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2008 was an extremely interesting
year for the steelpan music instrument. Our
When Steel Talks travels, coverage and stories took
our site visitors literally all over the globe. We
saw the emergence and coming of age of the youth
movement as two young and very talented arrangers
(André White and
Khan Cordice)
- both still in their teens
- captured major titles against stiff competition in
the New York Panorama and the Antigua & Barbuda Moods of Pan
Festival ‘25-A-Side,’ respectively. On the flip side, we lost noted
Trinidad journalist Terry Joseph, pan pioneers Oscar
Pile in Trinidad and Antigua’s Leroy “Jughead” Gordon. The untimely passing of
Trinidad and Tobago’s Desperadoes and New
York’s D’Radoes premiere bassist
Frank
“Crawl” Findley and
former Phase II captain Edme Gibbons - among others
who also impacted on the steelpan art form during
their lifetimes -
left us with a giant void.
Steelpan as a formal
instrument in music classes took When Steel Talks from Antigua through
Dominica to
Taiwan
to New York in a serious way. And as the
journey continued, a panman was named a Chief in
Nigeria; and
another, as Prime Minster of
Antigua & Barbuda, put in motion the naming of a mountain
in honor and recognition of the USA’s incoming Commander-in-Chief,
President-elect Barrack Obama.
Maryland’s
Pan Masters Steel
Orchestra threw their annual steelband jamboree,
demonstrating that indeed, pan in the DC area is “for real.”
And a mere stone’s throw away at the Smithsonian in June, a
twinning of the cultures of the Navajo Nation and the
Steelband was represented by the performances of the
Church Rock Academy
Elementary School under the stewardship of musical
director Randy Markham.
Our very
own
Queen Macoomeh dropped science on us in a new book
Tales from the Icebox Land while
placing pan judges on
notice. The literary movement continued as Trinival: Carnival of the Gods
brought serious thought, observation and discussion to pan, carnival
and calypso through
Dr. Grant’s book. Trinidad &
Tobago’s very own living steelband legends Tony Williams and
Bertie Marshall were recognized with their country’s highest
national award.
Pan Podium under BAS (British Association of Steelbands) churned out article after article,
illustrated by vivid photography, on
the development of steelpan in the UK. Indeed, the Pan Podium
magazine is the standard bearer of excellence in
modern-day print media documenting the art form. And Pan
Magazine under the direction of Les Slater and Dalton Narine
reminded us that quality journalism is timeless - and
we owe them a debt of gratitude for their documentation
and reporting of pan in their now-historic magazine, being
re-visited and
re-published on Panonthenet.
Indeed the
steelpan instrument opened the
United Nations observance on
slavery, while Ice Water Pan Ensemble stole the show in
Panama and
Australia
showcased a major steelpan show. Pan was
everywhere in 2008, and also front and center on You Tube,
where
Japan’s Panorama Steel Orchestra remained the top viewed
video on the When Steel Talks steelband music video channel.
And
Pan, Facebook and When Steel Talks bonded as almost
every pan person under thirty has now got a facebook
‘presence.’
Click:
Here
for a list of the 2008 When Steel Talks headlines
Here
for round-the-clock Global Steelpan Music News
Here for
When Steel Talks Pan Times summaries
Here for a listing of panorama and festival
winners worldwide
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