Panorama Gold


Trinidad All Stars
Steel Orchestra

Panorama Championships - 1973, 1980, 1981, 1986, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2024

2024 Tune of choice:  Inventor  |  arranger:  Leon “Smooth” Edwards

  Trinidad All Stars’ 2023 panyard preliminary performance of “Stage On Fire”


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The rich and colourful history of the steelband movement in Trinidad and Tobago is interwoven with the Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars. Developed between the First & Second World Wars, the steelband was born of an innate and explosive creativity.

The band’s roots go deep and its turbulent early beginnings and explosive creativity is the hallmark of steelband music today.

“Hell Yard Boys” was the name they gave themselves back in 1935. Hell Yard was a poor area on the banks of the East Dry River in Port of Spain. The movement away from “tamboo-bamboo” to pan had only just begun. This name changed several times – to “Second Fiddle”, then to “Cross of Lorraine”, and finally “All Stars”, chosen because of the perceived superior ability of the players. Soon after the war, “Trinidad” was added.

In 1982 the contributions of Trinidad All Stars to the steelband movement were recognised by the Government of Trinidad & Tobago with the presentation of a national award – the Humming Bird Medal (Gold). Four years later, the band was again honoured with an award from the Port of Spain City Council.

One of the many achievements of the band was its pioneering of classical music on the road, played to the rhythm of calypso. This highlighted the capacity of the steelpan to go beyond the previously self-imposed musical bounds of calypso or boleros. Trinidad All Stars was the first band to play the pan with two sticks. For the first time, both the melody and the harmony could be heard played together. The band made the first “Quatro Pans” later called the grundig and the guitar pans. A former captain of Trinidad All Stars, Neville Jules, also had the privilege of making the first bass pan.

Our accomplished musicians have maintained a standard of excellence through their innovative mastery of the instruments. They have secured first place victories in the biennial Music Festival on six occasions, have won the National Panorama five times, the Bomb Competition on countless occasions and successfully held nine Classical Jewels concerts.

The members of Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra have carried the vibrant culture of Trinidad & Tobago around the world: Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, China, France, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Scotland, St. Maarten, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The LOGO

The logo of the Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, launched in 2006 is a representation of the many facets of the Institution.

  1. Black Background – the black background represents the rich fertile earth from which the Trinidad All Stars was born

  2.  One Gold Star – one Gold Star represents the fact that many individual stars come together to form one great Star; its juxtaposition against the black background forms the image of notes on a pan symbolizing the inseparability of pan and All Stars; All Stars is pan, pan is All Stars

  3.  Dancing sailor – the sailor is a tribute to the sailor heritage of All Stars. Note that the sailor is dancing to the music of the band

  4.  Musical banner – the musical banner being waved by the sailor and wrapped around the star, is filled with musical notes, symbolizing the rich musicality of the band in everything it does

  5. Spotlight – the spotlight under the sailor symbolizes the showmanship of All Stars; whenever All Stars plays, they play in the spotlight  

Trinidad All Stars web site

Click for more on Trinidad All Stars

In Pictures Trinidad All Stars in Pictures

Address: 46-48 Duke Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Telephone: (868) 627-2127
Email: admin@trinidadallstars.org  or themanager@trinidadallstars.org

Champion Years - 1973, 1980, 1981, 1986, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017

Trinidad All Stars Arranger

 

Additional info below posted with special permission from the  BestOfTrinidad.com by Ronald C. Emrit - check link for updates

Trinidad All Stars was formed on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, in 1935 as "Bad Behavior" with a group of panmen that included "Big Head" Hamill and Rudolph "Fish Eye" Olliviere, the band's first leader. In the early-1940s, the name of the band was changed three times, first to "The Hell Yard Boys," then "Second Fiddle," after the 1939 American movie of the same name starring Tyrone Power; and finally "Cross of Lorraine," after the 1943 American movie "The Cross of Lorraine," starring Gene Kelly. In the mid-1940s, the leadership of the band changed successively from Olliviere to Neville Jules and then to Prince Batson. During this time, the name of the band was changed to "All Stars." In 1948, Jules resumed the leadership and the band's name was modified to "Trinidad All Stars." In addition to being the band's leader, Jules was also tuner and musical arranger, positions he held until the early-1970s when he migrated to the USA.

Under Jules' leadership in the 1950s, All Stars began the tradition of interpreting a piece of classical music in calypso tempo and withholding it from the public's ear until the break of dawn on the first day of Carnival. The musical selection was referred to as "The Bomb" and, with the passage of time, other steelbands followed suit. Beginning in the 1950s, the All Stars panyard was located on Charlotte Street near Duke Street on the floor above the Maple Leaf Club; this floor was commonly referred to as the "garrot." All Stars received the sponsorship of Catelli Trinidad Ltd during the 1960s, but later switched to the Neal & Massy Company in 1988. In addition to winning the Steelband Music Festival six times, the band won the Panorama competition eight times, with musical arrangers Rudy Wells, Leon Edwards, and Eddie Quarless all contributing to the band's success. In 1982, All Stars received the Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird Medal Gold for music. In 2014, All Stars became only the second steelband to cop the Large Band of The Year prize with its portrayal of "Sailors Ashore at A Tropical Fiesta." All Stars finished among the top three steelbands in the following significant competition:

YEAR EVENT RESULT SELECTION ARRANGER
1968 Steelband Music Festival 1st    
1972 Steelband Music Festival 1st    
1973 Panorama 1st Rainorama (Lord Kitchener) Rudy Wells
1974 Panorama 3rd Bass Man (Mighty Shadow)  
1980 Panorama 1st Woman on the Bass (Scrunter) Leon Edwards
1980 Steelband Music Festival 1st    
1981 Panorama 1st Unknown Band (Blue Boy) Leon Edwards
1982 Panorama 2nd Heat (Lord Kitchener) Leon Edwards
1983 Panorama 3rd Rebecca (Blue Boy) Leon Edwards
1984 Panorama 2nd Doh Back Back (Mighty Sparrow) Leon Edwards
1984 Steelband Music Festival 1st Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Opus 36 (Tchaikovsky)  
1985 Panorama 3rd Suck Me Soucouyant (Crazy) Leon Edwards
1986 Panorama 1st The Hammer (David Rudder) Leon Edwards
1993 Panorama 3rd (Tied) Dust in Yuh Face (David Rudder) Eddie Quarless
1994 Panorama 2nd Earthquake (Lord Kitchener) Eddie Quarless
1994 Steelband Music Festival 1st    
1996 Steelband Music Festival 1st    
1998 Panorama 3rd Me and My Lady (Car Wash) Leon Edwards
2001 Panorama 2nd Rain Melody (Preacher) Leon Edwards
2002 Panorama 1st Fire Storm (The Original De Fosto Himself) Leon Edwards
2003 Panorama 2nd Pandora (The Original De Fosto Himself) Leon Edwards
2004 Panorama 2nd (Tied) Ah Pay Meh Dues (The Original De Fosto Himself) Leon Edwards
2006 Panorama 2nd Soca Warriors (The Original De Fosto Himself) Leon Edwards
2007 Panorama 1st Pan Lamentation (The Original De Fosto Himself) Leon Edwards
2008 Panorama 2nd Thunder Coming (Edwin Pouchet & Alvin Daniel) Leon Edwards
2009 Panorama 3rd Pan Rivalry (Leon Edwards) Leon Edwards
2010 Panorama 3rd Large Is Large (Leon Edwards) Leon Edwards
2011 Panorama 1st It's Showtime (Anslem Douglas) Leon Edwards
2012 Panorama 1st Play Yourself (sung by Crazy) Leon Edwards
2013 Panorama 2nd Bounce And Drive (Clive Telemaque) Leon Edwards
2014 Panorama 2nd Excitement (Shirlaine Hendrickson) Leon Edwards
Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit

Panorama Performance - Prelim 2020


Panorama Performance

 

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