results however remain unchanged – high quality
music from start to finish, including great pieces, pristine musicianship and
some of the Brazilian chanteuse’s finest singing to date.
As always featuring a winningly strong line-up of
musicians, here new guest McCoy Tyner brings his personal piano touch to proceedings,
with a winning duet between Tyner and Purim rating as some of the most interesting
work either has committed to tape. Joe Henderson returns to lend some sterling
saxophone work too, most notably on the excellent ‘Black Narcissus’, easily the
album highlight. Always a fantastic piece of music, Purim’s version here just
raises it to another level, with her singing perfectly pitched, and matched
sublimely to Henderson’s brilliant solo.
A notably lighter, softer, mellower and distinctly
more jazzy recording than any of Flora Purim’s previous works, ‘Encounter’ is a
great album. Granted it heads in a different direction, but that is no bad
thing. A chilled and relaxing listen, it offers a different side to the singer,
a different yet great side, and though probably not the first port of call for
newcomers, it should surely be investigated by any fans of her other works.
****
No comments:
Post a Comment