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Trinidad
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The amphitheatre in St. James was about half
full at the beginning of the 2006 Steelpan and Jazz concert series.
Starting promptly at 7:30 PM, it was about seven minutes later,
after the national anthem and introductions by Mistress of
Ceremonies Sharon Pitt, when the first of the event's two ensembles
took the stage.
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John Arnold and a circle of five Friends |
John Arnold and a circle
of five Friends, featuring Arnold on keyboard, opened up with a
mellow feel to the festival on a slightly overcast evening that
held the threat of showers soon to come. The ensemble went
through much of the material available on its new CD, 'Smooth
Jazzy Feelings.' With Desmond Graham on double tenor,
their set included a track called Katrina, and two vocal
numbers - Sweetest Taboo and 'Swonderful', both vocalized
by Lynette Louis, a mainstay with Arnold for about twenty-two years.
The group struck a unique balance in mood, just right for those who
had made their way to the show straight from work, yet not focusing
on very up-tempo fare to jar its other audience - those who had
come simply to enjoy some steelpan and jazz-influenced music. There was time enough for 'hot' numbers
which would be sampled with the ensemble up next. By the time
John Arnold and Friends took their leave to appreciative applause,
the amphitheater was almost full.
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Cane Fire |
Cane Fire, led by
Canadian-born Jeremy Ledbetter followed next on stage. The
group's eclectic membership, diverse nationalities (Cuban, Canadian
and Trinidadian) and world travels are deliberately discernible and audible
through their music, in both arrangements and Ledbetter's original
compositions. They immediately set about asserting their style on stage.
It was the group's first time playing to a Trinidad steelpan and
jazz festival audience. Like John Arnold and Friends, Cane Fire
featured a pannist - Ontario-based Trinidadian Mark Mosca, and also
performed material off their new CD 'Kaiso Blue.'
But this was an adventurous ensemble, with a younger leader at the helm.
Experience and subtlety were the hallmarks of Arnold and friends a
short while before; and now energy and passion took over and played to
an amphitheater that was almost full at this time.
It was refreshing to
experience musicianship that was not afraid to have the steelpan on
par with other instrumentation, and relegated to the
background of the musical arena, (even though the pannist is up
front...) But then again - Ledbetter had made it clear that he
believed the steelpan to be one of the most phenomenal music
instruments around; he said he built his music with the steelpan as
its base, and declared as much by allowing the steelpan to be heard
most times as audibly as other instruments.
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Cuban trumpeter Alexis Baro |
With significant Latin
and Caribbean influences framing their sound, Cane Fire, in existence
for about eighteen months, came up with sometimes fiery deliveries,
including Congas In The Kitchen which allowed Cuban
percussionist Alberto Suarez to 'heat up the place' with his congas.
Also featured was world-renowned Cuban trumpeter Alexis Baro
(left). Jeremy Ledbetter
later spoke of what, for him, appeared to be a profound
experience involving pan on the Western Main Road in St. James a few
years back. Late on a Carnival Tuesday, a transformer blew
somewhere along the route; and all the lights went out, all
the electronic music stopped, but there was that lone sound that could be
heard in the night - the sound of a steelband. The selection he wrote to
immortalize that experience, was what he chose to close his group's
first Trinidad appearance with - a track simply called St. James.
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Desperadoes Steel Orchestra |
The rain that had been
threatening began to come down intermittently, and up went some
umbrellas in the defensive position. Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, one of two
orchestras
on the program (the other was Trinidad All Stars),
began to play very shortly after Cane Fire, at precisely 9:00 PM.
The set lasted fifty-five minutes and included some of their best
loved material including Party Tonight and Ordinary
People, arranged by the late Clive Bradley. So Sick
popularized by Ne-Yo - the track that handed them a second
consecutive championship for the 2006 Pan In The 21st Century
competition -
began that particular 'three-in-a-row' treat - and appeared to strike a
particular chord with the crowd, the young, and the not-so-young.
Umbrellas continued to alternately open and close as the rain
showers see-sawed in intensity. As usual, present at the show were
the die-hard Desperadoes fans who continually called out what they
wanted to hear. (Sorry, people, this was not "Steelbands Unplugged...)"
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Shurwayne Winchester |
Now it was the turn of
the 2006 International Soca Monarch and International Groovy Soca
Monarch, Shurwayne Winchester
(below).
That was not hard to determine, because suddenly the amphitheatre's
seating area disappeared from sight - hidden amongst human bodies
and umbrellas, as the showers began to increase. And with a
voice that was as insistent as it was melodic, Winchester began a
ballad version of his 2006 run-away hit, Don't Stop.
Eventually the rain seemed to obey Winchester, because it made it's
presence felt. With some members of the crowd stageside, up close and
personal, and the audience in general dancing in the rain with
umbrellas in hand, Winchester increased his tempo, and continued to
perform in the rain, while his band was under the protection
of a tent. The performer delivered crowd favorite after crowd
favorite, one with his female back-up singer. He began to peak - and
then the music system shut down. With the rain, there had been
signs previously that there could be concerns with the electricity
if the rain did not stop. And so at 10:20 PM, Shurwayne and
crew were dead in the water while the sound engineer and his
crew were troubleshooting. The crowd was remarkably
good-natured, an indication in part of their maturity, and on the
other hand, of Shurwayne Winchester's popularity. In just over
seven minutes, they were back up and running, with the singer's
stage performance time
shortened somewhat due to the minutes lost. Nevertheless, he made
the best of his band's remaining time in the spotlight, winding down
hypnotically - again with the ballad version of Don't Stop.
Trinidad All Stars were
set to follow Winchester and company. Then the rain started in
earnest. While some music lovers stayed put, others ran for
cover, and yet others ran straight out to their cars, and public
transportation, evidently deciding to call it a night. But
this is Trinidad, and while When
Steel Talks (WST) was not around after
the rains came, one may assume that All Stars, fairly protected
under the tent erected on the second stage where they were to
perform, did heat things up during the lull in the weather which
followed. And even if it did rain again, the umbrellas were
probably seen 'dancing in the rain' - again.
The Steelpan and Jazz Festival runs through Saturday
October 28. Visit the
Events
Calendar for more details.
Steelpan and Jazz Community Concert
- in Pictures
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