I
have never seen anything like Airto! The only way
to explain it is tell the story of my first gig with
him. It was at a jazz festival near San Francisco.
Flora Purim, Gary Meek, Airto, Trey Henry and I had
just finished playing a set and then left the stage
for Airto to do do his "Tambourine Solo".
I was thirsty so I went into the green room for some
coffee, when I noticed everyone else was still outside.
Gary Meek came in and said "Man! If you haven't
seen Airto do "The Tambourine Solo", you
gotta get out there. You wont believe it." So
I went out into the audience and sat on the grass.
It was an outdoor festival with trees and grass all
around. Airto was center stage holding what looked
like your average tambourine. He started by telling
funny jokes while he made adjustments to the instrument.
And then it began. I could not believe he could create
so many sounds with just one instrument. The tambourine
came alive and he used it to tell stories. Without
words we were taken to Africa and Airto chanted as
the warrior hunter. The warrior on the hunt, the warrior
by the fire. You could feel every sound he made, and
they took you farther into the magical journey. Time
after time a new sound was born and it just seemed
to rush out of him. The air became very still and
everyone was completely silent. Captivated. We all
became aware of how quiet it was.
Airto began a low growl that seemed to pick up the
wind. We watched as he transformed himself into an
Indian medicine man. He called on his powers and summoned
the wind Gods. It was magic. We were watching Mother
Nature do his bidding. The wind became very loud and
all the leaves were tossed into the sky. The birds
were shrieking and Airto continued. I had to laugh,
it was just too outrageous to believe. In the end
the spell was cast and we all just sat there in silence.
No wind, no birds, no rustling leaves. Then we all
leapt to our feet yelling and screaming for more.
It was just like Gary said, "You won't believe
it." |
