When Steel Talks

Schedule of Panorama and Carnival
 Events 2015 -
Trinidad and Tobago

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Web Posted - Saturday September 27, 2014
When Steel Talks

Brooklyn, New York - It seems like it was only yesterday when WST (When Steel Talks) first saw Jonathan Scales on a double second pan perform live for the first time at the Shine in Harlem. The event was back in the year 2009. In fact it was early that year WST did a review of his CD “Plot/Scheme” and introduced the name Jonathan Scales to the WST audience. And in 2011 Jonathan brought his act to the people with a live concert in Brooklyn’s Pantonic Steel Orchestra’s panyard.

This past Monday, When Steel Talks caught a live performance of The Jonathan Scales Fourchestra at the trendy bar and performance venue known as ‘The Knitting Factory’ in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
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Web Posted - Friday September 26, 2014
The Oklahoman

Oklahoma, USA - Sante Fe South Charter Schools seeks a truck sponsor for its steel drum band. The band, Pandemic, is made up of the high school’s top students.

....Pandemic’s growing numbers have one serious downside. Transporting the drums, some of which are roughly the size of a 100-gallon barrel, is a logistic nightmare.

....Moving in what Filleman calls a “caravan” is difficult and inefficient, and has restricted the distance the band can travel. They perform at University of Oklahoma events, and at Redhawks games every year, but have fewer out-of-state opportunities.

....“We were looking at a steel band competition in Texas this year, and one in West Virginia,” Filleman said. “Getting there is not possible right now. Those are the things we’d like to do, we just can’t do them.”
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Web Posted - Wednesday September 24, 2014
When Steel Talks

Brooklyn, New York - If you think that a steelband meeting of any sort, can be heated and disagreeable, think again. Even the most contentious steelband meeting pales in comparison to what When Steel Talks (WST) witnessed last evening. Emotions ran high from start to end at the Brooklyn Community Board 9 meeting, originally begun in the Edison O. Jackson Auditorium at Medgar Evers College on September 23. Indeed all signs early on indicated that this was not going to be your normal ‘communal gathering’ - as the initial venue quickly filled up and overflowed outside, with many people shut out, and still more arriving continuously. In fact NYPD (New York Police Department) declared the auditorium a ‘fire hazard’ because of the over-run of people, with the exit being blocked, etc. The meeting was quickly moved to Medgar’s main auditorium across the street which, too, quickly filled up to capacity.
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Web Posted - Tuesday September 23, 2014
Trinidad & Tobago Guardian

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  Former Calypso monarch Dr Leroy Calliste (Black Stalin) had a stroke on Sunday night but is improving quickly and could be discharged today or tomorrow. “He is stable. He is speaking. He had his lunch and he is improving very quickly,” said Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, medical director, San Fernando Teaching Hospital. Stalin, who celebrates his 73^rd birthday tomorrow, Republic Day, had a mild stroke that affected his right side.

Chatoorgoon said Calliste was fully conscious, although a stroke could affect a person’s ability to swallow and eat on his own. “We have found a bed for him in the new teaching hospital and we are doing everything to make him comfortable because after all he is one of our icons and we are certainly going to take wonderful and loving care of him,” he said. But Stalin’s wife, Patsy Calliste, is urging the nation to continue to pray for his full recovery.
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Web Posted - Tuesday September 23, 2014
Sussex Express

Brighton, East Sussex, England -  Hailing from Trinidad, Fimber Bravo has taken the steel pan into a different league, as he will show when he plays Brighton Dome Studio Theatre on Saturday, September 27 at 8 pm.

Spokeswoman Emma Robertson explains: “A veteran in the music biz wars, Bravo is one of the most influential exponents of the steel pan in contemporary music. He is a founder member of the 20th Century Steel Band, whose record Heaven & Hell became a hip-hop touch stone, namechecked and sampled by Grandmaster Flash, Doug E Fresh, Soul II Soul, J-Lo and many more among the hip hop fraternity.
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Web Posted - Tuesday September 23, 2014
When Steel Talks

Global - The 2014 Basement New York steelband panyard recordings captured the performances of some of the finest steel orchestras in North America. In addition, some of the world’s most outstanding and respected steelpan music arrangers participated in the prestigious 2014 New York Panorama.

The arrangers’ list included past and current prized national panorama champion arrangers who made their musical mark in countries like Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Canada and of course New York. Terrance “BJ” Marcelle, Duvone Stewart, Amrit Samaroo, Leon “Foster” Thomas, Seion Gomez, Al “Allos” Foster, Kendall Williams, Odie Franklin, Marc Brooks, Freddie Harris, III and Wilfred Kieal, Sr. rounded out this year's arrangers.
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Web Posted - Monday September 22, 2014
Trinidad Express Newspapers

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  Calypsonian Black Stalin (Leroy Calliste) has suffered a mild stroke.

He was taken to hospital on Sunday night after displaying signs of a stroke. Stalin, 72, is being treated at the San Fernando General Hospital where he is in a stable condition.

His daughter Keina Calliste told the Express yesterday her father returned home at about 10 p.m. after performing at an event in Couva.

Calliste said: “He performed at a show in Couva last night and when he came back home, he began experiencing some pains in his back. He just came and laid down for a bit and then from what we observed, it just looked like he was having a stroke. He sort of froze a bit and he was not responding so we had to contact the ambulance.
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Web Posted - Monday September 22, 2014
Florida Department of State

Florida, USA -  Secretary of State Ken Detzner and the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources invite the public to a performance of Trinidadian steel drum music at Mission San Luis, Thursday evening, September 25, 2014, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The program, sponsored by the Florida Folklife Program and the Florida State University Center for Music of the Americas, will feature a musical performance and presentation by award-winning Trinidadian steel drum builder and performer, Michael Kernahan, backed by the Florida State University steel drum ensemble, Mas ’n Steel, led by Mia Gormandy.

"We are excited to welcome the public to Mission San Luis for this free performance," said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. "Mr. Kernahan is an extraordinary performer and educator who exemplifies the depth and diversity of Florida’s traditional cultural heritage.”
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Web Posted - Sunday September 21, 2014
The Sentinel

Staffordshire, England - Organisers behind a popular carnival have been given Ł10,000 to start a new music project.

Members of the Six Towns One City Carnival Association (STOCCA) was given the grant by the Big Lottery Fund to help start a community band.

The 'Steel Returns to Stoke' project will involve weekly classes held at the NORSACA Caribbean Centre in Hanley this autumn.

They are currently looking to recruit new players.
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Web Posted - Thursday September 18, 2014
Trinidad Express Newspapers

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  The Globe Cinema came alive and was packed to capacity last Tuesday evening, as specially-invited guests from all walks of life assembled to witness the grand premiere of the movie, Pan! Our Music Odyssey.

The last remaining stand-alone classic cinema in north T&T was chosen as the venue for the opening of this year’s film festival partly due to necessity and largely due to its historical significance in relation to the film selected as the curtain-raiser for the festival. Screenwriter of the film, Dr Kim Johnson notes that the location of Globe at “Green Corner” represented the dividing line between east and west Port of Spain and was the site where many bands would clash not only with rivals from over the border, but also with the police and colonial authorities.
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Web Posted - Monday September 15, 2014
When Steel Talks

Global - Mrs. Daisy James-McClean is an award-winning female steelpan musician, whose recognized list of firsts and accomplishments within the steelband movement are both significant and staggering. She is an original (Ms. McClean started playing over 70 years ago, and just celebrated her seventy-sixth birthday) who keeps on giving to the steelpan movement, starting from its earliest, and now as the leader of Harlem Syncopators of Trinidad and Tobago.

....In this UpClose When Steel Talks (WST) exclusive interview, WST participated in one of those rare and treasured moments as we stepped back in time through the eyes, voice and memories of an original Pan pioneer Daisy James-McClean in our ‘UpClose’ series. Here is Daisy James-McClean’s story in her own words.
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Web Posted - Monday September 15, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - It was an A-plus list of men and women who have shaped the Caribbean musical landscape over the last half-century, bolstered by the great players, major management figures, and fans of the New York steelband music community - all in attendance to pay tribute to composer, musician, performing artist and steelband arranger Edison “Eddie” Quarless. Eddie Quarless passed away earlier in the month - September 1, 2014.
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Web Posted - Saturday September 13, 2014
Yorkshire Evening Post

Leeds, England -  Tributes have been paid to a Leeds car mechanic turned professional musician whose life was transformed after he appeared on a TV talent show.

Sonny Marks, who died last week aged 73, was a founder member one of Leeds’s first steel band combos The Caribbeans.

The band performed in working mens clubs in Leeds before getting their big break on Opportunity Knocks in the late 1960s. They went on to tour Europe and the Middle East.

Mr Marks of Seacroft, who travelled to Leeds from Caribbean island Saint Kitts in 1957, worked as a car mechanic as a teenager while playing with The Caribbeans in his spare time.
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Web Posted - Saturday September 13, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - Any steel orchestra that has made it past three years of existence in New York has a chance of survival. Any steel orchestra that has made it past a decade is indeed a bonafide franchise with a serious chance of becoming a New York music & cultural institution. And such is the case of CrossFire Steel Orchestra who celebrated their 15^th anniversary recently.
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Web Posted - Saturday September 13, 2014
The Reporter Newspaper

Belize -  The Pantempters Steel Orchestra is scheduled to visit Taiwan next week as part of a cultural exchange program that Belize and that country share.

On Thursday night, the band members were guests to a dinner hosted by Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize, Benjamin Ho.
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Web Posted - Friday September 12, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - There is simply nothing like an irate parent - ask any politician that is stumping for votes.

The Panorama contest of New York is probably the only contest in the state where you are almost certainly guaranteed to be a loser before you enter. Of course that’s nothing new; for years it has been known that the economics just don’t work out.

....However, the parents and participants do and should reasonably expect that professional photos of their respective bands and every player be readily available to them, after such a large-scale music exposition that showcases their children.
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Web Posted - Friday September 12, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA -  In Pictures:  highlights of the youthful face of New York Pan during the 2014 Pan season.  Enjoy the energy and vibrancy of some of those who are at the vanguard of the New York steelband culture and art form.
click for slideshow

Web Posted - Wednesday September 10, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - One of the great developments in this year’s Pan season was the introduction of a Junior Panorama in New York. The competition is the brain child of CLACC-C (Carlos Lezama Archives and Caribbean Cultural Center). Participating in this 1^st annual PanFest junior steelpan competition were C.A.S.Y.M., New York Pan Stars, Harmony, Pantonic and Metro steel orchestras.

....The inaugural and 2014 winner was New York Pan Stars with a fabulous rendition of their junior panorama piece Play De Music by KES (Kes the Band), arranged by Marc Brooks.
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Web Posted - Monday September 8, 2014
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  Music was the medium for magic as 67 Pan-in-Schools workshop participants celebrated their accomplishments at the graduation ceremony held at the Radisson Hotel’s Festival Ballroom last week.

Their graduation marked the conclusion of the annual music workshops that were held during the July-August vacation at venues across Trinidad and sister isle Tobago. The workshops were conducted by the Pan-in-Schools Coordinating Council (PSCC) with sponsorship by BP Trinidad and Tobago.
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Web Posted - Monday September 8, 2014
When Steel Talks

Gauteng, South Africa -  Steel band musicians of St. Jude’s Private School hailing from Festac Town in Lagos, Nigeria, represented their country well, and indeed, their part of their continent for that matter, when they participated in the 2014 International Marimba and Steelpan Festival held in South Africa five weeks ago. The sixteen-student-ensemble chaperoned by two staff were the only West African presence at the South African festival held the first weekend in August.

St. Jude’s had a very good showing, bringing home three trophies, a giant one for the best steel pan performance, and one for placing third in the “Battle of the Bands,” an open category.
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Web Posted - Monday September 8, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - A funny thing happened to When Steel Talks (WST) on our way to the annual coverage of the 2014 New York Panorama this year. WST unexpectedly became part of the story. Not that WST was seeking, or in need of - “street cred” within the Pan community; however being singled out by WIADCA (West Indian American Day Carnival Association) sure doesn’t hurt one’s credibility in the steelpan music community - as such is the disdain and low-level regard WIADCA has historically been held in by the New York steelpan community. Hey, but that’s nothing new.

This is an op-ed we didn’t expect to write or have the time for. We are knee-deep in articles and content and way behind in some cases already: what with NY and Grenada’s Junior Panorama, London Panorama, Antigua & Barbuda Panorama, St. Vincent Panorama, South Africa’s International Marimba and Steelpan Festival, St. Lucia’s Panorama, Pantonic Steel Orchestra’s launch and others, CrossFire’s 15^th Anniversary, J’Ouvert, Panorama season review, related photos, and a host of panyard audio and video recordings to edit - just to name a few.
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Web Posted - Sunday September 7, 2014
Trinidad Express Newspapers

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  Twin brother and sister Dejean and Deja Cain are young, timid and small in size; but don’t let that fool you.

These youngsters already have a talent that can rival that of their adult counterparts. At just 11 years of age, this musical duo from Success Village, Laventille, have mastered the pan, winning hearts and titles across the country. As the children of WITCO Desperadoes frontman Martin Cain and panwoman Patrice Charles, it is not surprising that the siblings followed in their parents’ footsteps and developed an interest in the national instrument at a very early age.

“They started playing at around three years old,” a proud Charles said. “From the time they could hold sticks, they’ve been playing pan.”

So intrigued were they by the instrument, that by the time they were four years old, they could already play the national anthem.

It takes them just two or three days to learn to play a new song, said their mother.
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Web Posted - Friday September 5, 2014
The Cairns Post

Queensland, Australia -  The quintessential sound of the tropics filled the esplanade air last night, as the Cairns Pan Stars took to the stage as part of the Cairns Festival.

The band of ten played a mix of traditional Caribbean tunes and classic covers, with band member Mel Miller adamant their shows are about celebrating an amazing instrument.

“It’s a mixture of staying very true to the instrument itself and its heritage, and also playing things that people know and are familiar with,” he said.
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Web Posted - Thursday September 4, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA -  The lineup of activities for the 2014 Labor Day weekend West Indian Carnival is history. And, like a couple of years ago when we were constrained to make scathing reference to the appearance in the Eastern Parkway parade of a few female exhibitionists who brought the skimpy-costume fad to levels of gross indecency, so was there this year reason for taking exception, this time to a patently poor-taste move on the part of the organizers. The Steel Band Panorama contest providing backdrop for the off-color display this time around.

Just a day or two before last Saturday’s Panorama, it was revealed that the high command of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizers of Labor Day weekend activity, had denied credentials to cover the event to When Steel Talks, the most important and comprehensive forum the steel band community, world-wide, has ever had.
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Web Posted - Thursday September 4, 2014
The Soul of Miami

Miami, Florida, USA -  The scintillating and pulsating music of the steel pan has always played a significant role in the Miami Broward Carnival narrative. This year the Miami Broward One Carnival Host Committee Inc. (MBOCHC) will present their Panorama Steel Band competition on Friday, October 10, 2014 at Central Broward Regional Park from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Silver Stars USA Steel Orchestra is the reigning 2013 Band of the Year.

This year, the list of bands competing for the title of Miami Broward Carnival Steel Band Of The Year includes: Silvers Stars USA Steel Orchestra, Pantastics Steel Band, Lauderhill Steel, Resurrection Sound, Karibbean Knights Steel Orchestra and Steel Away Steel Drum Ensemble. Panorama is a favorite of many pan-lovers who will enjoy the melodic, rhythmic and soothing sounds of a music art form that is the heartbeat of the Carnival culture.
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Web Posted - Wednesday September 3, 2014
When Steel Talks

San Fernando, Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The Golden Hands Steel Orchestra music franchise of Trinidad and Tobago has just completed a motivating two-week audition process for its staging of the first I AM PAN National Steelpan Pageant in 2014.

Initially, the steelband music franchise’s decision was to present the eight most outstanding steelpan musicians who were interviewed.
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Web Posted - Tuesday September 2, 2014
NewsAmericasNow.com

New York, USA -  Is it racist or simply stupid that five shootings in Brooklyn that occurred in the wee hours of Monday morning were automatically linked by white-owned media entities in New York City to the West Indian American Day Carnival?

The carnival, the largest in North America which draws a large percentage of black Caribbean immigrants annually for the past 47 years, kicked off at 11 a.m. yesterday at Schenectady and Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY. But shootings that occurred at 3:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m., respectively, were quickly linked to the Carnival.

PIX 11 via the AP ran a story that began with the lead: “For all the festivity that surrounds the annual West Indian Day Parade, the event has been scarred in recent years by violence nearby and that was the case Monday morning.”

....The real story of course went unreported of course.

No one was injured, shot or killed at the carnival or on the parade route which drew tens of thousands.
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Web Posted - Tuesday September 2, 2014
When Steel Talks

London, UK - Leroy Clarke made history back on August 23 when his arrangement of “Pan in the Atmosphere” led Real Steel to win the coveted title of ‘UK National Panorama Champions’ for the Notting Hill Carnival for the third successive year.

In capturing the title, Leroy became the first British-born steel pan music arranger to win the hat trick, and only the second in the 37-year-history of the competition to achieve the elusive three in a row. He is also the youngest.
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Web Posted - Monday September 1, 2014
Trinidad Express Newspapers

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. -  Well-known pan arranger Eddie Quarless, 60, died yesterday in New York, USA where he had gone for medical treatment.

Members of the pan fraternity yesterday expressed sorrow at his passing.

Quarless worked with a number of steelbands including Witco Desperadoes, Massy All Stars and birdsong in Tunapuna. After the death of Clive Bradley in 2005, Quarless worked with Desperadoes. Apart from his legendary work with the steelbands, Quarless worked on several calypso albums including the late Garfield Blackman (Ras Shorty I) path-breaking Endless Vibrations. He was a saxophonist on numerous calypso albums.

In an interview yesterday his niece Roberta Quarless, daughter of birdsong arranger Richard Quarless, said: “Daddy left on August 12 because he knew he was ill. He was ailing from cancer and it took a turn for the worse.
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Web Posted - Monday September 1, 2014
When Steel Talks

New York, USA - Musician, arranger and producer Edison Anthony “Eddie” Quarless was born April 9, 1952, in Palo Seco, Trinidad. He passed away from complications from non-Hodgkins lymphoma on J’Ouvert Morning, September 1, 2014, in Brooklyn, New York.

He grew up in Tacarigua, where his mother Beryl “Ma” Quarless worked for many years at St. Michael’s Home. It was there where his talents for music became apparent, as he quickly learned to play saxophone, keyboards, flute and steel pan, among other instruments.
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When Steel Talks

Results - 2014 New York Panorama

New York, USA - Full results for the 2014 New York Panorama which took place at the back of the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday August 30 are here.  Eleven steel orchestras participated including Pan Fantasy hailing from Canada.  D’Radoes Steel Orchestra were judged Panorama champs, while ADLIB and CASYM steel orchestras tied for second place.
click for full results & breakdown

Web Posted
When Steel Talks

Upcoming

Global  - Upcoming Steelpan music events from all over the world
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Web Posted
When Steel Talks - Special

Champion Panorama Tunes of Trinidad and Tobago

Global - A critical component to winning any panorama competition is the song the orchestras choose to use as the basis of their panorama arrangements. Over the years these songs have inspired classic panorama arrangements. When Steel Talks invites you to take a look at and listen to, these famed tunes which have played more than just a cursory part in the history of Pan, and the lives of the players and fans.
click to hear and/or view