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GSMN
GLOBAL STEELPAN MUSIC NEWS
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GSMN
GLOBAL STEELPAN MUSIC NEWS
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June
2010
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The latest from
our PR department.
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BASEMENT
CD & DVD Productions
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The Business of Steelpan Music 24 -7
When Steel Talks (WST)
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“The
Bradley Years”
The
Bradley Years represent the definitive collection
of steelband music arrangements and performances
for a large steel orchestra. This collection
showcases seven classic arrangements from the
master arranger Clive Bradley. Bradley
is considered to be the best steelband music
arranger ever by many, including his peers.
In addition, the arrangements are performed
by one of the finest steelbands in the world,
New York’s Pantonic Steel Orchestra. Clive Bradley
had a very special relationship with Pantonic.
This orchestra clinched the title of panorama
champions five times in seven years - performing
Bradley’s musical works. The performances
were captured by Basement Recordings days before,
and in one instance, mere moments before they
took the stage for the prestigious annual steelband
music panorama competition.
The recordings
capture, reproduce and present an unrivalled
clarity with sonic realism, of a large steel
orchestra fielding between one hundred and one
hundred twenty musicians - unlike any other
steelband music recordings in its class.
This body of musical work is a sterling addition
for all fans, educators, players, historians
and fine music collectors.
click to listen
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WST
YouTube Channel
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Pan in New York CD and DVD available
here
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“CD
Samples”
Pan in
New York 2009
|
Global
- Experience
the beauty of the steelpan instrument through the
two latest CD releases from Basement Recordings.
Three-minute samples from the Pan In New York 2009
CDs - of both regular and slow tempo performances
- are being featured. Content is being added,
so keep checking regularly. Both “Pan
In New York 2009,” and “Pan In New York 2009 - The
Cooldown Versions” are a
continuation
of the Pan-4-Life series from Basement Recordings.
read more
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Simply
one of the greatest steelband recordings to date!
A collector’s item...
[ PANTONIC + BASEMENT + BRADLEY
] x 4 =
MASTERPIECE
- Clive Bradley the Master at
Work -
Very Sweet Pan Music
Get Your Copy Now
click - limited copies available >>
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Web Posted
- Wednesday June 30, 2010
When Steel Talks
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Ace Steelpan musician
Ryan Joseph is ‘Lypo Tom’ in “The Pan Man”
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New
York, USA - He is one of the better
known faces on the New York steelpan music
scene. A frontline player with the champion
steel orchestra Pan Sonatas, and, one of the
core members of its stage side, Ryan Joseph is
additionally a member of the highly visible,
well-known, cutting edge music group Steel
Sensation based in Queens, New York. And now he
will add the role of ‘actor’ to his many
achievements when he takes on the lead role of
“Lypo Tom” in the play “The Pan Man” on July 2
and 3 in New York, with three shows carded for
each date.
read more
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Web Posted
- Wednesday June 30, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
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Our national instrument
moving forward
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Trinidad
& Tobago. W.I. - Steelpan is definitely
alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago as was
seen last weekend when the Ministry of Arts &
Multiculturalism continued its NAPA Fest at the
National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA)
in Port-of-Spain on Saturday night with a
weekend of music billed as Pop Meets Steel.
Steel orchestras, which have been responsible
for the high level of excellence, which the
national instrument has been enjoying, were
featured before a packed house on premiere
night. The festival, which was started in April
by past Culture Minister Marlene Mc Donald, saw
a celebration of youth, the recognition of the
masters, and a display of the country’s artistic
excellence.
read more
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Web Posted
- Wednesday June 30, 2010
The Academy
Extra
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MC&MA Steel Band Attracts
A Top Draw Crowd
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Manchester,
England - Manchester Creative and
Media Academy’s (MC&MA Girls) Steel Band
entertained some of the North West’s most
prominent education officials at a prestigious
annual event for new teachers.
The established group was especially invited to
the opening ceremony of Teach First North West
at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.
The MC&MA Steel Band played popular tracks
including Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, and
they were well received.
Enrichment Event Co-ordinator Mr. Graham said:
“The students played in the south gallery, and
at the end of which there was a queue to
congratulate and celebrate their brilliance and
success.
read more
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Web Posted
- Wednesday June 30, 2010
The Buffalo
Bulletin
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Trinidad steel drums rock
Buffalo
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Wyoming, USA
- Downtown Buffalo is graced by
architecture that would be familiar to late 19th
century travelers and adventurers. It is not an
environment that would make visitors think of
white beaches, cool Caribbean breezes or rum
drinks – but that’s what happened Sunday evening
as the Buffalo Steel Drum Band practiced as
visitors strolled past the DeerField building.
Visitors would step out to take the cool,
evening air along Main Street, only to do a
double-take and track down the unusual sounds
wafting from the DeerField. Looking inside,
visitors found 15 steel drum players of widely
varying expertise and experience. Bare feet were
the rule, as players struck their instruments.
read more
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Web Posted
- Tuesday June 29, 2010
When Steel Talks
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Organizers Focused on
2011 Steelpan Festival
Reviewing
Applications Now!
|
Montreal,
Quebec, Canada - This year's
exciting edition of the Montreal International
Steelpan Music Festival is yet another, already
written into the history books, but the show's
organizers are already at work planning for next
year's 2011 event. The show's producer Salah
Wilson expects the 2011 version to be the
biggest and most expansive steelpan music event
in Canada.
The Montreal International Steelpan Music
Festival is an invitation-only event that is
ideally suited for performing steel orchestras,
ensembles and solo artists - from the college,
community and/or professional arenas.
read more
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Web Posted
- Tuesday June 29, 2010
When Steel Talks
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Carl Chase - The Man
Behind Steelpan in Maine
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Montreal,
Quebec, Canada - He is quiet,
reserved, unassuming and soft-spoken yet his
passion for the steelpan and its music burns
white hot. Meet Carl Chase, the man singularly
responsible for the introduction and
proliferation of the steelpan and steelbands in
the state of Maine, USA.
At the recently-concluded 10th annual
Montreal International Steelpan Festival, When
Steel Talks got a chance to talk to and observe
Mr. Chase in action. Under his leadership, the
amalgamation “Pan Coalition,” is an annual
participant in this international Canadian
steelpan music festival. The coalition is made
up primarily of Flash! in The Pans, Chase’s own
group, and several other bands from the Blue
Hill, Maine area.
read more
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Web Posted
- Tuesday June 29, 2010
When Steel Talks
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Starlift Junior Steel
Orchestra captures the hearts and minds of
Montréal for F.I.S.M.
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Montreal,
Quebec, Canada -
With the
results of two competitions now in hand,
Starlift Junior Steel Orchestra closed out the
10th Annual Montreal International
Steelpan Festival (F.I.S.M. - Festival
International de Steelpan de Montréal) with a
varied repertoire that showcased even more,
their musical skill set and performance
abilities. The crowd was very pleased with their
presentation which included classic hits like
Thriller (Michael Jackson), La La (Lord Nelson)
and Mo Wuk (Patrice Roberts), among many others.
read more
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Web Posted
- Tuesday June 29, 2010
The Working
Waterfront
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Steel pan music finds a
home on the Blue Hill peninsula
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Maine,
USA - There's island music in the air in
Blue Hill this summer, the kind of island music
that seems more at home among palm trees than
spruces.
Since 1974, the Blue Hill peninsula has been
Maine's center for steel pan music. There are at
least five active steel pan groups on the
Downeast coast, and more springing up each year.
This pine-state pan revolution can be traced to
one man, pan maker and seafarer Carl Chase of
Brooksville.
Chase said his lifelong steel pan love affair
started with a chance encounter with the music
in high school.
"I just sort of...stumbled across a record,"
Chase said.
read more
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Web Posted
- Tuesday June 29, 2010
The Trinidad
Express
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Moving stage breaks down
at ‘Pop Meets Steel’ show
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Trinidad & Tobago,
W.I. - One of the moving stages at the
multi-million dollar National Academy for the
Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain broke
down in the middle of Sunday’s NAPA Fest ’Pop
Meets Steel’ show.
The stage malfunctioned when players from Courts
Sound Specialists of Laventille were on stage.
The players had to scramble across the stage to
remove their pans when one third of the stage,
which moves from north to south, did not work.
Sound Specialists was the third steel orchestra
to perform and after their performance, the
players exited the stage to the south while
their pans were going to the north. Realising
something was wrong, the players ran across the
stage to secure their instruments in full view
of the audience.
read more
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Web Posted
- Sunday June 27, 2010
Tarrytown Patch
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Steel Passion Heats Up
Summer
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Tarrytown,
NY, USA - Locals can get a taste of
the Caribbean right in Tarrytown this summer.
Steel Passion, a steel drum band of the Christ
Episcopal Church, has been performing seasonally
at the Washington Irving Boat Club for the past
three years.
Jack Jolly, a member of the church, joined the
band in 1978.
"I started from scratch," he said.
According to Jolly, the band was started in 1965
by a group of Philipse Manor-based businessmen
who had seen a steel drum band play at the
Sleepy Hollow Country Club.
....They called the group The Phillipse Manor
Brute Force Steel Drum Band, named for the
famous Esso Brute Force Steel Drum Band from
Trinidad, and held practices in member Bill
Andrew's basement.
read more
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Web Posted
- Sunday June 27, 2010
Jamaica Gleaner
|
‘Paganini of the Pan’
heads to Jamaica
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Jamaica,
W.I. - A lover of pan since he was
12 years old, Liam Teague has been playing for
more than 24 years. A graduate of Northern
Illinois University (NIU) and a skilled pan
player who has been hailed as the 'Paganini of
the Steel Pan', Teague currently serves as
assistant professor of steel pan and co-director
of the steel band at NIU.
....No stranger to the Jamaica pan scene either,
Teague has played for The Little People Club
directed by Cathy Levy, former Miss Jamaica, as
a soloist and with the group at the Little
Theatre.
"The experience was wonderful and I have always
had very fond memories of Jamaica since," said
Teague.
read more
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Web Posted
- Friday June 25, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Best Steel Orchestras in the World assemble at “POP Meets STEEL”
|
Trinidad and Tobago -
Some of the
world’s best and most renowned steel orchestras
will be assembling in Trinidad and Tobago for
command performances over two days as part of
the NAPA Festival project.
Trinidad All
Stars, Silver Stars, Phase II Pan Groove,
Katzenjammers, Fonclaire and more, will be part
of the star-studded cast. And the common
thread among them all, is that each orchestra
has participated in the the Pan in The 21st
Century over the years.
read more
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Web Posted
- Friday June 25, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
Leon Foster Thomas makes
things happen
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. -
Leon Foster
Thomas, a Trini pannist based in Miami, must be
complimented on a brilliant CD titled Leon
Foster Thomas, What You Don’t Know. The CD
features ten exciting tracks; nine originals by
Thomas, and a cover of Sparrow’s Obeah Wedding.
The music is easy listening jazz from this
pannist. The songs are Rite Dey, No looking
back, Thingz Happen, Torment, Wonderland, Higher
Heights, What You Don’t Know, Wish and an
extended version of title track What You Don’t
Know.
Brooklyn’s pan grannies
Ageless Dreams
The
pan grannies of Brooklyn, USA, have released a
new CD called Ageless Dreams. These grannies,
having kicked away their rocking chairs for pan
sticks, are under the tutelage of master pannist
Alston Jack. Called the Blenman Steel Sounds,
these gals have been making some terrific sounds
with the pan. Ageless Dreams is an exciting CD,
which shows the versatility of these pan
musicians.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 24, 2010
UK in Austria
|
Austria meets the musical
Caribbean
|
Vienna, Austria
-
How can such melodious sounds come from these
strange instruments made of steel? This was the
question written on the faces of some local
Viennese students as they walked into the
Ambassador’s residence, and heard the BT
Melodians playing the steel pans.
The BT Melodians are a British multi-ethnic
steel orchestra, who came to Vienna to perform
at the Embassy’s Queen’s Birthday Party on 15
June. On the following day, we arranged a steel
band workshop for some trainee teachers from a
local school. As the students arrived, they were
greeted with the tropical melodies of the steel
pans.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 24, 2010
Crossville
Chronicle
|
Steel drum band performs
|
Tennessee, USA -
On June 25
at 8 p.m. the Playhouse will host the Deep
Grooves Steel Drum Band from Nashville. This
one-night event is sponsored by Progressive
Savings Bank/The Rains Agency.
The Deep Grooves Steel Drum Band was formed in
1993 when several percussionists “discovered”
each other through the Nashville music scene.
They saw the need for a steel band, so they got
together to share their love of Caribbean music
and the steel band art with the Nashville
community. Under the direction of Mat Britain,
the band has grown in popularity and has become
a crowd favorite throughout the South.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 23, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
Young panists star at
Sforzata jamboree
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. -
Clico
Sforzata Steel Orchestra staged a Pan Jamboree
on June 13 at the band’s Pan Theatre on Evans
Street, Curepe. The evening was a delight to pan
music enthusiasts who prefer to sample the music
of several bands at a time, as the four-hour
long programme featured PCS Silver Stars,
Sagicor Exodus, BP Renegades and Couva
Joylanders. Patrons also enjoyed a well-stocked
bar and delicious corn soup, courtesy band
treasurer Joslyn Earle. However, some
meat-loving patrons suggested that they should
have been catered to as well, and in response,
Earle said she would consider expanding the menu
for the next jamboree to be held later this
year.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Monday June 21, 2010
Jamaica Observer
|
Beethoven Meets Bob
Marley a sold-out affair
|
Kingston, Jamaica,
W.I. -
The Jamaica
Symphony Orchestra (JSO) played to a sold-out
Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston two Sundays
ago at the concert Beethoven Meets Bob Marley,
which was packed with modern compositions
written in the western classical tradition.
....Marley
Symphony began with a revolving wave of harmony
(in minor arpeggios) from 2nd violins upon which
1st violins bowed the melody of I Shot the
Sheriff. Mid-verse the harmony was overtaken by
a heavy double-bass slap phrase to introduce,
Exodus, which was supported by the one-drop
crash of drums and tonal smile of steel pans.
This was soon layered by horns, which twisted
the melody into Redemption Song, which slid into
One Love before returning to Redemption Song.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Sunday June 20, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Pan Sonatas heat things
up with hot Curry
|
New
York, USA -
When Steel
Talks was on the road, off on another
steelpan-cuisine quest - this time the Curry-Que
of reigning New York Panorama champions Pan
Sonatas. The group is known for having the
sweetest steelpan instruments in the tri-state
area, courtesy of master steelpan manufacturer
and tuner Bertram “Birch” Kelman. But,
they are equally adept and renowned, especially
throughout the community, for their food - with
many “sweet-hand” chefs who command the kitchen
whenever the occasion demands.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Sunday June 20, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Steelbands join NAPA Fest
‘Pop Meets Steel’ –
an Explosion of Culture
|
Trinidad & Tobago,
W.I. -
The
inclusion of steel orchestras from Pan in the
21st Century in the NAPA (National Academy for
the Performing Arts) project gives the steelpan
community the opportunity to showcase the
versatility of the national instrument in the
acoustically designed NAPA space.
‘Pop Meets
Steel’ is the fifth in the series of NAPA Fest
featuring different genres of Trinidad &
Tobago’s cultural expression. This event will be
held over a two-day period: Saturday June 26 and
Sunday June 27, at the National Academy of
Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain, under the
aegis of the Ministry of Arts and
Multiculturalism.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Saturday June 19, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
The Passing of Music
Educator and Steelpan Activist Esther Batson
|
Global
- Music Educator Esther Batson was
one of the stalwarts in the steelband culture of
Trinidad and Tobago, and adjudicated steelband
competitions internationally. Ms. Batson
passed away on June 18 in Trinidad.
Responsible for the mentoring and development of
several of the country’s noted steelpan talents,
it was Ms. Batson’s initiative of cultural
exchanges which eventually resulted in the
steelband program at University of Miami.
Her daughter Dr. Dawn Batson, is the Visual and
Performing Arts Chair at the Florida Memorial
University (FMU), and also the Director of FMU’s
steel band program. Esther Batson has noted that the
biggest challenge facing women in the steelpan
art form was getting the public to support pan
women financially.
When Steel Talks extends condolences to the
family of Dr. Dawn Batson on the passing of her
mother, Esther Batson. She will be greatly
missed.
more on Esther Batson
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 18, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
Kaiso, pan lovers flock
to WeBeat
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. - WeBeat patrons
savoured every moment of We Vintage Kaiso—the
Calypso segment of WeBeat St. James—last Friday
at the St James Amphitheatre. The lineup
of calypsonians included Black Stalin, Baron,
Johnny King, Scrunter, Shadow, Twiggy, and Bro
Valentino.
....We Vintage Kaiso provided the ideal start to
the weekend climax of the nine-day WeBeat
Festival, which ended with the parade of
steelbands and traditional Carnival characters
the following night.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 17, 2010
BCLocalNews.com
|
Chilliwack students bang
steel drums at the park
|
British Columbia,
Canada -
The Pandora Steel Drum Band returns to Fraser
River Heritage Park on Friday, June 18 from 7
p.m. to 8 p.m. for the Envision Twilight Concert
Series.
Pandora is a Caribbean steel band from
Chilliwack Senior secondary school. Started in
2000 by teacher Craig Scott and principal Dale
Halcrow, the band was named in the style of
Caribbean calypso bands with “pan” (steel drum)
in the name.
As the only high school steel band in western
Canada, this unique group performs at various
community functions. Students rehearse and
perform outside of the school timetable but it
is a full credit course.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 16, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Students Graduate from
P.H.I. (Electronic Pan) Programme
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. - On June 10th 2010,
nineteen participants graduated from the
Percussive Harmonic Instrument (P.H.I./ PHI)
Training Programme at the T&TEC Tropical Angel
Harps Panyard, Enterprise, Chaguanas, in central
Trinidad.
....Participants were given the opportunity to
showcase to their friends and family what they
learnt, rendering pieces that were derived from
activities such as composing, arranging,
sequencing and playing various instruments
(tones) on a steelpan interface (PHI). These
were all taught by Mr. Earle Philip, another
patent holder of the PHI.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 16, 2010
Gazette.Net
|
Caribbean native brings
steel pan sounds to Germantown Library
|
Maryland,
USA - Lennard Jack
Jr. remembers being a young boy and walking past
men playing steel pans on his way to school in
the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where both
he and steel pans were born. In the years since,
both Jack and his instrument have come a long
way: On June 5, he performed at the Germantown
Library as part of National Caribbean-American
Heritage Month.
"They never allowed us young kids to go play in
the steel band, because back in the day, most of
the guys that played were what we called
riff-raffs," Jack said.
When he was 17, Jack finally got his chance to
play the steel pan. He met master steel pan
tuner Bertrand Kelman, who quickly became a
mentor.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 15, 2010
North Fort Myers
Neighbor
|
Academy Steel Drum Band
wraps up school year with fund-raiser at Chick-fil-A
|
Florida, USA -
A group of talented young musicians from North
Fort Myers Academy for the Arts ended their
school year by raising funds for next year’s
music programs.
Several members of the academy’s Steel Drum Band
performed to raise funds at Chick-fil-A on Pine
Island Road with proceeds to benefit next year’s
steel band.
Proceeds from the evening (20 percent) will
directly benefit the students and the band
program at NFMAA. Funds are used to maintain the
steel drums, purchase the mallets, music they
use to play on the drums, and their Caribbean
attire.
"They’ve been everywhere," said academy
Principal Dr. Douglas Santini of the steel drum
group. "They’ve done 38 performances this year,
one for the Commissioner of Education Eric
Smith. They have been in many civic functions
and even weddings, and competed in Orlando at
the Universal Music Festival where they received
first place."
read more
|
Web Posted
- Monday June 14, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Boycott Avoided - Grenada
Steelband Association Approve Carnival Plan
Carnival Saturday
will be a ‘Pantastic Saturday’
|
St. George’s,
Grenada - “Carnival Saturday will be a
Pantastic Saturday!” This was the exclamation by
GCC’s (Grenada Carnival Committee) Chairman,
Colin Dowe, in responding to the news that the
membership of the Grenada Steelband Association
(GSA) had given a thumbs-up to the amendments
suggested by the GCC to a proposal presented to
it by representatives of the executive of the
GSA.
....Former president of the GSA, Mr. David Peck
Edwards, reinforced the movement’s dedication to
steelpan music and carnival. “We are committed
to pan,” he emphasized. “Our current members
participate in panorama at great personal
sacrifice. Our families, our finances, our
health all suffer so we can ensure that
steelband remains a part of carnival in Grenada,
so we do not want anyone to misinterpret our
protest. We just want to see things put right
for pan people.”
read more
|
Web Posted
- Sunday June 13, 2010
SpicemasGrenada.com
|
Phase II Pan Tuner
Willing to Teach in Grenada
|
St.
George’s, Grenada, W.I. - ....One of the
challenges not raised in the imbroglio is the
dearth of skilled and professionally trained
Grenadians capable of tuning steelpans. There is
one known reputed pan tuner in Grenada – Wilfred
Harris. There is at least one other,
Dudley Dickson, but he lives overseas.
One of the world’s foremost pan manufacturers
and tuners, Dickson wants to return to the
Caribbean from Europe to teach young people the
skills he has acquired in almost 50 years in the
steelpan business.
Dickson, who is based in Britain, has been
making annual visits to Trinidad for that
country’s carnival panorama competition. He has
a contract as pan tuner for Phase II Pan Groove,
which placed second in this year’s panorama
championship in Trinidad & Tobago.
Following the Trinidad panorama, Dickson
travelled to Grenada where he expressed a
willingness to start workshops here and in the
rest of the Caribbean to teach young people the
art of manufacturing, servicing and tuning
steelpans. He said it was not the first time he
had made the offer to Grenada. “I always wanted
to come back to live in the Caribbean and pass
my knowledge on,’’ Dickson revealed. “At the
moment, I’m doing a small thing at the
University of the West Indies in Trinidad. I
also have a five-year contract with Phase II.
This is my third year. I come down every year
and tune all their pans. Phase II has about 120
players.’’
read more
|
Web Posted
- Saturday June 12, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
Jazz lovers enjoy
Caribbean Jazz Fusion
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. - The Jazz segment of
the annual WeBeat St. James Festival took place
on June 9 before a small but enthusiastic crowd
of Jazz lovers at the St James Amphitheatre, on
the Western Main Road, St James. JazzBeat has
become a key element of the Festival, and is the
real high point of WeBeat for some patrons, but
T&T Guardian learned that JazzBeat 2010 was in
danger of being cancelled because of poor
funding.
.....The JazzBeat audience enjoyed the voices
and instruments of Ray Holman and Friends, Johan
Chuckaree, and the band Moyenne, with Chantal
Esdelle, Douglas Redon, Darryl Sheppard, and
Glenford Sobers. Holman and his band, and
Sobers, who played as part of the band Moyenne,
are both well known for their skill and
versatility with the steelpan. They are both
becoming even more popular for their skill in
blending the national instrument with Jazz in a
variation of the genre sometimes referred to as
“Caribbean Jazz Fusion.”
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 11, 2010
YardEdge
|
Jamaica Symphony
Orchestra performs June 13
|
Jamaica, W.I. -
On Sunday June 13th 2010 the JSO will
stage ‘Beethoven Meets Bob Marley’ the first
show of its 2010 Concert Series.
‘Beethoven meets Bob Marley’ explores several
genres of music from classical to the
contemporary. The music of eighteenth century
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven will be
heard alongside folk music, memorable movie
soundtracks and the reggae music of Bob Marley
arranged and orchestrated by the multi-talented
Jamaican musician Jon Williams.
The orchestra will be conducted by Mr. Franklin
Halliburton, Mr. Albert Shaun Hird and Mr.
Rafael Salazar, all accomplished musicians who
have contributed to the development of
instrumental music in Jamaica.
....While the typical symphony orchestra has
only four sections: Strings, Woodwind, Brass and
Percussion; the JSO has distinguished itself by
including the steel pan, which originates from
Trinidad and Tobago, as a fifth, equal section
of the orchestra. This additional section gives
the JSO a distinctly Caribbean sound.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 11, 2010
Triblocal
|
“Made in America” Concert
Features Steel Band
|
Illinois, USA -
The Fox Valley Philharmonic will perform
uniquely American music on its “Made in America”
concert scheduled for Sunday, June 27th at 3:00
pm at Oswego East High School in Oswego.
The Fox Valley’s only community orchestra will
perform Antonin Dvorak’s “Symphony #9 (From the
New World),” “Rainorama” which will feature the
Music Matters School of Music’s steel band, and
a couple of traditional patriotic pieces in
honor of the Independence Day holiday.
....The Music Matters School of Music steel band
is composed of high school percussionists led by
Jeff Matter of Batavia. The ensemble has a busy
performance schedule and will play a solo piece
in addition to the work with the orchestra.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 11, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
Starlift Juniors host
fund-raising concert
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W.I. -
Pan, Rapso, Soca, Vintage Kaiso, folk songs, and
ballads were all on the musical menu in Musical
Expressions, a concert hosted by the Starlift
Junior Steel Orchestra last Saturday. The
concert was held to assist the band in raising
much needed funds for their participation in the
Montreal International Steelpan Festival in
Canada which takes place later this month. The
band, consisting of children and teenagers, will
also be performing for the Trinidad and Tobago
High Commission in Canada’s capital city Ottawa,
located approximately 150 kilometres from
Montreal.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 11, 2010
Tobago News
|
Arnold supports People’s
Partnership
|
Tobago, W.I. -
[Patrick] Arnold [former president of Pan
Trinbago] told Tobago News, "This new government
will be a big plus for the culture and arts of
Trinidad and Tobago." He recalled "it was the
last UNC government which gave the carnival
interest groups the right to run their own shows
and keep the gate receipts." Arnold added, "The
carnival groups also had control of the Dimanche
Gras show in Trinidad and all the carnival
groups were given a substantial increase in
their financial grant for carnival." He said
"under the PNM, we in Pan Trinbago only received
$47,000 to run our affair for a whole year. I
often had to use my own money to pay our office
staff.
It was the then UNC government which
changed our situation; we even got land for the
development of our head office."
Arnold recalled that "the former UNC government
sought to help us develop our organisation so
when Ramesh Maharaj was Attorney General, he
held weekly meetings with us and when Kamla took
over as AG she continued to meet with us but all
that ceased when the PNM came back into
government."
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 11, 2010
ThisIsKent.co.uk
|
From reggae to calypso
|
Kent, England -
A steel band has promised to "bring the
Caribbean to Tunbridge Wells" at this year’s Mela.
Phase 5 will be the opening act at the
multicultural extravaganza, to be held on July
18.
It will be the group’s fifth appearance at the
event and band member Wilfred Hohenkirk, dubbed
Captain Kirk, is relishing a return to Calverley
Grounds.
"We are looking forward to this year’s event
very much," said Mr Hohenkirk. "We always chat
about this at the start of the gig season and
are looking forward to interacting with the
audience.
"As a band we love playing at the Mela. We
like the idea of taking part and showing off our
music in friendly competition with other
sections of the community."
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 9, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Desperadoes’ Great New
York Triumph
|
Global
-
The year is 1987 and pan is about to begin its
meteoric rise. One of the (critical) events that
catapulted this ascension is the now-historic
Desperadoes Steel Orchestra tour of New York
which included performance stints at Carnegie
Hall, Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater and the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, to name a few.
What is not known is the massive undertaking and
delicate ‘background’ goings on/negotiations
that would be required to successfully pull this
off, or - to make it happen at all.
Fortunately we are again still to these
‘historic footnotes’ through the journalistic
undertakings of Leslie Slater and Dalton Narine
- then in charge of the “Pan” publication where
the story was originally published.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 8, 2010
Examiner.com
|
Practical faith in
Englewood
|
Colorado, USA -
....The Audains have committed to building the
esteem and courage of the youth they see through
prayer, teaching and practical application of
spiritual principles. The young people who live
in the area are faced with ongoing violence and
few role models in the community to show a
different way. The feeling of some of them is
that they have been thrown away.
That idea of children feeling thrown away gave
the Audains an idea: they want to form a steel
drum orchestra in Englewood. The Audains are
from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, an
island nation in the Caribbean. Steel drums were
first developed in Trinidad and were made from
old rubbish tins, car parts, and garbage can
lids -- things that had been thrown away. The
Audains want to show children how God can use
something others call junk to make a beautiful
sound.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 8, 2010
Ke Alaka’i
Hawaii Student News
|
Shaka Steel’s Spring Term
sound; outdoor concert called a success
|
Hawaii, USA -
Shaka Steel band members showcased their talents
for the community at free event held outside the
Cannon Activities Center on June 2. “For six
weeks we have practiced for this concert. Some
of the members had never read music before or
played,” said to the director, Dr. Darren
Duerden. However, it was hard to tell that any
of this was true because the performances got
the audience involved singing and dancing along
to the music.
Amanda Luke is a member of Shaka Steel and said
she was excited to perform for the community.
Luke, an international cultural studies major
from Oregon, said, “I’ve been playing since last
semester on the double second’s pans.”
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 8, 2010
Trinidad &
Tobago Guardian
|
WI youths exhibit musical
gifts
|
New
York,
USA -
....There are many of youths out there whose
ideals are exemplary, striving in many a
laudable role. For example, the overwhelmingly
youthful appearance of Crossfire Steel
Orchestra, with artistry and professionalism to
match, is sufficient to silence the naysayers.
Just days before the long Memorial Day weekend
in St. Albans, Brooklyn, melodies poured
delicately from steel pans as the audience
swayed to catchy gospel renditions and the
perennially popular, Where is the Love.
Speaking with members of this popular Brooklyn
musical outfit was refreshing and proud moment
for those who still have faith in the West
Indian youth. Not all were born in Trinidad or
the neighbouring islands. Some were second
generational, born in the US but still were very
West Indian. The event was appropriately dubbed
a “Curry Q.” Again, vintage West Indian. The
goal was to raise money for their steel
orchestra. Indeed, it was a demonstration of
their growing maturity and responsibility.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Monday June 7, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Utopia Pan Soul SteelPan
Jazz Brunch
|
New
York,
USA -
It’s 90 degrees in the shade in Brooklyn, New
York on a fantastic Sunday on the dawn of
Summer. And the Pan Jazz Brunch hosted by Utopia
Pan Soul: the Next Generation is the only one
place to be on this afternoon.
Utopia Pan Soul is known for its music
accomplishments; however the organization is
also famous for its culinary masterpieces at its
events. Armed with a team of family, friends and
members who are versed in the culinary arts -
there was no shortage of delicious dishes to
assuage your appetite.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Sunday June 6, 2010
NY Daily News
|
Pan Jazz at Lincoln
Center’s Rose Hall has a Caribbean twist
|
New
York,
USA -
There’s plenty of buzz about the anticipated
theatrical and cultural additions to the "Pan
Jazz 2010: Folklore - Tales of the Caribbean,"
coming to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P.
Rose Hall in Manhattan on June 19.
This year’s inclusion of the innovative rapso-style
performance and visual arts collaborative 3
Canal and works by award-winning Trinidad
Carnival designer Brian MacFarlane to the sixth
annual concert will complement pan jazz
performances by steelpan composer-arranger Andre
White, jazz panist Leon (Foster) Thomas,
steelpan musician Freddy Harris Jr., trumpeter
Etienne Charles, saxophonist Jacques
Schwarz-Bart, drummer Brannen Temple and bassist
Ben Williams.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Friday June 4, 2010
Delaware Online
|
Delaware schools: Steel
pan musician brings Appo calypso
Students try their
hand at Caribbean instrument
|
Delaware,
USA -
The sounds of island music lifted the spirits of
the audience at the amphitheater outside Bunker
Hill Elementary on Thursday night.
Dozens of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders
from the Appoquinimink School District struck
steel pans under the direction of a professional
steel pan artist from more than 2,000 miles
away.
Tacarigua, Trinidad and Tobago native Aneysha
deCoteau led students of Waters, Meredith and
Redding middle schools during the exhibition --
the culmination of the school district’s second
artist in residency program.
Student pannists stood working 30 shiny steel
pans with rubber sticks to familiar tunes like
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Edelweiss"
while a few sat in the front of the ensemble
steadily tapping 10 African drums.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 3, 2010
StLuciaCarnival.net
|
No Panorama! No
Respect for PAN!
|
St. Lucia, W.I.
-
There will be no Panorama this year. Again! And
one of the main reason, I understand is that
money promised has not been paid for competition
since 2008. I could not believe my ears. Can
someone confirm for me, please? If this is
indeed true, it is, indeed, a sad state of
affairs.
Pan has always seem like the bastard child of
our culture, despite its position at the apex of
Caribbean innovation, having earned the accolade
as “the only musical instrument to be invented
in this century”. The humble birth place and the
early history of Pan may have had something to
do with lingering image of “badness”. But Pan
has elevated the status of every Caribbean
person for its amazing versatility and
uniqueness. So why the disrespect? Only two
nights ago, I listen to Chalkdust deliver a
lecture on NTN and he intimated that every time
we respect Mas and Pan we pay homage to our
African ancestors who were the original Mas
makers and Pan-men/women. We are standing on
their shoulders.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 3, 2010
Stabroek News
|
Meet Prashanthi
Mendis
Attorney-at-law, international musician and
panist
|
Guyana,
S.A. -
I bet you know of many accomplished Sri Lankan
Cricketers. But do you know of any Sri Lankan
steelpan players!?
I recently met one. And a female at that. Dr.
Prashanthi Mendis is an ethnomusicologist, an
accomplished musician which includes her right
to be described as a pan-player as well.
....It was in the early eighties when the
Mendises arrived in picturesque St. Kitts/Nevis
in the Caribbean. Dr. Dayaanthan was to work on
drafting Civil Aviation Treaty Law and Dr.
Prashanthi was to begin a lasting musical affair
with the steelpan.
As the very first notes of a steelband – the
Kittitian Coronets Steel Orchestra – caught her
trained, creative ear, she knew she had to
investigate. Just what sounded so beautifully,
tantalisingly different as it/they produced such
sweet melodies? Band leader Mellie Hewlett
satisfied her instant curiosity and he himself
was captured by Dr. Prashanthi’s
all-encompassing and competent musicality. After
just one session, when he introduced her to the
arrangements of notes on particular pans, she
started to play and sounded like a really good
regular pan-player.
So much stunningly so, that Mellie Hewlett
presented her with a spare tenor pan as her
reward for his surprise! Right in the Panyard!
read more
|
Web Posted
- Thursday June 3, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Introducing
Pan Oasis - Grenada’s newest Steel Orchestra
|
St.
John, Grenada -
Pan Oasis, the newest steel orchestra in
Grenada, and third in St. John, was launched on
Sunday 29th on the grounds of the Florida
Government School.
Robert Cadet of Marigot, St.
John and former arranger of the Florida/Westside
Steel Band is the driving force behind the
venture. Cadet pledged many years ago to bring
back pan to the town of Gouyave.
In his remarks Cadet said he
was glad to see his dream come through and that
he has bigger plans for the band.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 2, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
Steelpan
Educator Martin Albino receives prestigious
Moulin D’or 2010 Award
|
La
Salle, Montreal, Canada
-
The Moulin D’or (Golden Mill) is an award given
by the city of La Salle to outstanding citizens
who volunteer in the Community.
....Martin Albino has been
working tirelessly with both youths and seniors
in the community for the past twelve years,
teaching them not only to play the steelpan
instrument, but also how the instrument is
constructed, and at the same time making his
students aware of the incredible history of the
steel drum.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Wednesday June 2, 2010
Trinidad
Guardian
|
The musical journey of
Michael ‘Toby’ Tobas
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W. I. -
At the tender age of 11, music began stroking
the soul of drummer/ percussionist Michael “Toby” Tobas, who grew up “behind the bridge” in the
nation’s capital in an era which gave birth to
and crafted the unique sound of the steelpan for
the underprivileged of T&T. Because of that
stigma, parents did not zealously encourage
their children to associate with the instrument.
Toby, who grew up on Turn Back Alley, said: “The
steel pan was all around. Across the street was
Renegades, and below in Jackson Place was the
original Highlanders founded by tuner, Kim Loy.
“From there I could hear
Trinidad All Stars and Sputnicks; and in the
night you could hear the sound of Tokyo coming
over the hill.” He said: “I remember very
distinctly the rich spontaneous rhythms that
would surge impulsively on the street corners
from the boys on the block. Sometimes with no
instruments, just using speech rhythms. “These
youths represented the urban counter-culture and
society’s outcasts. Little did I know that the
poly-rhythmic blend they built, sometimes using
a discarded milk tin, a cardboard or wooden box
and the inevitable bottle and spoon; all part of
the deep African tradition, would be effective
in my development as a professional
percussionist/ instructor.” Thus began the
evolution of Michael “Toby” Tobas.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 1, 2010
When Steel Talks
|
An
Exclusive with Steelband Arranger Jeannine Remy
Winning Arranger for 2010 Pan in the 21st
Century
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W. I. -
Recently, Dr. Remy, as arranger, captured the
sought-after 2010 Pan in the 21st Century title
with Sforzata Steel Orchestra. She arranged the
winning rendition of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Bust
Your Windows.”
Remy is no stranger to
steelband music competition, having participated
several times in the Trinidad and Tobago
national panorama competition. However, this is
the first time a woman has walked away with a
title.
In this exclusive 2010 When
Steel Talks (WST) interview, Remy talks about
the competition and her approach to this
historical achievement.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 1, 2010
Trinidad
Guardian
|
John John Hill comes
alive with sound of music
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W. I. -
“The hills are alive with the sound of music,”
is a familiar and endearing line from the movie
The Sound of Music, and one which Community
Worker Herbert Sam Desuze wants to be associated
with Laventille.
Desuze is one of the many
Laventillians who is working feverishly to
restore his community to its former glory, by
planning a series of events to try to uplift the
image of what is now labelled a “crime hotspot.”
According to Desuze, one of the more immediate
projects was the rebranding of the Tokyo Youth
Orchestra. “We are planning to introduce
conventional instruments to the band. “Instead
of just having the steel pan, we want to teach
the children to play things like the guitar and
the organ,” Desuze said.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 1, 2010
Mlive.com
|
Local college-student
band ‘The Steelheads’ to give free concert at
Mott Community College
|
Michigan,
USA -
The Steelheads - a percussion ensemble and steel
band composed of students from Mott Community
College (MCC) and the University of
Michigan-Flint - will perform with the Mott
Middle College High School Steel Band at 7 p.m.
Monday, June 7.
The award-winning band which
specializes in Caribbean and jazz-style sounds,
will give the free concert in the auditorium of
the Mott Memorial Building, located on MCC’s
main campus, 1401 E. Court St., Flint.
read more
|
Web Posted
- Tuesday June 1, 2010
Trinidad
Guardian
|
Ken gives Sweet Lime a
beating
|
Trinidad
& Tobago, W. I. -
Even after torrential rains all of last Tuesday
evening and most of Wednesday during the day,
causing floods in several parts of the country,
many braved the weather and came out to Wine &
Jazz at Sweet Lime Restaurant.
The popular Ariapita Avenue
eatery is one month shy of hosting its first
anniversary of Wine & Jazz. A special
celebration is being planned, with several local
performers for the event. For those who decided
to stay home, you certainly missed a treat. Ken
“Professor” Philmore, arguably amongst the three
most talented and dynamic pan soloists in the
land, was the featured performer for the
evening.
read more
|
Web Posted
-
When Steel Talks
|
When Steel Talks Steelband
Music Message Board is Open
on the Ning Network |
Some of the most important, controversial,
thought-provoking and enlightening discussions on
the steelpan instrument, music and culture worldwide,
have taken place over the years on the When Steel
Talks “Message board.” Considered by many
to be a lightening-rod for change in the steelpan
music community, the WST message board has
provided a means unlike any for steelpan enthusiasts
to share information and communicate ideas.
Windows MSN
Groups has informed us that they are shutting down
their groups service as of February 21, 2009.
You can now find the When Steel Talks Group at
whensteeltalks.ning.com/forum
We look forward to you joining us.
|
When Steel Talks
T-Shirts are Here!
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Global
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Talks (WST) T-Shirts are available!
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(above): Black, Red, Blue and Hot Pink
- sizes Small (S) through X-large (XL).
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XX-large (2X) and XXX-large (3X) are
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