‘Chips Melody’

Antonio “Squid” Forbes is the son of Hector “Tack” Forbes, one of the founding members of New York’s Sonatas Steel Orchestra. Antonio played Pan with Sonatas in Brooklyn from 1984 until 2004 where he developed his skills as a panist and acquired arranging skills under Ken “Professor” Philmore.  He made it a point to listen to all the sections in the orchestra and note how the arranger distributed music to each.

His first attempt at composing calypso/soca music was in 1991, with the single Fire in d Savannah.  It was played in the southern zone panorama in Trinidad by Antillean Allstars. The next year Forbes released two tracks, Jump and Everything Safe. He then took a break from composing and continued to perform with Sonatas.

Now Forbes has returned with this stimulating piece, Chips’ Melody, dedicated to the memory of one of Sonatas’ founding members Rodnick “Choko” Stevens, and also to Antonio’s late brother in-law Kevin “Pappy” Roberts. It embodies all the jubilance both men possessed. Forbes thanks Yosef Raphael for programming the music, Tracy Rousseau for background vocals, and Jacquie Levine for collaborating on the lyrics.