When Giants Salute and Titans Bow
As told to When Steel Talks
"Bradley was the kind of artist who could see the beauty in something that would generally be considered by others to be, low-brow, tawdry and insignificant. He was, in many ways, a humanist, resurrecting from the olden days, musical riffs, motifs and presenting them to his contemporary audiences with a modern twist that made these antiquated concepts and styles simple, relevant, appealing and hip. His music and his approach to it was the epitome of the idea that “there’s complexity in simplicity”."
"Clyde’s rendition of Oba’s ‘In My House’ certainly personified Oba’s message. On that night he left everyone open-mouthed at what a man and a pan can do. Desperadoes produced the most sensational performance; they sizzled and took the crown... Clyde has duly given more than his fair share to the art form, his music will continue to inspire many young and aspiring pan musicians for a very long time."
"Clive was one of the greatest musicians ever produced by this country [Trinidad & Tobago]. He was a master of orchestration. He had a fine mind and was very witty. He was a fantastic musician. It is a terrific loss - there can only be one Bradley."
"Bradley was the best and he could play every instrument you could think of. He was amazing."
"Indeed, Clive Bradley was much more than a great music arranger, more than a great music mind. Mr. Bradley was an intellectual that had the ability to speak the language of the masses through his music. Bradley understood pan and what it meant in the bigger social context. He was the people's arranger with a legendary ability to tell their story through music."
"I and Bradley - together years ago. Bradley introduced us to the whole studio scene in a way... This will be a great great loss to the whole pan scene... He was a genius."
"In the midst of all the merrymaking that carnival is supposed to be; that handling of the minor key makes you remember those two masks... One mask is smiling and one mask is weeping. His minor always had this terrible, gut-wrenching quality about it. The tragic underside of the human condition. Nobody can do it like that - I don't know that anyone ever will... And it seemed to embody everything that I think Mr. Bradley was, that he knew life as - brilliant and he knew it as tragic. And his music said that, and in that way it became almost a mirror of Trinidad life..."
"There is only one Clive Bradley who gave us exceptional music. Clive is my friend... He was a very sharing man and a very private man. It is a great, great loss. I have lost my friend... for me he used to create magic..."
"Clive was - as we say - one of the greatest arrangers in pan. He was a mathematician - he was able to subtract and divide and add to the music, and do with the music whatever he think needed to be done; and he knew sometimes that silence was golden. We need to continue, and do the best we can to make him smile. We need to continue to create - and the bands, Desperadoes, then Pantonic, D'Radoes and Metro in New York - and all the other bands he arranged for. We must continue to celebrate his life and be joyful, and not be sad, because he would not have wanted us to do that."
"A great musician. A great loss to the pan world for sure. There is only one Clive Bradley. There is no one who does a panorama tune like Clive Bradley. He has his style which was very effective. He looked at a song and lyrics and used that. The guy is genius. He's a top-of-the-line musician."
"He is unquestionably a giant, master, legendary, - what I will remember him most for is his good nature and jolly demeanor. He was so personable. In terms of his music - his harmonies, his creativity - no one is close to him. I don't think we will ever have the honor to have another Clive Bradley..."
"The world has lost a musical genius, and the steelband in particular has lost its best arranger. It hurts a lot but we've got to move on. I've known Mr. Bradley for over 25 years and he was always a pleasant person. Sometimes he gave you a little trouble but he always made you laugh in the end, always made you happy at the end... It's been a pleasure working with him, I must say... "
"The pan movement all over world has lost one of its great arrangers and composers. He will surely be missed. I can't even imagine a panorama without him. Bradley's arrangements were unique. This year he won in New York - this year - he came 1st and 2nd [in the New York Panorama competition]. He won Pan In The 21st Century [in Trinidad]... He was on a roll... The world is mourning a great, great guy. A very nice guy and a genius... The whole [2006 Trinidad & Tobago] panorama will be in his honor."
"It's a tremendous loss to the whole steelband movement throughout the entire world. Clive Bradley has touched the lives of all of us as young arrangers in so many prolific ways - listening to his music and listening to him speak. It is a tragic loss. And while we mourn his passing, I in particular, and the steelband movement am real happy that we were able to enjoy... his concepts and ideas in music and harmonization and so on - he inspired us to work for higher heights."
"Mr. Clive Bradley is one of the most innovative arrangers or musicians that the pan community has seen in its short existence. And he was an inspiration to me as well as my brothers -- Listening to the old Desperadoes and even Pantonic of late - it has been an inspiration. And I hope all the pan players who have played his music in the past, use his music to learn from him."
The world feels the void that his passing has created but let us dwell, not on what we have no control over, but on all the wonderful music and experiences he shared with us all."
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