Happy Birthday, Airto Moreira

Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira turns 70 today. Moreira and his wife, singer Flora Purim, moved to the United States in 1967 and began playing with a number of jazz musicians, including Joe Zawinul and Miles Davis. Moreira participated in several of Davis's jazz fusion projects, including the highly influential album Bitches Brew. Moreira and other musicians who had played with Miles — Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, and Miroslav Vitous — then formed Weather Report, and Moreira played percussion on their first album, Weather Report. Moreira then left Weather Report to join Chick Corea's new band Return to Forever, where he played drums on the group's first two albums, Return to Forever and Light as a Feather.

Moreira and Purim also recorded 500 Miles High/At Montreux, a marvelous live album that Len Lyons included in his list of the 101 best jazz albums. As Lyons notes, the album features their "raw, spontaneous, and loose style."


A nice example of Moreira's work is "Samba de Flora":

Albums mentioned above:

• Miles Davis. Bitches Brew (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Weather Report. Weather Report (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Return to Forever (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Chick Corea and Return to Forever. Light as a Feather (Buy at Barnes & Noble)
  
• Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. 500 Miles High/At Montreux (Buy at Amazon.com)
  

Robert