Arnold: Who chose symphony steel players?
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold is happy the panmen in the National Steelband Symphony Orchestra are earning a reported $6,500 per month salary, but lamented that his organisation has had no input in the selection of players.

He was speaking to Newsday yesterday following the Senate’s decision on Wednesday to refer the bill establishing the new orchestra to a parliamentary select committee after senators complained of a lack of consultation with stakeholders such as Pan Trinbago.

Arnold, when asked if it was fair to the ordinary panmen in Pan Trinbago for orchestra members to get a reputed $6,500 per month, replied: “The problem is that we don’t know how the members were chosen. We are very happy for them but we weren’t part of the selection process and don’t know much about what’s going on.” Arnold said he understood the remuneration is already being paid because the orchestra is already in existence.
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Steel-pan orchestra prepares for November performance
 

Maryland, USA  - Fifteen-year-olds Nuru Frenche of Brandywine and Renee Stinson of Washington, D.C., each stand in the middle of six large steel drums and, using mallets, begin striking the tops of the drums in unison, their arms reaching to their sides and back behind them to find the drums which emit different notes.

"Don't rush it," musical director Adam Grise tells them over the loud clamor of other students in the room playing different steel-pan drums.

The students are members of Cultural Academy For Excellence's youth steel-pan orchestra, and they spent Friday evening practicing for their upcoming 12th anniversary where they will play songs from a range of genres.
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Senate pan war

Trinidad, W.I. - Acting Opposition Senator Dr Daphne Phillips yesterday accused Government of sidelining Pan Trinbago in its setting up of the new National Steel Symphony Orchestra – a claim denied by a Government senator but supported by Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold.

The Senate yesterday debated the National Steel Symphony Orchestra Corporation Bill, which was passed on April 11 by the House of Representatives, after speeches by just two Government MPs, due to an Opposition walkout.

Phillips yesterday said the Bill did not include Pan Trinbago members in the list of required persons to comprise the Board. She declared: “Pan Trinbago was not consulted.”
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The Thwaites and Esperanza Spalding hook up via Steelpan
 

Maryland, USA  - The University of Maryland Black Honors Caucus & Pan United Youth Movement (the latter led by Shawn Thwaites), was proud to host composer, vocalist and virtuoso bassist Esperanza Spalding at the Nyumburu Cultural Center on the University’s campus recently. Shawn and Sherwin Thwaites, accompanied by ten other panists comprised of Pan Masters’ players and friends - performed three of Spalding’s tunes from her critically-acclaimed sophomore release, simply titled “Esperanza.” 
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Happy Birthday, Boogsie
Steelpan Great turns 55
 

New York, USA  - When Steel Talks extends best wishes to steelpan music great Len “Boogsie” Sharpe - unarguably one of the most important influences in the history of the steelpan instrument. Dubbed ‘The Mozart of Pan’ and considered by the vast majority to be the greatest musician of the steelpan, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe celebrates his birthday today. When Steel Talks staff have been fortunate to interact with Mr. Sharpe in many different capacities, as interviewers, musicians, engineers, producers and journalists.
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Moving Up
with Dereck “Chiney” Ayum
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Moving Up is not merely the name of his premiere CD but also a reflection of the journey taken by ace pannist Dereck “Chiney” Ayum on steel drums. The album cover displays “Chiney” standing on the deck of the Costa Fortuna Cruise Ship where he has been a featured pan soloist for a number of years. Other cruise lines he has traveled and performed on include the Costa Atlantica, Cunard, Premier, Commodore as well as Showboat Entertainment among others – which took him across five continents.
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No decision on Panorama finals
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Whither goest National Panorama finals 2009—back to the Queen’s Park Savannah or Skinner Park, San Fernando where it has been held for the past two years?

Pan Trinbago believes 2009 will see a return of the Savannah Pan Party.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Junia Regrello, said on October 18, “no decision has been taken.”

“It is very likely that the semifinals would come off there, but the Ministry has not made a decision in terms of where the pan finals will be held, and we have not seen any proposals otherwise,” he explained.

“But I am hearing that Pan Trinbago has put it out there that the finals would return to the Savannah,” he added.
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NCU takes 'Feast of Lights' to Florida
 

Jamaica, W.I. - The Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Concert Choir and Steel Pan Orchestra, hosted by the university's South Florida Alumni Chapter, will be performing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this December.

The university, which is owned and operated by the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, will be hosting its annual musical feast, the - Feast of Lights - at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m. This is the first time that the NCU Feast of Lights is being taken outside of Jamaica, where many more people will be able to share in this delightful and inspiring experience.

The university's music ambassadors will then perform on December 14 at the university's main campus, located some 2,000 feet above sea level in Mandeville, Manchester.
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A weekend in paradise at U-Mary
 

North Dakota, USA  - The word paradise evokes thoughts of palm trees, beaches, bright blue water, calypso music and the tropical breezes of the Caribbean. The University of Mary steel drum band refers to its annual performance as Panorama VIII: Weekend in Paradise because of the colorful calypso music that makes the audience feel as though they are in the Caribbean, that is until they walk outside into the North Dakota air.

“We don’t call it a concert,” University of Mary steel drum band conductor Scott Prebys said. “We call it a ‘weekend in paradise.’”
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Let’s get on the Pan/Jazz train
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Today, the Buzz wants to pay tribute to the vision of the tireless Mortimer Baptiste and his team of organisers who produce the Trinidad and Tobago Steelpan Jazz Festival annually.

The Festival has evolved out of the Queen’s Royal College annual cultural fund-raisers which keep the steelpan at the forefront of its programme.

The festival fills a void left when the Nicky Innis-led Pan Jazz Festival folded after several years.

Departing from tradition, the Trinidad and Tobago Steelpan Jazz Festival premieres this evening in the southland, at TCL Group Skiffle Bunch Pan Theatre, Coffee Street, San Fernando. The programme features the Suite Chorale; TCL Group Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra; Black Stalin; and, Mike Freeman’s Vibe Caliente w/Julio Salgado (Salsa Jazz Octet).
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Steel drum band
inspires campus, infuses culture
 

Massachusetts, USA - Seven natives of Trinidad took the stage last Thursday to treat a crowd of students to some unique music. The band, Pamberi Steel Orchestra performs worldwide, from Asia and Europe, from the United States to the Caribbean. Some of the band members have had extensive musical education, while others have received no formal training at all. They all share in their passion for music, their talent, and their commitment to using that passion and talent to serve their community.

In Cole Memorial Chapel, they performed a wide variety of new and familiar tunes, adding their own distinctive sound to each. The band played an assortment of Latin, Jazz, Classical, Contemporary, and Calypso music, including the hit Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff."
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Pan Is Beautiful XI
Trinidad & Tobago
National Steelband Music Festival
 

Trinidad, W.I. - November 2008 has been set aside for the staging of “Pan Is Beautiful X1 – Trinidad & Tobago National Steelband Music Festival.”

Produced by Pan Trinbago Inc., T.C., Pan Is Beautiful XI will be held in phases throughout the coming month starting with the Minor Categories (soloists, duets, quartets) on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd November 2008 at Trinidad & Tobago Bureau of Standards, Trincity Industrial Estate, Macoya, while Ensembles and Single Pan Bands will take place on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th November 2008 respectively at the St. James Amphitheatre, Western Main Road, St. James.

Play off in the Orchestras category is scheduled for Sunday 30th November 2008 at the Jean Pierre Complex, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
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Boogsie Sharpe: The Legend

Trinidad, W.I. - How many times has he heard the same review? He overarranges. He plays too many notes. He’s too jazzy. This is calypso—our music, they remind. And who are “they” but a bunch of amateurs strutting in his panyard a few nights before the 1987 North Zone steel band finals, running off at the mouth about his musical style. “Ay, Boogsie, you know what?,” they’d crow. “Maybe you could take this part out, put this one in and,... blah, blah, blah.” Such brass! Small wonder he escapes the din by hanging out his pride in the shadows of Phase II Pan Groove, his own big band of 100 players now rehearsing on gleaming chrome pans with steely tones. Here, amid the cacophony, he is secure. In the belly of the beast, Boogsie Sharpe, the world’s best panist-composer-arranger is home. t best appeals to the panist’s basic instincts.
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Lord Kitchener and Pan Music Have A Thing Going
 

Trinidad, W.I. - ....In one fell swoop the aforementioned magazine reviewer bared his neophyte’s status and called into question all other commentary in a presumably well-intentioned critique. Say that Lord Kitchener can’t dance, say that his lyrics don’t grab you, say he’s too tall, say anything except that his musical concoctions custom-made for the pan feature an abundance of “simple chord structures” and/or “recyclable melodies.” Such a fundamental misstatement of musical fact is unpardonable in anyone who would offer judgments for mass consumption.
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Bonaparte, Ferreira, Swallow and Skipper nominated for SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The SUNSHINE Awards organization announced the nominees for the 20th Annual SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame scheduled for Saturday, October 25 at the AXA Equitable Center, 787 Seventh Avenue at 51st Street in New York City. In making the announcement, the co-founder of the SUNSHINE Awards Hall of Fame, Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool said, “.... this year let us celebrate the work of four stalwarts of pan and calypso music: Ernest Ferreira, Belgrave Bonaparte, Rupert Philo (King Swallow) and Robert Stafford (the Mighty Skipper).”

Belgrave Bonaparte of Trinidad and Tobago was born in La Brea in 1932 and, because of his early links with the Orisha religion, formed a small panside with his brothers there. That small panside became the Southern Symphony and was one of the best bands in Trinidad and Tobago. It was Bonaparte who first introduced the idea of playing chords in a steel band using the background pans, and he demonstrated this to Ellie Mannette and the northern-based steel bands of the territory....

John Ernesto Ferreira of Trinidad and Tobago is regarded as a pioneer, inventor, organizer, arranger, pan-tuner and promoter....In 1949, he founded the “Melody Makers” steel orchestra. In 1950, he founded the “Dixieland Steel Orchestra” ...The “Dixieland Steel Orchestra” was the first steel orchestra to bring some respect to the steel band movement because the members reflected the white community. In 1952, Ferreira observed a member of the TASPO steel orchestra (the first steel band orchestra to leave Trinidad to tour Europe) playing the “double second” pan with the pan on his lap. He realized then that the panist was very restricted as he played. This inspired him, in 1952, to invent “double seconds” and “double tenor” pans that would be less restrictive.
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Court Rules in Favor
of J’Ouvert City International
 

New York - J’Ouvert City International, Inc. (JCI) thanks all Masquerade bands, Steelbands and revelers who partake in our 2008 J’Ouvert Carnival on Labor Day in Brooklyn. As usual it was a wonderful event. For the past 15 years J’Ouvert City International, Inc. has been the organizer of this awesome activity. It is estimated that over a ¼ million people from all over the world come to experience this event. Our J’Ouvert is loved and respected because of its uniqueness, “Steelband music only, No amplification”.

Unfortunately, this year 2008 we were faced with a situation that had to be resolved in Court due to a conflict in 2007. On August 9, 2007, a quorum of the Executive Board of JCI voted to remove the then-President Earl King from his position due to his detrimental conduct and to safeguard JCI’s main event, “J’Ouvert in Brooklyn”.
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Invaders Steel Orchestra Celebrates the Steelpan Artform
with Trinidad All Stars and Exodus
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Partygoers experienced powerhouse performances of Caribbean Airlines Invaders, Sagicor Exodus and Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars, Kees Dieffenthaller, Denyse Plummer and Karen Eccles at Invaders’ “Celebrate!” all-inclusive fundraiser last month.

The energy was high as Invaders players, decked in their chic outfits, started the evening’s performance with a melody of hip hop party selections such as “Celebrate,” “Good Times,” “Let’s Groove,” “December 63,” “Don’t Stop ’till You Get Enough,” “Song In My Heart,” “A Little Bit of Love” and “ Toco Band”.
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Panland on high note
 

Trinidad, W.I. - About three million dollars in exports last year is what it took for Panland Trinidad and Tobago Limited to edge out the competition and cop the Rookie of the Year award at the 2007 edition of the Prime Minister’s Exporter of the Year Award.

Although this figure suggests that the company is a bit green on the business scene, Panland has been in the steel pan manufacturing business since 1993. Back then though, it was known as the Trinidad and Tobago Instruments Limited until the company went under a restructuring process in 2006.

One man, Michael Cooper, has been at the helm of the company since its inception.

“It is a company I founded as a Neal and Massy subsidiary and then I acquired majority ownership of the company in 1994. I decided to take it and run with it,” he said in a recent interview.

Even before becoming Panland, the company has won several accolades.
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Pan parang alive and well
 

Trinidad, W.I. - With the fate of the 2008 parang competition still in limbo, the Culture Minister’s intervention and release of funds, the true spirit of this seasonal music has been resurrected. On October 4, Mt Hope Connection and Malick Folk Performers hosted a pan parang night at 3 Gerbera Avenue, Phase III, Macoya Gardens.

The two groups also launched their C2K9 sections—Carnival People: The theme, Maintaining Tradition, and D Spirit of Canboulay.

From the start of the evening I was transported to the mood of the Christmas season as the welcoming aroma of cooked meat, especially ham, greeted me as I alighted my vehicle. Held at a private residence, the feeling of the house to house parang vibe was evident. The popular Codrington Steel Pan Family, the Cary Codrington-led ensemble which started its trade on the pavements of Port-of -Spain, was first up on the billing.
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Concert series kicks off
with steel sounds
 

Florida, USA - The days are getting shorter, the temperature is a little cooler and there is a hint of fall in the air. But along with that aroma of the change of seasons, there is something else lilting through the city. Music. Sweet, soft music from classical to jazz and almost everything in between.

And it's coming from Palm Coast United Methodist Church.

The church is kicking off the 18th season of its concert series Saturday with a performance by the Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra.

The group, from the Cultural Academy for Excellence in Hyattsville, Md., is the featured group for the church's opening gala.
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Scipio Sargeant, well known Steelpan Arranger & Guitarist, ill
 

New York - Frankie McIntosh, Tony ‘Bugs’ Niles and other musicians are involved in an effort to rally musicians and other interested parties to assist Scipio ‘Sarge’ Sargeant, well known guitarist and steelband arranger in these parts, who is very seriously ill. A special fund raiser is being held on Thursday October 16, between 7:30 and 10:00 pm at the Sesame Flyers cultural center at 3510 Church Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
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Silver Stars celebrates
 

Trinidad, W.I. - As Silver Stars steel orchestra continues to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the Tragarete Road, Newtown band has announced even more activities running into next month.

A past Pan in the 21st Century and National Panorama champion, Silver Stars in recent years has become renowned for its very successful annual Parang & Steel weekend concerts. Because of the anniversary, this year’s series is expected to be something extra special, according to band manager Keith Byer.

The activities include symposia, workshops, school tours, concerts and the premiere night of Parang & Steel.
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Professor back with Fonclaire
for Panorama 2009
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Celebrated pan arranger Ken “Professor” Philmore has once again teamed up with NLCB Fonclaire for Panorama 2009.

After a nine-year relationship, the two parted ways when the San Fernando band was disqualified for reaching late to play in the number one slot in the 1999 Panorama finals.

“I got vex and took a break, but I am elated to be back with the band,” Philmore said yesterday, during a news conference at the San Fernando City Auditorium.

An equally excited Milton “Wire” Austin, Fonclaire’s manager/treasurer, said he was hoping that this team would break the dry spell the South bands had experienced since Hatters won the Panorama title in 1975.
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Steelband Music Video of the Week
Pantonic  & Clive Bradley - Stranger

Hiawatha thrills south
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The Coffee Street pan theatre of TCL Group Skiffle Bunch steel orchestra was transformed into an Amerindian Village last weekend as it played host to the Lydian Singers and its opera Scenes from The Song of Hiawatha. Conducted by Dr Pat Bishop, the opera enjoyed two successful runs on Saturday and Sunday.

Dancing masqueraders, from Lionel Jaggessar’s Carnival band, costumed in full tribal wear, chanting songs of their ancestors, stopped traffic, as the procession left Coffee Street and entered the makeshift Amerindian Village, as a prelude to the show.

Accompanied by the Lydian’s Steel ensemble, infused with the sound of tassa, Bishop’s rich voice resonated inside the Village, with a description and explanation of the three-scene adaptation of the Opera.

“It is a tale of oppressed people and is for us, a cautionary tale,” she said.  
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Pupils drum up enthusiasm
 

Huddersfield, England - Pupils of King James’s School, Almondbury, enjoyed a music workshop with North Stars Steel Orchestra.

The event, for 30 Year 9 pupils, was of one the school’s three events to commemorate Black History Month.

The school was to hold a dance workshop, run by Suga Brown today, while ten King James’s School pupils will practice steel drumming at Fartown High School on Tuesday.
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Pan Festival set for November

Trinidad, W.I. - November has been set aside for the staging of Pan Is Beautiful X1, the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Music Festival

Produced by Pan Trinbago, Pan Is Beautiful XI will be held in phases throughout the coming month starting with the Minor Categories (soloists, duets, quartets) on November 22 and 23 at the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards, Trincity Industrial Estate, Macoya. The Ensembles and Single Pan Bands will take place on November 26 and 27 at The St James Amphitheatre, Western Main Road, St James.
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‘Pan Wisdom’ sung by “Crazy”
2009 Panorama Tune
composed by Phil Hawkins
 

Composer/musician Phil Hawkins has teamed up with performing artist “Crazy” to produce one of the first panorama musical offerings for the 2009 season.
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Northern region shows the way forward
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Today I want to salute the work of the Northern Region of Pan Trinbago, the ruling body’s most vibrant arm. Led by the controversial and innovative Keith “Bald Head” Diaz, the Northern Region has been pointing the way forward with an amazing team.

The Northern Region, which oversees some 86 bands, has just issued a newsletter, which I understand will be quarterly.

Quite informative, although just one page (for now), it shows that creativity is gradually stepping into the pan fraternity. 
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Pan lovers sail away
 

Trinidad, W.I. - It was a holiday to remember as the members of Pan Trinbago and supporters took a cruise to Chacachacare on the mv Treasure Queen on Republic Day.

All Aboard to La Tinta III underscored the meteoric rise of the national umbrella organisation for the national instrument, in terms of its organising acumen and marketing machinery. The third such fund-raiser of its kind, the holiday sail was the best to date.

There is a saying that “if you throw a tin pan down a staircase that a true Trini could discern some form of rhythm and a party would start.”

So, this being a Pan Trinbago cruise, the one thing it wasn’t short on was sweet, infectious pan music, supplied on the day by pride of Carenage, Power Boats Scorpions Pan Reflections steel orchestra.
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Pan Trinbago hosts AGM
on October 26
 

Trinidad, W.I. - Pan Trinbago convened an Extra-ordinary General Meeting at the Communications Workers Union Hall, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain on Monday, and has given notice of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 26, at the San Fernando Room, Level 1, Crowne Plaza, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, from 10 am.

Monday’s meeting was called to update members on matters affecting the movement as well as Pan Trinbago’s plans for the rest of the year.

Registration commences at 8 am.
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Southern Marines Steelband Foundation Hosts Auditions for Eighth Annual ‘Talent Expression’
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The auditions for the eighth edition of Talent Expression, organised by the Southern Marines Steelband Foundation, began on Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th October 2008 at the Southern Marines Pan Palais, Southern Main Road, Marabella.

The auditions continue on Saturday and Sunday 11th and 12th October 2008. The auditions run between 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The registration fee to enter the Talent Expression competition is $40.00.

The competition continues on Saturday October 25th when the preliminaries begin. The semi final takes place on Saturday 8th November and the GRAND FINAL takes place on November 22nd. All performances take place at the Southern Marines Pan Palais.
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Nine bands for gospel pan
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The Gospel Steelband Organisation of T&T will stage the 2008 Gospel Steelband Festival on Friday, at Jean Pierre Complex, Port-of-Spain.

This unique forum for the national instrument is designed to bring together church steel bands for the seventh year. It is expected that nine bands will take the stage this year and they are required to perform a Tune of Choice, together with a “Blestsp Piece” selected by the organisation’s arrangers. The organisers stated that the competitive spirit is not encouraged as it sometimes is responsible for generating negative attitudes.

Among the bands committed to the festival are Nazarene Worship Centre, Bethel Gospel Tones, Daybreak Celestials and One-a-Chord.
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Steel drum band brings island sounds to Beardsley
 

Arizona, USA  - If you're ready to enjoy the great outdoors, the Recreation Centers of Sun City West is offering a free concert featuring the Hawaiian-shirt-clad Desert Winds Steel Drum Band, who will bring the mystical sounds of the islands to Beardsley Park Oct. 26.

The concert begins 7 p.m. at the outdoor venue, 12755 W. Beardsley Road. Concert-goers are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs. The RCSCW will have hot dogs, brats, chips, snacks and other goodies for sale, along with a variety of beverages beginning at 5.
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Pan ‘rains’ at UWI
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The Department of Creative and Festival Arts, UWI, St. Augustine, hosts The Rainmakers concert - Rain On D Greens - next Sunday at its Gordon Street grounds, St Augustine at 4 pm.

This semi-outdoor event showcases performances from the UWI Percussion Ensemble, individual pan soloists, the Golden Hands Quartet, vocal soloists from the UWI Festival Arts Chorale in addition to renditions from Phase II Pan Grove and the T&T Fire Services Band.

Guided by directors Dr. Jeannine Remy and Franka Hills-Headley, Rain On D Greens is a tropical journey in percussion and steel.
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The Darren Sheppard Project returns
 

Trinidad, W.I. - The Darren Sheppard project - The Repeat, takes place at the Naparima Bowl in San Fernando on October 12, from 7 pm.

The production was first run in June and after a tremendous amount of positive feedback Panstix Productions is once again presenting the show, this time under the patronage of Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

The repeat production will feature a musical ensemble that pulls together a variety of artistes including pan virtuoso Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Louis Nurse, saxophonist Francis Prime, Les Jeunes Agapes choir, Ancil Valley, Steve Jackson and The Ibis Trinidad and Tobago Dancers.

The music to be showcased includes gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz and modern South African popular music from Sheppard himself.
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 Al Jarreau returns to TT
 

Trinidad, W.I. - American singer and seven-time Grammy Award winner, Al Jarreau will be returning to Trinidad for the Trinidad and Tobago Steelpan Jazz Festival to perform at the Festival Finale November 1....

Jarreau last performed in Trinidad in 2004 at that year’s edition of the Steelpan and Jazz Festival.

The upcoming show will also feature pannist Robert Greenidge and the New York All Stars, Vanessa Rubin, Ralph Mac Donald, Tom Scott, David Rudder with Cane Fire and special guest Christopher “Tambu” Herbert.
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Miami Carnival to be staged as a Tribute to Selman Lewis
 

Leeds pan band steels the show
 

Terry Joseph Tribute At Merrytones ‘Panyard Sensation’ Concert