May 26, 2004
tlK F o r tia n i» (© baeruer
page C3
H istory o f Jazz
& Hip-hop 101
Free concert to empower youth
with cultural and artistic knowledge
The New Griot Project (NGP), an
arts outreach initiative that draws on
the shared musical, cultural and ar
tistic heritage of jazz and hip-hop to
inform and empower youth, presents
a free jazz and hip-hop concert on
Saturday, May 29 at 7:00 P. M. at the
Matt Dishman Community Center,
77 N.E. Knott Street.
The concert features several Port
land jazz and hip-hop artists, includ
ing rapperCool Nutz, jazz trumpeter
Thara Memory, jazz pianist Darrell
Grant, The Original Cats of Jazz, and
smooth jazz group N’Touch, as well
as breakdancers the Rose City Break
ers, poet Renee Mitchell, Project
workshop students and others.
Arts and Culture Council, The New
Griot Project Workshop teamed
young people with professional art
Free Jazz & Hip-hop Concert
ists in a 10-day after-school work
Saturday, May 29, 7pm
shop held at the Blazers Boys and
Girls Club.
Matt Dishman Community
Center, 77 N.E. Knott St.
Students learned about jazz from
trumpeter Thara Memory; were
These performances are the cul shown the connection between hip-
mination of a three-week program hop and African music by rapper Mic
sponsored by the Leroy Vinnegar Crenshaw and drummer David Parks;
Jazz Institute at Portland State, and and viewed the work of Portland
conducted in partnership with the painter IsaakaShamsud-Din. Young
Blazers Boys & Girls Club and Port emcees, poets and musicians col
land Parks and Recreation. Funded laborated with faculty artists to
in part by a grant from the Regional compose original poetry and songs
Combs Makes Broadway Debut
Sean Combs and Alexander
Mitchell (AP photo)
(AP) — Sean Combs, the hip-
hop impresario has made his Broad
way debut in “A Raisin in the Sun”
at the Royale Theatre in New York.
He co-stars with actress Phylicia
Rashad in Lorraine Hansberry story
of a black family’s South Side Chi
cago apartment in the late 1950s.
Rashad dominates the house
hold and the play, giving a lovely,
touching perform ance as the
strong-willed woman who wants to
lift her family out of the ghetto on
the wings of a $10,000 insurance
policy left by her late husband.
Combs has a compelling physi
cal presence, debuting as the
woman’s son, an angry dreamer,
frustrated with his job as a chauf
feur for a wealthy white man.
on themes of empowerment and so
cial justice, and will perform these
works on May 29.
In addition, workshop students
created public service announce
ments (PSAs) for KBOO radio, and
began work on a mural which, when
completed, will be transformed into a
20 x30 ft. outdoor mural on East
Burnside.
The New Griot Project was in
spired by the West African tradition
of the “griot” as a storyteller who
perpetuates the oral tradition and
historyofavillageorfamily. Thegoal
of NGP is the empowerment of Port
land youth by putting into their hands
and minds the tools with which toteli
their stories - investing those sto
ries with knowledge and apprecia
tion for musical, cultural and artistic
heritage, and assisting them in carry
ing their message to the larger com
munity.
A ctress Starts R ecord L ab el
Fans in Europe recall first being in
troduced to Lunden De’LeonasJoanne
Mbutu on the hit German television
series Vitai Signs. Three years later, the
sultry actress has catapulted that
breakout role into a successful career
by starring in more than 50 movies and
television shows.
Today, she’s giving other African-
American talent achance by starting an
independent label for musicians.
The supermodel turned actress
opened the
doors to her
Los Angeles
based record
label Dirrty
records in
Septem ber,
s i g n i n g Lunden De'Leon
aw ard-w in
ning rocker DH Peligro o f Dead
Kennedys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Nailbomb,
KEVIN & KEN BERRY'S
MEM ORIAL DAY WEEKEND OLD SCHOOL PARTY
FRIDAY, M AY 28»h, 2 0 0 4
AT SHENANIGAN'S
4575 H. Channel on Swan Island
9pm • 2am
Hors d'oeuvres served
Bast dressed and dan<e contest $ 1 0 0 .0 0 each
Tickets $21.50 in advance $25.00 at the door
Tickets available ah
Geneva's - Njeri Hair Design - One Stop Music
A Step Above * Tracy's Unforgettable Hails
Rebecca Kilgore
30 and over
For more information or tickets delivered call:
|fe
503-469-1701
FO'f K 80'$ music, "Dress to Impress"
go out and listen
to live music...