Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 7, 1995                   TAG: 9507070015
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LARRY GABRIEL KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE BEAT THAT'S HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

But check out the Billboard magazine charts as the month came to a close. African-American acts held 16 of the top 20 positions in the Hot 100 Singles list. Two of the other four top hits are from groups with black and white members - Hootie & the Blowfish and Blessid Union of Souls.

Some crisis.

``The influence of black music is across the board in America,'' says Bruce Walker, vice president for talent at Motown Records. ``It has penetrated every single radio format.''

Actually, however, there is a long and ongoing problem in the U.S.: The true depth and breadth of black music - from jazz to blues to reggae - is not being recognized and appreciated as it is elsewhere.

In Europe, the wide array of African-American music is taken much more seriously. Artists on the way up, and those whose stars have dimmed here, often make it by hitting the European market. Techno pioneer Derrick May is well known on the rave-injected British scene, but has a relatively low profile in his native Detroit. Many local jazz musicians make ends meet by regularly touring Europe and the Far East.

``Obviously everyone else realizes something we take for granted,'' says Detroit record producer Sylvia Moy.

A trip down the radio dial - where most people are exposed to new sounds - will find the only music that gets any significant airplay is pop. Other forms - gospel, jazz, blues, rock, classic R&B and reggae - are not easily accessible to listeners. That's ironic, since elements from those genres, particularly gospel and blues, went into making pop what it is.

``We have a tendency to throw away everything,'' Moy adds. ``We deal with what's happening right now. Rap and hip-hop came in; we accept that, but you don't discard all the other music that you have. Because of the popularity of rap, for a while there you almost couldn't get a deal for a singer.''

Gospel has been particularly prominent in bringing into the pop mainstream a wealth of soul singers from Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston. But while gospel expression fuels the pop voice, gospel will not be found on popular airwaves.

But the mainstream is fed by a number of heartier, more distinctive elements. Sweden's Ace of Base made it big with songs such as ``The Sign'' but the distinctive rhythm of the lilting song is roots reggae.

Rap music has relied heavily on a number of elements from hard funk to rock and jazz to decorate its urban grooves. But while a sample from a jazz composition can drive a tune such as ``Cantaloop'' or ``Cool Like Dat'' up the charts, there will be no jazz tunes on the Top 40 charts anytime soon.

``We have so much segregation,'' Moy said. ``There are R&B people who won't accept jazz and jazz people who won't accept others. Some gospel stations will play traditional music but won't play contemporary gospel. We've got to open our minds and realize what we have.''

Sometimes breaking an act is easier on foreign shores. Ears seem more open to new sounds. Paris is a center for African music. Afro-Cuban music is the rage in Africa. Japan is hot for jazz and salsa.

Terence Trent D'Arby managed to break out by moving from the United States to England. Chicago blues harpist Sugar Blue played in the Paris Metro before getting tapped to play on the Rolling Stones' ``I Miss You,'' which kick-started his career. Europe hosts more and bigger jazz festivals than can be found stateside, and many American jazz musicians choose to stay there to ply their trade.

``People have a wider appreciation for music as a whole in Europe,'' Motown's Walker said. ``There's more of a diversity of people in Europe.''

And, in areas where more diverse music is listened to, more diverse music tends to get made. Reggae grew from Jamaicans' attempt to play R&B.

Caribbean soca music is a mixing of soul and calypso. The 1960s British rock explosion came on the heels of the Brits' infatuation with American blues artists. Much of the African pop being made today is an interpretation of African-American music. Mali's Ali Farka Toure bases much of his music on the styles of Memphis Slim and John Lee Hooker.

International soul music should be the catch-all title for these sounds.

Black music is no longer the sound of young America. It's the beat that's heard round the world by ears more open than those at home.