Airto Moreira

Living in U.S.A. since 1967, Airto Moreira develops on works world music and is professor of Etnomusicologia in the UCLA. Educator in diverse countries also acts as producing and. Recognized for producers and teachers as the percussionist most popular of the world, he is undeniable its contribution for the development and maintenance of the high level of the call worldmusic. He enters the artists of world-wide reputation, with who it already presented itself and recorded, is Antonio Carlos Jobim, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Carlos Santana, Gil Evans, Barbieri Cat, Paul Simon, Quincy Jones, among others.

Airto Moreira was born, in 1941, in interior Itaiópolis – of Santa Catarina –, and lived its first years in Curitiba. Before exactly of literally walking with its proper legs already each time batucava in the soil that heard in the radio a ritmada music. If this worried its mother, the same it did not happen with its grandmother who recognized its potential she encouraged and it if to express it musically. To the six years of age, already it received compliments for its way to sing and to touch percussion. After that, the sender of local radio gave a program to it that went to air all the afternoons of Saturday. The thirteen years professional musician became touching percussion, battery and singing in ball bands. To the sixteen years he changed himself for São Paulo, starting to regularly present in nocturnal houses and programs of television as percussionista, baterista and singer.

In 1965, in Rio De Janeiro, the singer knew Purim Flora. Flora was for the United States, in 1967, and, then later, it followed it to Airto. A time in New Iorque, started to touch with important musicians as Reggie Workman, JJ Johnson, Cedar Walton and the stock exchange operator Walter Booker. It was through Booker that started to touch with Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Paul Desmond and Joe Zawignul. In 1970, Zawignul indicated Airto for a session of writing with Miles Davis, for the album “ Bitches Brew ”. After this, Davis it invited it, together with Hermeto Pascoal, to join it its group that, at the time was composed for some icons of the jazz as Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Jack De Johnette, Chick Corea and, later, John McLaughlin and Keith Jarrett. Airto integrated the group of Miles Davis per two years appearing in “ Live/Evil ”, “ Live at the Fillmore ”, “ On the Corner ”, “ The Isle of Wight ”, “ Bitches Brew ” e, later, in the presentations of Fillmore.

Airto was invited to integrate the original formation of the Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zavignul, Miroslav Vitous and Alphonse Mouzon, having recorded with them the album “ The Weather Report ”. Immediately afterwards the original group Return was joined it you the Forever de Chick Corea with Flora Purim, Joe Farell and Stanley Clarke with which it recorded the albums: “ Return you the Forever ” and “ Light a Feather ”. In 1974 it formed, with Flora Purim, its first band in the United States: Fingers.

He was known in years 70 and 80, as one of the percussionistas most popular of the world. Its domain on the instruments, ally to its ability in taking off the certain sound at the accurate moment, made of it number one in the list of the producers and bandleaders. Its work with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Gil Evans, Barbieri Cat, Michael Brecker, The Crusaders, Chicago and many others, including the participation in sonorous tracks for the cinema, as in “ The Exorcist ”, “ Last Tango in Paris ”, “ King of the Gypsies ” and “ Apocalypse Now ”, only represents a small part of the contribution of Airto for music in last the three decades. The impact of its work took the Downbeat magazine to consider the category ‘ percussion ’ in the voting of its readers and critics, in which Airto was the absolute winner for more than twenty times, since 1973. In recent years, the percussionista number one for the Jazz was considered Teams, Modern Drummer, Drum Magazine, Jazzizz Magazine, Central Jazz Station Global ’ s Pool Jazz in the Internet, in a similar way that for some European, Latin American and Asian publications.

Airto comes promoting the cause of percussiva music in the whole world as member of “ Planet Drum Percussion Ensemble ”, together with Mickey Hart, baterista of “ The Grateful Dead ”, that it also includes the great specialist in conga Giovanni Hidalgo and the tablista virtuoso Zakir Hussein, in a similar way that Flora Purim, Babatunde Olatunji, Sikiru and Viku Vinakrian, with which they had received the Grammy in 1991, in the category ‘ World Music ’. The instrumentista still contributed for the Grammy received for the Dizzy Gillespie ’ s United Nations Orchestra in the category ‘ better album of jazz to the living creature ’. Also it composed and it touched its “ Brazilian Spiritual Mass ” in a special one of two hours for the German TV, with the WDR Philharmonic Orchestra in Colony. This rare performance was registered in vinyl for the Harmonia Mundi stamp and permitted in video distributed in the whole world. More recently, was invited musician of the Boston Pops Philharmonic special Orchestra in for PSB TV and also with the Smashing Pumpkins in “ Unplugged ” of MTV, with the Japanese group of Kodo percussion and in the last COMPACT DISC “ Exciter ” of the Depeche Mode group.

Its record “ Killer Bees ” for the Melt2000 stamp, that has as invited Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Mark Egan and Hiram Bullock, was one of the albums more acclaimed by the critical one in the European market. Its alone record “ Homeless ”, launched in 2000, is considered an album of high energy with tribal rhythms and continues balancing the soil of the houses of dance in the whole world. Other launchings in this stamp include the group Fourth World with Jose Grandson and Purim Flora. Its song ‘ Celebration Suite ’ was reverse speed-mixada in the year passed for group DJ Bellini Brothers and received the heading ‘ Samba from January ’ This band remains in first place in the category “ dances music ” in 26 countries of the Europe, Asia and Latin America.

In 2000, one more time it was voted as percussionista number one by the readers of the Downbeat Magazine. Airto finishes to record an album with the Japanese group of Kodo percussion, in which two of its compositions had been enclosed: ‘ Maracatu ’ and ‘ Berimbau Jam ’. ‘ Maracatu ’ was chosen by being one of official musics of the pantry of the World of 2002 and served as subject of the ceremony of opening of the event in Japan. As professor in the Department of Etnomusicologia of the UCLA, it comes opening new horizontes in terms of musical concepts and creative energy. It divides its time enters the writings in studios, workshops and shows, creating new projects including DVD Surrond Sound, as well as searching new materials for future performances in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.