Airto Moreira, Flora Purim

An inventive master percussionist and drummer, Brazil's Airto Moreira (aka Airto) emerged in the early '60s playing samba, bossa, and Brazilian jazz. Moreira emigrated to the U.S. and issued influential solo albums including 1972's landmark Free, combining Brazilian traditions with modal jazz, funk, and fusion. After apprenticing with Cannonball Adderley, he joined Miles Davis' group for half-a-dozen landmark albums including Bitches Brew and On the Corner. He was a founding member of Return to Forever, played with fusion supergroup Weather Report, and has recorded with countl...