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