Two tracks into If You Will, the first studio release in 15 years by Brazilian icon Flora Purim, comes the declamatory ‘This Is Me’, a bold reworking of the band jam tune ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Myself Again’ by drummer, percussionist, longtime Purim collaborator and, well, her husband Airto Moriera – this time featuring a celestial chorus and unapologetic, take-no-prisoners vibe; one of the all-time greats of Brazilian jazz fusion, Purim knows a). exactly who she is; and b). the seductive power of those emotional, often ecstatic vocals.

Recorded in Curitiba and São Paolo in the midst of the pandemic, If You Will exploits the talent on offer within the extended family circle. Daughter Diana Purim co-stars on the title track, a buoyant swirl of insistent percussion and perfectly placed (English-language) phrasing that refreshes Flora’s original collaboration with American pianist George Duke. While a consistent presence, Moreira wisely defers to Purim, who revisits Chick ‘Return to Forever’ Corea’s ‘500 Miles High’ – which she first recorded at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1974 – with undiminished verve; and covers Claudia Villela’s ‘Zahuroo’, a tale of a shapeshifting animal, in superb multi-textured vocalese. Add new versions of José Neto’s ‘Newspaper Girl’ and Diana Purim’s ‘A Flor da Vida’ – the inspiration, perhaps, for the cover artwork - and you have one of 2022’s most exciting releases to date.