Bringing Back Steelband Blockorama

The Ancestors are pleased...

Steelpan Jazz at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Were You There When...

Steelpan Jazz at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Pan and The People at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Steelpan Jazz at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Thrice and Counting:
 Pan is at Lincoln Center and There to Stay

Steelpan Jazz at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

New York - Ralph K. Ramsey (right), president of Abstract Entertainment Inc. (AEI) is the man behind the scenes that has put pan in Lincoln Center for three years in a four-year period.  The inaugural year was 2004, when the pride of Long Island - ADLIB Steel Orchestra, was part of a fabulous line-up which included pannist extraordinaire Garvin Blake and Friends, Liam Teague and Arturo Tappin, and Andy Narell and company.  The place was Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.  That year many attendees came in wonderment, amazed that a show filled with so many major pan artists was uncompromisingly featured at one of New York city's iconic venues.  And in keeping with the grandeur of the event, one of the legends of the steelpan movement, Emmanuel 'Jack' Riley was one of the first two recipients of AEI's Life Time Achievement Award.  The other was world-famous drummer Max Roach who many years ago declared that "Pan should be on a world stage!"

Greenidge, MacDonald and Rudder Deliver the Goods

Steelpan Jazz at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

New York - The 2007 version of the annual Steelpan Jazz Concert at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center is in the history books.  The crowd was ready, the showground was ready and the artists delivered.  Robert Greenidge, Ralph MacDonald and David Rudder - the show's headliners - left the crowd calling for more.  Indeed, another successful show for the event producers Abstract Entertainment Inc. (AEI), whose name has become synonymous with high level successful music events.

Higher Levin
& Meyer Levin Steel Orchestras-
Still Reaching for Higher Heights

Brooklyn, New York - The Higher Levin Steel Orchestra, and the sixth, seventh and eighth grade steel orchestras at host institution Meyer Levin - IS (Intermediate School) 285 - are still reaching for the 'higher heights,' and show no sign of looking back at all.

If anything, Meyer Levin's 4th Annual All Star Culture Shock held on June 15, served notice that the upcoming pannists are proud to be part of the Meyer Levin legacy, under the proud stewardship of director Tichard Chapman.  Beaming parents, family, faculty and fellow Meyer Levin students filled the auditorium to capacity for more than two hours of entertainment put on by talented youngsters and teens in the form of skits, song, dance and poetry, with the steel orchestra providing full musical accompaniment for the vocalists.  As he had done at the Winter concert, Principal Edward Gentile would also join the cast once again and serenade the audience with Frank Sinatra's classic My Way, with the full backing of the steel orchestra.

The Newham Steel Band Blockorama

United Kingdom - The Newham Steel band hosted its first steel band Blockorama in the new Gillett Square, Bradbury Street, Dalston, East London on the 10th June 2007. The event was held between 1.00 -6.00 p.m. with free entry. The event was supported by the British Association of Steelbands, National Lottery, Awards for All, Hackney Co-operative Developments, The Vortex and Fast London Design Show.

Gillett Square provides a quality public space of nearly 3,000 sq m of high quality open space at the heart of Dalston town centre. The project was selected in 2002 as one of the first ten open space projects within the Mayor of London's 100 public spaces programme. The site was formally launched on 10th November 2006 by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Gillett Square is in close proximity to Kingsland High Street and provides both relief from the excessive pedestrian footfall on the main street and a flexible arena for cultural activity.

Hottest Ticket in Town

Sold-Out Concert Leaves Locked-Out Steelpan Music Fans Anxious and Scrabbling

Steelpan Jazz Concert at the House of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Invader Steel Orchestra Reaches Out to Cultural Minister

Port of Spain, Trinidad - Caribbean Airlines Invaders Steel Orchestra participated in this year’s We Beat parade in St James over the weekend. 

As a further cry for help to the Trinidad & Tobago Government, the band displayed a prominent banner, which stated “ Madam Minister! We nah have a home, when de mornin’ come.”   Invaders’ plea was echoed in their tune of choice “Nah goin’ home” by Biggie Irie  as they performed  for the Minister of Culture, Joan Yuille-Williams who  was one of the VIP guest at the Amphitheatre.

Invaders Steel Orchestra’s fervent appearance at the We Beat festival was evidence of a band whose development, sustainability and contribution throughout their 67 years of existence is deserving of strong support by the Government for their plea to secure a permanent “home.”

DC Caribbean Carnival, Inc. (DCCC) Announces its 15th Annual Carnival Extravaganza

Washington D.C. - The annual Extravaganza Parade will be staged along the Georgia Avenue corridor on Saturday, June 23, 2007, and will commence at Missouri Avenue and terminate at the international marketplace at "DE SAVANNAH" - Banneker Recreation Park featuring food, craft and entertainment.  DC Caribbean Carnival will host the international marketplace at "DE SAVANNAH" from 12:00 NOON to 7:00pm.

Pathmark Multicultural Festival 2007

Steelbands Celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month
with Prominent Appearance

 Women In Steel, Pantonic and Pan Ambassadors Soar

Brooklyn, New York - It is no surprise that the annual Pathmark Multicultural Arts Festival is one of the most anticipated and enjoyable festivals in New York City. Each year Pathmark provides New York City residents with an authentic dose of the Caribbean, and top class steel orchestras and dance troupes from the area with the opportunity to perform to thousands of the festival attendees and Kings Plaza shoppers through their festival. The Kings Plaza festival is part of a series of concerts held throughout the New York tri-state area celebrating the diverse cultures of people who patronize Pathmark stores, and this Sunday the performing arts were front and center, as dance, poetry and song of the Caribbean were on display.

Use music to fight crime

Michael Murrel, a retired teacher, believes music can help young people stay away from crime.

Trinidad - “Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age excel more in their academic fields much more than their peers. It is a matter of discipline and the outlet for creativity which really work.

That discipline developed from playing music is transferred to every facet of life and crime is naturally eliminated,” he said.

Murrel, a former teacher of Barataria Junior Secondary School, joined the teaching service in 1966. He is a graduate of the Mausica.

Teachers Training College and the Caribbean Union College, now the University of the Southern Caribbean where he successfully read for a Bachelor’s degree in Education. Murrel taught Agricultural Science but holds a diploma in Automotive and Diesel Mechanics from the National Technical Schools in California.

Murrel is an accomplished musician, he favours the steelpan. He is a director, arranger and pannist with the Marionatta steel orchestra.

The Danny Kaye Steelband
has it's turn on stage

Brooklyn, New York - We first met the youngsters of the Danny Kaye PS (Public School) 149 Steelband a couple months ago when they accompanied New York veteran steel orchestra Pantonic to MIT in Boston. Then, they were filled with wonder as Pantonic grabbed the spotlight during the 2007 campus preview weekend. On Wednesday June 6 it was the turn of the PS 149'ers to star, and show their fellow students just how it is done, as they took their turn behind their instruments as part of the school's annual Danny Kaye Arts Festival on Sutter Avenue in Brooklyn.