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Rhythm Community |
Fall 2003 |
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 Airto Moreira interview by Carlos Cornier Getting Down and Spiritual with Airto Moreira In the early 1970’s I was turned on to a whole lot of great music called jazz-fusion by Mongo Santamaria’s bassist, Victor Venegas. It included Miles Davis, Gato Barbieri, Weather Report, Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Keith Jarret. They all shared one name: Airto Moreira. Along with fellow countryman Dom Um Romeo (Sergio Mendez, Tom Jobim and Frank Sinatra) he introduced various Afro-Brazilian sounds using the berimbau, caxixi, cuica and surdo. He sounded like a whole carnival group playing on only one tambourine! He used his whole body to play. Just listen to Mickey Hart’s “Mysterious Island” cut on the Planet Drum CD. Airto has inspired countless percussionists worldwide to think and play outside the box and get beyond the standard with percussion instruments. This interview took place between sets at a rare performance at Chicago’s Hot House. His Brazilian jazz group included Gary Meek and long time singer/collaborator/percussionist and wife, Flora Purim. WPR: Tell us about your background. Moreira: I was born in 1941 in the village of Itaiopolis, Parana in a southern state of Italy. I was raised in Curiba, Brazil. My mother is Italian and my grandfather was from Milan. He was a tailor and made suits but was also a great singer of semi-classical music. My father Jose Rosa Moreira was a barber and a spiritual healer. I grew up always watching him take care of people. WPR: You arrived in New York from Brazil at the very beginning of an historical musical movement, the advent of “fusion”; the mixing of jazz with rock, electronic and “world” instruments. Your career started with Cannonball Adderly, then with Miles Davis’ groundbreaking recordings. You moved on to founding Weather Report and to working with Chick Corea’s Return to Forever where your wife, singer Flora Purim shared percussion duties. As a young percussionist in the 1970’s I remember attempting to play fusion. It was difficult at best. How did you approach that music and find the downbeat? Moreira: I am a natural musician, a natural player. I never had a formal percussion education in Brazil. When I was young, music schools were just for European classical music. We were called “rhythmists” instead of percussionists because we played rhythm. Percussionists were people who played in the symphony orchestras. But now there are many music schools in Brazil. When I was young I would practice on my own. I started playing trap drums at 13 or 14 years old. When a drummer didn’t show up for a gig I was asked to sit in. I played the main rhythms of Carnival all night and afterwards I got paid! The guy never showed up so I got the gig and I’ve been playing both drums and percussion ever since. Then I started singing. In fact, I was a crooner in Brazil. WPR: So, you didn’t read music? Moreira: No. I played with Cannonball, Miles and everybody [without reading music]. It was hard with Miles actually when I first started playing with his band. I felt like most of the people in the band weren’t really playing with Miles. Even among those musicians, it was really hard to find the “one”. If you happened to walk in during the middle of the set, the music was so complex and so busy it was hard to count “one, two, three, four” so I just played. I wasn’t even struggling. I was listening and playing something. By the third or fourth concert Miles told me, “Don’t bang, just play”. I thought I was playing too loud so the next time I kept the volume low, barely touching the instruments. Miles was watching and said, “You’re not playing. You must listen and then play”. Listen and play. That’s what I’ve been doing in the beginning and all my life anyway. You have to understand that I play for the music. I don’t play for myself or for the people but I play for the energy of the music. WPR: You played with Lee Morgan and Paul Desmond. Remember “Slugs” on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early 70’s? That was a real interesting and cutting edge period in jazz, rock, Afro, Latin and the combination of the above. How was the view from the inside? Moreira: “Slugs” was where Lee Morgan got shot and killed. I knew him and his wife real well. I was living in that jazz world and to be honest with you I tried playing with our brothers from Cuba, Puerto Rico and so on but for some reason they wouldn’t let me play. Even when I played a little shaker they would say, “no, no, no”. It was like some kind of secret beat. But things changed and I got to play with the brothers later on, especially after playing with Miles Davis! The jazz musicians accepted me right away. I was sitting in with them and they dug what I was doing right away. That’s how I got to play all those great gigs. WPR: What impressed me and many other percussionists around the world in the 70’s was your “free style”; thinking and playing outside of the box. As drummers and percussionists we tend to create our own confines and rules and forget to play and feel the spirit. Moreira: We are all brothers and the children of one God. God is our father. He is the creator and the supreme intelligence of the universe. We are the same. Materially we are different but we are all made the same whether we’re black, white, Russian, or Brazilian, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is where we are in our thinking and feeling. As people we have been separated for some reason. We need to stop being so egotistical. For example, when we see somebody doing something we can’t do, we should approach that person and communicate and learn from him or her. Don’t be afraid to communicate. We need to treat each other like human beings, like brothers and sisters. Boy, if we did that, many of our problems would be solved. That’s the law of nature. Love your neighbor like yourself. When you’re in the streets, try to respect and understand people. The world is a very stressful place right now. |
WPR: What helps you get through this crazy world of ours? Moreira: I grew up in a family of Spiritists. This spiritual path has nothing to do with Umbanda, Candomble or Santeria. There are no pictures, statues or music, just mediums, which are us! We are all mediums. I saw them communicate with spirits and cure people. My father was illiterate but when he was in a trance he could write out medical prescriptions! I was introduced to Umbanda years later and it was great but now I’m a Spiritist and follow Allan Kardec. Twice a week I attend the Spiritist Center in LA and communicate with good spirits. We also try to help others by visiting children’s hospitals for example, when I’m back home. WPR: What can we expect from you next? Moreira: I have a new CD on Narada Records. It’s very percussive and features Giovanni Hidalgo, Michito Sanchez and Mickey Hart among others. It’s real good. [It’s excellent! See Reviews, page 26.] WPR: Any last thoughts? Moreira: Yes, remember everything will pass but we are the spirit and we are forever. t
Some of Airto Moreira’s Recordings: 1970 Natural Feelings (One Way) Airto and Flora Purim Recordings 1966 Airto Moreira Trio: Jazz Nova (Seven Seas)
Airto Moreira with Other Artists 1968 Milton Nascimento: Courage (Polygram) Soundtracks:
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