dreadpirateroberts Sadly, this is the only set I have with Airto as leader. As I've always been interested in his work, especially after hearing his many fine contributions to dozens of other artists, 'Free' hardly seemed a risk.

Where to begin? 'Free' has a clear Fusion feel to its Latin-Jazz, not simply due to the beats and percussion either. While the line-up is expanded here, it is basically that of Chick Corea's first 'Return to Forever' album, with Corea, Clarke, Purim, Farrell and Airto all working on 'Free.'

The results are fantastic, opening with the same sinister electric piano/voice duet with Purim and Corea, before breaking into those familiar passages with voice and flute that were first revealed on Corea's version. This take of 'Return to Forever' is actually a little faster and maybe even a little better in my opinion, and serves as a great opener.

The longer pieces are stacked early in the album and we have 'Flora's Song' next, followed by the the title track. 'Flora's Song' has an almost Spanish feel to the acoustic guitar and brooding horns. Punctuated by passages of jangly percussion and wordless vocals from Airto, along with moments of beguiling flute, it has an effective 'loud/soft' dynamic that gives most instruments a chance to solo but also makes room for thematic ensemble playing, bringing the sea to mind with its restless swells. 'Free' itself is more experimental in nature, exploring a host of percussive sounds but ultimately having less of a pay off for all of its wandering.

A Jarret composition, 'Lucky Southern' with its brevity and brightness, makes a great follow-up to the title track. It's almost jaunty and changes the mood perfectly, just in time for the wild 'Creek' with its insistent, shuffling drum beat and bebop-sounding soprano solo. The piece charges forward for the whole five minutes and closes the album on a snappy note with on some acoustic piano from Corea.

As a CTI release, this album is stamped with familiar faces. Produced by Taylor, featuring arrangements by Sebesky and guests such as Hubert Laws, George Benson and Jay Berliner, it is clear that most of these players, along with the rest of the line-up, would have played with each other many times before. For instance, aside from 'Return to Forever,' Airto also played on Benson's 'White Rabbit' as did Laws and Berliner, along with Laws' 'In the Beginning' all in the same couple of years. So many of the players had already crossed paths multiple times that the music almost couldn't help but click together in a most satisfying manner. Four stars easy.

Bonus tracks include a distinctive Jarret piece 'So Tender' and the mid-tempo flute showcase 'Jequié.'

Sean Trane Having left Weather Report and now being a member of Return To Forever, Airto didn’t stop making his own solo album, and this one is contemporary of his RTF days, and just in case you didn’t catch it the first time around, he included the opening track to remind you of it. Actually, you’ll find the whole of RTF guesting at one point or another in the course of the album, even if wife Flora is the more discreet of the quintet. Among the better-known other guests are Jarrett, Carter, Laws, Benson and Berliner. As was the case with some fellow Brazilians (Deodato comes to mind), Airto found refuge on Creed Taylor’s CTI label, for better or worse.

Opening on the superb and epic Corea-penned RTF, the album promises to be a superb fusion album, the cover having more spunk than the original eponymous tune on the debut album as the whole group delves deeper in themselves. Well the ECM production might have also something to do with that as well. The following Flora’s self-penned Song has a definite Latin sound, partly due to Berliner’s near-flamenco guitar, but it develops into an enjoyable but gentler fusion piece, where Laws’ flute contrasts with Farrell’s winds and the brass section in the background providing great depth.

The flipside opens with another lengthy title track that opens rather free and dissonant, as if we were in the jungle at dawn either in Africa or in the Amazon and later develops in a lengthy African-raga-jam, but nothing dissonant. Definitely not my fave, but interesting enough if not played repetitively. The short Jarrett-penned Lucky Southern (featuring Keith himself) sticks out a bit from the rest of the album, but it’s more a production thing (loudness) than a non-Latin feel, which it has. The closing Creek is again gentle Brazilian bossa that is rather pleasant, but it fails to match the energy of the fusion of the A-side or the transe set in the title track.

Two bonus tracks have been tagged on the original album for the first CD reissue, the Jarrett-penned first So Tender being some kind of fast-paced little sister to the Lucky one, while the latter is more linked with the bossa of Creek. As is often the case with the CTI label, Free is relatively soft-sounding, but in this case, the music is not always safe semi-elevator jazz. Definitely worth the investigation for the first side, the flipside might have you pondering on the investment. A schizophrenic album.