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T he P ortland O bserver • J une 1, 1994
P age
B5
B l a c k M u sic M o n th
Z a p M a m a : Coming To Portland
Heads Back T o Their Roots
Some historians refer to
“ the c h itlin ’ circuit” as the
handful of world-famous btsck
v a u d e v ille th e a te rs - the
Apollo in New Y o rk, the Re­
gal in Chicago, the Howard in
D .C ., the Paradise in Detroit,
the Royal in Baltim ore - that
thrived from the 20s through
the civil rights era. Speech,
chief w riter and rapper for
the G ram m y-w inning band
Arrested Development, uses
the terra “c h itlin ’ circuit” in
re fe re n c e to the s m alle r,
funkier venues that have al­
ways catered to black music,
especially throughout the ru ­
ral South.
Gearing op for the release
o f the fo llo w -u p a to n m ,
Zingalamadnni, to their multi -
platinum debut, 3 Years, 5
Months, and 2 Days in the Life
of..., Arrested Development
are undertaking a nine city
“chitlin circuit” concert anil
p ro m o tio n a l to u r . A .D .’ s
chitlin’ tour itinerary is more
far-reaching than the chitlin*
tours once done by legendary
delta bines singers and jazz
acts of the past, but the idea is
the same.
‘W e’ re staying true to our
Zap M ama is a group o f five
women singers led by M arie Daulne.
Shortly before M an e’s birth in Zaire
to a Belgian father and a Zairean
mother, there was a political revolt
which forced the Belgians to leave the
country. M arie’s father was lulled in
the ensuing riots but her m other m an­
aged to escape with three children to
the safety o f the pygm ies, the neigh­
bors o f her own tribe the Bantou. The
pygm ies are feared by other tribes
because of their supernatural pow ers,
m ysticism and spiritualism . There,
M arie was bom , w ithout m edical at­
tention, in the forest.
A fter M arie left home, she de­
cided to make music her profession
and studied polyphony in Arab, Asian
and A frican contexts. She felt that
since the A frican tradition is oral and
transm its em otion, she needed to ex­
perience this dim ension firsthand;
M arie set out to re-m eet the pygmies.
W hen she arrived, they regarded her
differently from the other women who
had come to study and film, because
she could sing like them.
A lthough her m other had care­
fully taughtherchildren some Bantou
traditions, she feared them becoming
too African and considered M arie’s
songs “savage” and uncivilized. A t
the same time, the Belgian side o f her
family supporter her cultural studies.
As M arie started developing her new
group, she realized that since she
herself had not spent m uch tim e in
roots with the people,” Speech
said. “This tour is not as glitzy
or glamorous as a formal arena
show. I t ’s g rittier, more down-
to-earth, more old school.” He
adds that the tour is a “ re­
birth” for Arrested Develop­
ment who, before they were
signed, used to play “ little
backwoods clubs” throughout
southern Georgia and north­
ern Florida, bringing hip-hop
to many of these places for the
first time.
As committed as ever to
political activism in everyday
life, Arrested Development has
arranged to have Greenpeace
and Amnesty In te rn atio n al
giving out inform ation at all
of their dates. And, as before,
A .D . w ill be displaying works
by local African American a rt­
ists in every city. The tour com­
mences in Atlanta and con­
cludes in San F ra n cis c o .
An extensive summer tour
w ill be announced in the near
future.
Zingalamaduni, Arrested
Development’s second studio
effort, w ill be in stores on June
14. The first single from the
new album, “Ease M y M in d ”
has just been released.
X
Africa, the music could never be fully
African; “My music is a mix - like
m e.” T o zap means to switch chan­
nels or, as intended here, cultures. In
a way, Marie compares herself to
A mericans, a new breed o f people
who have forgotten some of their
roots and traditions.
Z ap M ama are going back to the
roots, the human voice. Instead of
adding more elaborate instruments,
like so many of their Europeanized
contem poraries. Zap M ama subtract
instruments. These are women o f the
world: Zap M am aoffersanacappella
journey, reminding us that we all
m ake the sam e sounds they use
(breathing, exhaling) but as mecha­
nization continues - in Africa as well
as in W estern countries ~ everything
CL Ite 11 it v t lattò (0 h s erber
’
1
W ELCO M ES
¿Al’ MAMA
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This special evening of
music will be preceeded
by a screening of MIZIKE
MAMA the award winning
documentary portrait of
this internationally
acclaimed group
• FKIENDS OF THE ZOO ’ THE GRAND WAZOO
St. Johns Music
Series Planned
C a th e d ra l P a rk in th e St.
Jo h n s D istrict o f N o rth P o rtla n d
will be th e site fo r a series of
c o n c e rts th is su m m e r, th a n k s to
local co m p an ies a n d ind iv id u al
sp o n so rs. P o rtla n d P a rk s an d
R ec re a tio n a n d F rie n d s o f C a ­
th e d ra l P a r k N e ig h b o rh o o d A s­
sociation say o v er $8,000 has a l­
re a d y been raised .
T h e series, w hich inclu d e
c o n c e rts Ju ly 1 0 a n d Ju ly 2 4 ,w ill
conclude w ith th e 5th A nnual
B lue H ero n M usic F estiv al on
Ju ly 31. M a jo r sp o n so rs o f the
series in clu d e th e M e tro C e n tra l
E n h a n c e m e n t F u n d a n d B ro w n ­
in g -F e rris In d u strie s o f O regon.
A s s o c ia tio n C h a i r T e d
W h ite, in an n o u n c in g th e series,
c re d ite d th e g ra n t as p a rtic u ­
la rly im p o rta n t because it p ro ­
vided m u ch o f the m usic fo r the
festival, new electric c irc u its an d
d rin k in g fo u n ta in s fo r th e p a rk .
“W e h a ve received w o rd th a t
p a rk s a n d re c re a tio n is going to
m a tc h som e o f th e p a rk im p ro v e­
m en t m o n ey ,as well,” W h itesa id.
T h e la r g e s t c o n tr ib u tio n
from an in d iv id u al cam e from
Jo h n D ip asq u ale, m a n a g e r o f the
St. J o h n s B ra n c h o f U.S. B ank.
P erso n s a n d co m p an ies in te r­
ested in c o n trib u tin g to th e se­
rie s a re a sk e d to c o n ta c t Blue
H ero n T re a s u r e r S a n d ra W y a tt
a t 735-4771.
to
b e n e fit the renovation of th e Asian Elephant Exhibit.
original and natural gets taken for
granted. Although based in Brussels,
the home of techno. Zap Man’s instru­
ments are their vocal chords and bodies.
Their live shows are com pelling
and fun, thanks to their sense o f hu­
mor, their vibrant personalities and
their collective experience within the­
atre and dance. Live Zap Mama add a
whole new dimension to the experience.
m
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SAT. JU N E 18
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$ 1 6 .5 0 A D V A N C E
A L A D D IN TH E A TE R
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3 0 1 7 S E M IL W A U K IE A T P O W E L L
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Portland Repertory Theater
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7 PM, SATURDAY JULY 30 • $20.°°
METRO WASHINGTON PARK ZOO OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATER
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F E A T U R IN G
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MARCUS ROBERTS musical director & pianist
JON FADDIS TRUMPETER
NICHOLAS PAYTON trumpeter
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Featuring the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington
Count Basie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and others, this
17- piece orchestra presents the nation's finest jazz artists.
UJ
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£
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Tickets at all TicketMaster outlets.
Subject to service charge. CHARGE BY PHONE
224-4400. For information call FOZ at 220-2495.
Friends O f The Zoo
• OOZVM QNVilO 3HL - OOZ 3H1 3 0 SONSIW
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t n A « M > o tA T W N W r r H
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F r id a y
T hursday J une 9
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c e le b ra te d A fr ic a n - A m e r ic a n
BEST BLUES PACKAGE THIS SUMMER)
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