Flora Purim—Speak No Evil

(Narada Jazz-72435-43537-2-7)

One of the great things about Flora Purim's music is you get percussionist Airto (Eye-Ear-Toe) Moreira, and usually vice-versa. Her voice and beauty seem ageless. We remember sitting in the Keystone Korner in San Francisco's North Beach, transfixed, watching Flora as Airto flailed away on the drum kit behind her. Speak No Evil sounds as fresh as the days when the pair left Chick Corea's first Return to Forever lineup to strike out on their own. The same power and grace is there, returning us to an era when mixing Jazz and high-powered Brazilian rhythms was a major innovation. We like "This Magic," the energetic, Latin-tinged opener. But it's the Wayne Shorter-penned title track that captures the dynamics of voice and rhythm. "Tamanco no Samba," cut with her five year-old touring band consisting of Airto, bassist Gary Brown, flautist Gary Meek, and keyboardist Marcos Silva, shows a more traditional acoustic jazz side, as does the standard "Don't' Say a Word." But it's Airto's aggressive trap set that sparks the necessary edge. Jazz vocals are a tricky genre on Jazz radio. Too many vocalists on the radio aren't even singing in key. Flora Purim is one of jazz and World music's most dependable singers. Speak No Evil ranks right up there with the best of her career.