A "TriP" with Airto...

Gregory B Beuthin (gregbb@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu)
Wed, 31 May 1995 16:56:41 -1000

A) Anyone else remember that hip-hop is actually a *culture*? And that
it *is* stemmed from African rythym and griot traditions, oppression and
inner city life and a voice of change? And that "G-funk" rappers and 80%
of the b-boys you see on The Box are cashing in on a culture they have
co-opted (or have had co-opted for them by labels to sell their music)?
Listen to the true school (Roots, Dig Plans, Jeru, Channel Live, Coup,
Tribe, Pete and CL) and compare the difference to the MTV neo-hipsters (Dre,
Dogg, etc) who claim that 40s, bitches, and low-riders are part of the
real culture- just as Kenny G is part of a perceived "jazz" culture.
Hip-hop/ rap is so constantly under attack that a lot of people try to
defend *all* rap and hip-hop, not holding individuals in the field
accountable. Oh, by the way, I live out in Hawaii, and I'm not *in* with
all sorts of cool industry types, and I haven't "hung" with the greats,
and I never saw any of these people in local clubs in the old days when
they were nerds or fatsos or whatever. I play records on college radio
and advertise my show with the words "acid jazz" and "trip hop" because I
*want* people to listen, and hear the new music, and hear the messages,
and hear Channel Live say "Our brothers ain't niggaz, and our siststas
ain't bitches" and hear the Sandals say "Why can't we all have a little
more human understanding?" and hear Gil Scott-Heron say (in his quaint,
almost anitiquitated way) "Respect the womenfolk". For some, it's music
with all the wrong labels. For others, all of this- hip hop, funk, jazz,
reggae, "trip hop", "acid jazz", beat poetry, baseball cap jazz- its an
instrument of social change. Some people watch, and perhaps
misinterpret, history. Artists- DJs, writers, singers, instrumentalists,
etc- *create* it. Which side of the progression do *you* want to be on?
It's really your choice. I'll get off the soapbox for now. ;-)

B) I wanted to briefly mention the Airto Moreira/ Flora Purim
"Fourth World" concert. On one hand, it was exciting, brilliant, and
pretty damn trippy. On the other hand, it was a let down. I guess I was
expecting some old reconizable jazz standards or "Brazilian" tunes.
Instead, the majority was (I guess) Fourth World material, which was
great, but I wasn't quite prepared for that. The sound was very
psychadleic 60s Brazil (see Clube Da Esquina, Sergio Mendes, Secos y
Molhados), with a heavy handed Jose Neto on guitar. They were all
excellent, but the sound didn't vary that much (suffice to say, I'm not
interested in Jose Neto's album now... :-( ). It was all very
electronic (keyboards, spacey guitar sound) with a new age ambient feel
to it, incorporating Airto's multitude of different percussion instruments.
He was excellent, and did a covered tamborine (tamboura) solo that was
*brilliant*. My one snag was that he *never* stopped making ... sounds.
Even during Flora's beautiful slow ballad, he still had rattle going and
shakers etc... He played mainly drum kit, which was also a little let
down for me, because I wanted to see him on congas and hand percussion.
But you could tell all the musicians were very good, and could whip your
ass up and down the street in terms of craftmanship. Caveat: I was sick
(sore throat) and tired, and my other two friends were mellowed out by
beer and weed, so we weren't quite up to the experience. But I'm glad I
saw them. Airto is a living legend, definitely.

(PS- Jon, sorry I didn't do the interview- I was sick all that week...
:-( )

Greg "Just another college educated, straight, white guy who knows
everything" Beuthin...

[Humour... Humour... :-)]

Peace

Greg "Boyteen" Beuthin | Respect.... ___ Keep
(gregbb@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu) | / | \ the
Social Sciences Computer System | DJ Billingsley | /|\ | vibe
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