Harmony: Songwriter uses music to help bridge cultures
By TOM HEINEN of the Journal Sentinel staff
When Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and other Latin-music stars launch
hot new albums that light up the pop-music heavens, Karl Cameron "KC"
Porter often is the man at mission control.
When a new Spanish-language album featuring the best of Ricky Martin
soared to the top of the Latin charts earlier this year, 10 of its 17
tracks were pieces that Porter had produced and/or co-written.
When mainstream artists like Brian McKnight, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi,
Boyz II Men and Chaka Khan want to record in Spanish, they turn to
Porter, who has two Grammys and more than 50 albums to his credit.
The Anglo son of Baha'i missionary parents who moved from Los Angeles
to Guatemala, this producer/songwriter knows more than a little about
the universal language of music and what it takes to navigate between
cultures.
"It's hard to make pop music that can say something without being
preachy, so it's a real fine line," said Porter, who added his keyboard
and percussion playing to the mix of musicians performing this week in
the U.S. Cellular Arena for the Baha'i faith's first national conference
in 15 years.
"But working with someone like Santana, it's like the perfect
opportunity for me to be able to do something that people won't look at
as religious, because he's not necessarily a 'religious' man, he's a
very spiritually profound person. His focus and concern is very similar
to mine in that he wants to bring people of the world together."
The Baha'i message that this is the age in which the people of the
world will unite in a world civilization resonates with Porter, who sees
music as playing a special role in bridging cultures.
"It think we've really just scratched the surface," Porter said.
"What we did with Ricky Martin I feel gave an example of what you can do
when you take a Spanish rumba and mix it with salsa music and you add a
little Brazilian samba and you throw it all together. It just somehow
fits in.
"You know, it's just being open to that, being open to all these
rhythms of the world. I'm trying to reach out into the Middle East and
reach out into Africa and all around the world and trying to bring not
only world artists together, but also trying to find the indigenous
colors and sounds of the planet and trying to let that voice be heard, too."
Porter was more direct in "Primavera," a piece he co-wrote for
Santana's hit "Supernatural" album. On it, Porter's voice tenderly sings
lyrics in Spanish that include the words (translated from Spanish), "The
black earth becomes green, and the mountains and the desert a beautiful
garden."
On one level it speaks of the physical renewal that comes each
spring, he said. On another level, it speaks of the maturation of
humanity after a long and turbulent adolescence, a "religious
blossoming" that has been ushered in by the prophetic revelations of
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith.
The lyrics parallel a part of the Baha'i book, "The Promulgation Of
Universal Peace," which reads, "The withered trees are quickened with
animation, the black soil becomes verdant with new growth, fresh and
fragrant flowers bloom, the world of dust is refreshed, renewed life
forces surge through the veins of every animate being, and a new
springtime carpets the meadows, plains, mountains and valleys with
wondrous forms of life."
More recently, Porter, through his Insignia Records company, has
produced and is marketing an album by Colombian singer/guitarist Leonor
Dely that blends a wide range of Latin and African rhythms with short
quotations from "The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah."
Although his parents still live in Guatemala, Porter now lives
outside Los Angeles. Fluent in Spanish, he feels extremely comfortable
in Latin culture, but that was not always so.
Porter, 39, was steeped in Americana until the age of 7. His mother,
a script girl for the "I Love Lucy" television show, acted a lot like
Lucy at home. His father, a trumpet player and composer, helped compose
and orchestrate the music for the "Lassie" television series.
Then, his parents, who converted from Methodism, moved permanently to
Guatemala City to share their Baha'i faith.
"Guatemala City was, of course a culture shock," Porter said. "I grew
up in this very much, kind of like 'Leave it to Beaver' lifestyle, which
today I can see as something definitely of the past. Because now, no
longer is one city a melting pot; the whole world is really becoming a
melting pot."
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