New
York - It's "Pan-Time" in New York City and in
case you did not know, pan is a big deal in New York.
The metropolis - famous for its massive steel and
concrete structures, entertainment and cultural
activities - becomes the epicenter of the largest and
most intense concentration of steelband music
functions for the next two months. Undaunted by the less-than-friendly
housing conditions coupled with the gruffness
of the city officials - steelband reigns supreme
in the Summer months in the Big Apple.
This past weekend
Harmony Steel Orchestra located in central
Brooklyn held its annual steelband launch.
This is the third launch of the season with
Crossfire and D'Radoes already having had theirs
the previous week. As always with all New York launches, slated to
perform were some of the top steelbands in
the region. Steelband launches have developed
into a very important aspect of the New York
City steelband music landscape. While not
required, all bands that are part of the New York
pan fraternity seek to participate in the launches for a
myriad of practical reasons. First of all,
it is a means of allowing the steelbands a way to
raise funds that will partially help out
with the huge financial commitment they must
make, to be ready for the Panorama
competition at the end off the season.
Second, it facilitates an avenue via which the bands support each other
and leads to self-sufficiency. Third, it provides a
means for the bands and their members to showcase
themselves to their fans, the public and other
bands - which is critical in terms of player
recruitment and maintaining fan bases. Last
but not least it allows the bands to
evaluate where they stand in comparison to the
other participants musically.
Sonatas Steel Orchestra performing at
launch
Harmony's launch did
not disappoint as all the bands jockeying for
New York musical supremacy executed a varied
repertoire that displayed their performance
skills, knowledge of and ability to execute various musical
genres on the steelpan, and unique instrument tonal qualities
that
distinctly define them. Moreover, to the delight
of launch attendees each performed at a high
level serving notice that they were to be taken
seriously. The performing stage sides were
typically between 20 and 25 players and made up
of the core players of the orchestras that will
expand upwards to 100 players for the September
1, 2007 panorama
competition.
Present at this launch
were D'Radoes, Sonatas, Despers USA, Hearts of Steel, Sesame Flyers,
New York Marsicans and hosts Harmony. Harmony,
who will soon be led by veteran arranger Ken
"Professor" Philmore this panorama season (Professor
is fresh
from his 2007 Trinidad and Tobago championship
title in the medium steel orchestra category
with Sound Specialists Steel Orchestra out of
Laventille), opened up
the launch and showed that they are ready to turn
heads. There is no doubt about the group's
maturity. In a very relatively short time
Harmony has moved from the 'Johnny come lately'
position to serious contender. They have improved significantly every year and
2007 is no exception. Their young people are
passionate and management is obviously committed
by bringing in Professor, in addition to a serious
upgrade in their instruments. The audience
was quite pleased with their performance.
Sesame Flyers
They were followed by
Sesame Flyers who will be led by arranger Pelham
Goddard this year; they put together an attention-grabbing
set featuring Robin Thicke's "Lost Without You"
and Crazy's popular "Band From Space".
Sesame let everyone know they will make their
presence felt.
Sonatas followed and again
demonstrated why they
are one of the top steelbands in the country.
Led by arranger Yohan Popwell, Sonatas awed the
crowd, dishing out a fascinating set
of old favorites and popular hits.
Hearts of Steel, made up of steel
pan veterans literally stole the
hearts of the crowd as they went 'retro' in both
sound and songs. Their rendition of
calypsonian Lord Blakie's 1954
calypso "Steelband Clash" had the audience
chiming in with full verse and chorus.
They received a rousing set of applause
for that performance.
Hearts of Steel brought us back to yesteryear
and reminded us just how good the golden era of
pan was.
Despers USA
Despers USA
provided a set that showcased their trademark
touch and a peek into possibilities for panorama
2007. They dropped a surprise version of
Ray Holman's "We Just Can't Go on Like This" that was met
with considerable approval from the audience.
In addition, Despers USA also treated their fans
to their version of "Band From Space".
New York Marsicans and D'Radoes
followed. Unfortunately because of WST
time constraints we did not get to hear them. However, we are sure we will catch them soon at
one of the upcoming New York launches.