Web Posted - Friday May 29, 2020
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Goddard plays on...

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - With the local entertainment industry at a standstill because of covid19, many entertainers have taken to social media to keep “locked in” with their fan base, as well as to keep the music flowing.

One major surprise on Facebook, recently, was the appearance of veteran musician, composer, arranger Pelham “PG” Goddard who has posted his musical versions of several popular songs.

....In 1983 Goddard started a relationship with both Invaders and Starlift Steel Orchestras. He was introduced to Exodus Steel Orchestra in 1989 and has since won four National Panorama titles, and one World Steelband Music Festival win as arranger.
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Web Posted - Thursday May 28, 2020
When Steel Talks

The Twelve Bass

Desperadoes Steel Orchestra - A Moment in Pan

Global - The Twelve Bass -- Invented by the late, great Rudolph Charles of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra. He invented it through his pursuit of the classic upright fretless bass sound on pan.

According to recognized and globally respected tuner Andy Neils:  the “Twelve Bass lowest note is commonly E similarly to the Nine-Bass.” 
see more

Web Posted - Thursday May 28, 2020
When Steel Talks

Meet Wilfred “Junior” Kieal - Panist, Percussionist & Administrator - Up-Close!

New York, USA - He is one of the most well-known and well-liked people in that ‘next generation’ of performing artists involved in the New York pan scene. Thoughtful, multi-talented and a natural-born percussionist with world-class abilities, he’s one of the few percussionists who have totally mastered the art of silence - such that when he stops, the listener is left wanting more. And within the steel orchestra, from tenor to four-pan and more - it’s a non-issue because he’s accomplished in several voices in the family of steelpan instruments.

But with it all, Wilfred Kieal, Jr. is centered by his passion for the steelband art form and remains humble as its music courses through his blood, and life. In this exclusive When Steel Talks interview, performing artist, former band captain and administrator Wilfred “Junior” Kieal lays out his love for his Dad, himself an elder in the art form - and talks about his own path through pan to date.
see interview

Web Posted - Wednesday May 27, 2020
When Steel Talks

The Nine Bass - A Moment in Pan!

D'Radoes Steel Orchestra - Phase II Pan Groove - Sonatas - Desperadoes

Global - The Nine-Bass -- Invented by the late, great Rudolph Charles of  Desperadoes Steel Orchestra.

According to recognized and globally respected tuner Andy Neils: The Nine-Bass is lower [than the Six-Bass] - beginning most commonly @ G; we sometimes have lower at F, or even E. Comparatively, the Six Bass’ lowest note is commonly B^b, sometimes A.”  
see more

Web Posted - Tuesday May 26, 2020
When Steel Talks

The Triple Second - A Moment in Pan!

ADLIB Steel Orchestra - Despers USA Steel Orchestra - D'Radoes Steel Orchestra

Global - The Triple Second -- Invented by the late, great Rudolph Charles of  Desperadoes Steel Orchestra.

According to recognized and globally respected tuner Andy Neils:  the “Double Second has three common types - F#, F and E, the letter name being the lowest. The Triple second goes lower to C or B, as the Quadrophonic.” 
see more

Web Posted - Monday May 25, 2020
When Steel Talks

The Mission (1968)

by panist and Vietnam veteran Dalton Narine

Global - All night long, her flaxen hair shimmying like disco lights in the full moon, the river showered its blessings on our predicament. In the pitch of the blackout, the candle on the bamboo table flickered wanly; the wick, ungraceful in the gluey wax, wasting away. I was grateful that a compassionate moon loitered on the porch while we, the matter and I, deliberated over an argument for spiritual mediation. Sleep at a chess marathon. Sleep for both of us, the matter and me, a Trini in Nam.

....The Saigon sun was already rinsing its face in the river when we tangled out of the sofa, bedraggled like leftover trees in a storm. Like rubber trees in the Michelin Plantation following a napalm run in the Iron Triangle. I nourish no suspicion towards occult lore (though it grew up around me on Laventille hill and Behind the Bridge, a small ways from Royal Theatre), so the bellwether might well have been a nod to the order of the day, but it would take more than an omen, I swear, for me to back out of the task at hand. Any man can be saved; It would be the sermon of the day.
read more

Web Posted - Wednesday May 21, 2020
When Steel Talks

Meet Jelani Cielto - Panist Extraordinaire

 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Jelani Cielto a special talent? Absolutely.  He also has that type of gift that makes a very select few see partial differential equations as child’s play. Blessed with the innate ability of a photographic memory, he has used his gift to play in multiple steel orchestras during the annual national Panorama season. This has become a point of focus. In a When Steel Talks exclusive - performing artist and panist extraordinaire Jelani Cielto - an individual of few words - gets his points of view across very succinctly, while leaving no doubt about the depth of his passion for the instrument, in this interview.
read more

Web Posted - Wednesday May 20, 2020
When Steel Talks

Panorama Skills on the Home Front? NO, MEMORIAL DAY 2020

by panist and Vietnam veteran Dalton Narine

Global - ....Grandfather was flown back to Venezuela, and later Trinidad, where they named Gonzales, Belmont, after him. Rudolph Charles [“Charlo”] insisted that I was born on the Laventille Hill. Little did he know I was born in Gonzales, a ritual for all our families. Charlo must have meant conceived, not born.

Anyway, in Vietnam, I was in the trenches, too — defensive perimeters made up of wire, mines, machine guns, sandbags and bunkers. I spoke to Grandfather one night when my company was expecting the Viet Cong (VC) to roll in. These night devils would disrupt your sleep in a minute. So I meditated with him as if he were prayers sent by the Almighty. I felt relieved.

On the battlefield, we played a game of survival, young uninformed Trini-American soldiers.
read more

Web Posted - Monday May 18, 2020
When Steel Talks

The Art of Dusk

by panist and Vietnam veteran Dalton Narine

Global - ....Indeed, the price we paid for dismissing nature’s painterly hands had rewarded us a full moon that rose up just so with a kind of religious zeal, eager to add its signature to the light show up and down the North Coast. We shifted gears up the incline, along a serpentine roadway, and there she was, fat and happy, with that big ol’ button-face of hers, stealing open space between twin peaks. The better to show off a million-carat sparkle, the Universe’s most wondrous nugget, She.

I crank up the volume.

As if for effect, Billie Holiday reaches the mind with an emotional power that American jazz disc jockey Phil Schaap calls “genius beyond words.”
read more

Web Posted - Sunday May 17, 2020
MyLondon.News

The horrific Notting Hill murder of Kelso Cochrane and why Carnival can never be cancelled

61 years ago a black man was murdered in a racist attack still unsolved today

London, U.K. - On this day 61 years ago, a murder took place in London that forced Britain to address its devastating racism.

A 32-year-old black man from Antigua named Kelso Cochrane was brutally murdered in a racist attack in the early hours of May 17, 1959.

After receiving treatment at Paddington Hospital for a finger injury, Mr Cochrane was walking along Southam Street (now the Edenham estate, including the Trellick Tower) when a gang of white youths attacked and stabbed him with a stiletto knife outside of the Earl of Warwick pub on Golborne Road.

Arrests were made but both suspects were released hours later.

Mr Cochrane's murderers were never caught and the police played the motive down as a robbery and general hooliganism. This reverberated through North Kensington’s Caribbean community and Britain at large.

Isis Amlak, a local activist and former chair of the North Kensington Law Centre, said Mr Cochrane's murder was a pivotal moment that "changed the dynamic" between the Caribbean and white working class communities of North Kensington.

Mr Cochrane was part of a generation of Caribbean people who were encouraged to help fill Britain's struggling labour force after the Second World War - namely the Windrush Generation.
read more

Web Posted - Thursday May 14, 2020
When Steel Talks

Pan Ramajay - Definition of the competition

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Alvin Daniell interviews the late Amin Mohammed, manager of Exodus Steel Orchestra....as he describes what Ramajay is about, and the Pan competition itself. Pan Ramajay is a steelpan event which was established in 1989 by Exodus Steel Orchestra. Its primary objective was to provide a platform (other than Panorama and the Steelband Music Festival) for steelpan musicians to showcase their skills. The event is back for 2020, with the preliminaries carded for June 13 - 14.
more

Web Posted - Wednesday May 13, 2020
When Steel Talks

Exodus Steel Orchestra - Pan Is Beautiful VI - Steelband Music Festival 1992

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Exodus Steel Orchestra performs “Academic Festival Overture” by Johannes Brahms as their tune of choice at the 1992 Steelband Music Festival - Pan Is Beautiful VI.
see performance

Web Posted - Wednesday May 13, 2020
When Steel Talks

When Boogsie played ‘Yesterday’

by Wesley Gibbings
Opinion piece

Global -  Len “Boogsie” Sharpe played ‘Yesterday’ on the pan at about 6.35 p.m. on Saturday May 9, 2020.

This story could have ended right there. But then somebody posted in the comments section of the YouTube stream: “I am in tears. Is this normal?” Fingers frozen, I could not type a response. We’d been busted. Many of us, I presumed. Someone else chimed in with something I cannot remember.

It happened so fast. Boogsie had been showing off on the double seconds with speed and an amazing command of complex riffs on The Mighty Sparrow’s ‘Rose’. Then, inexplicably, he changed mood with a Beatles/Lennon suite that eventually landed, near the end, on ‘Yesterday’.
read more

Web Posted - Wednesday May 13, 2020
When Steel Talks

Pan Ramajay Competition Returns

Global - Pan Ramajay is a steelpan event which was established in 1989 by Exodus Steel Orchestra. Its primary objective was to provide a platform (other than Panorama and the Steelband Music Festival) for steelpan musicians to showcase their skills.

This competition is open to steelpan musicians internationally, regardless of time zone/country and is designed to feature soloists, duos and quartets using any instrument in the steelpan family. 
read more

Web Posted - Monday May 11, 2020
When Steel Talks

Meet Debra “Sista Dee” Sarjeant - Massachusetts, USA

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

 

Massachusetts, USA - “...People are just amazed at what comes out of the pan, they want to know if you can play all types of musical keys, they check underneath to see where is all that sound is coming from...” -- Debra “Sista Dee” Sarjeant

Her path and journey were essentially sealed from birth - what with her being Denzil Botus’ daughter, and her godfather being the iconic Rudolph Charles. A veteran in the game, her life journey has been for the love of Pan; performing artist, arranger, producer, educator, and more - all these describe this illustrious woman in Pan. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - Boston’s Debra “Sista Dee” Sarjeant shares a snapshot of what has brought her to this point in Pan.
read more

Web Posted - Sunday May 10, 2020
When Steel Talks

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Steelpan & Steelband Music Moms

 

Global - Happy Mother’s Day to all the Steelpan & Steelband Music Moms, all over the world.
more

Web Posted - Sunday May 10, 2020
When Steel Talks

Len “Boogsie” Sharpe’s Live streamed concert

Replay

Global - Take in the replay of Len “Boogsie” Sharpe's concert as live-streamed on Saturday May 9, 2020.
click for replay

Web Posted - Friday May 8, 2020
When Steel Talks

Meet Tiajuana Hernandez - Trinidad & Tobago

Celebration of Women and the Steelpan Art Form

 

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - “The stigma of pan being from the bowels of society, involving “badjohns” or the thought that steelpan music is noise or “wine or jam” that exemplifies the devil... Because I believe it is so much more than this. The ability to play pan is truly a gift from God. The steelpan instrument can play any genre of music, that’s including gospel....I definitely would like to change this idea concerning steelpan and pan music.” -- Tiajuana Hernandez

She’s a passionate proponent of the steelband art form. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks, Tiajuana Hernandez does not hesitate to speak her mind as she shares her experiences, opinions, reflections and dreams on Pan, and the steelband art form overall.
read more

Web Posted - Monday May 4, 2020
Banglor Daily News

Flash! in the Pans cancels summer 2020 season

Maine, USA - Flash! in the Pans and Planet Pan steel bands will not be performing this summer due to COVID-19 and Maine’s Stay Safer regulations. Nonprofit organizations that were scheduled to host benefit street dances this summer will keep their dates for summer 2021.
read more

Web Posted - Friday May 1, 2020
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

15 panists in Panograma online semis

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The first-ever Panograma has named its 15 semi-finalists following prelims held on April 24 and 25. The semi-finals were held on April 30.

TT panist Nevin Roach is the founder and organiser of the event. As artistes and entertainers around the world have been finding novel ways to host events given the covid19 pandemic, Roach was inspired to put on Panograma to help panists earn some revenue.

Although there were some sound problems, the event saw hundreds of people log on to Roach’s live Instagram feed to view the performances and to support their favourite panist. Panograma saw 20 solo panists from around the region and internationally compete for a spot in the semi-finals. Panists from Jamaica, US and St Martin took part in the competition.

Ten panists will compete in the final on May 3 for the top prize of US$500 and an online session with a world-renowned panist.
read more

When Steel Talks

Steelband Community On the Front lines Against COVID-19

Global - When Steel Talks (WST) extends our sincere appreciation of all those on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19 aka the Coronavirus.

BigUp to all our steelband family in the health care and first responder trenches, and related services.
read more

2020 Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Panorama Info - Complete

Global - PanOnTheNet/ WhenSteelTalks is Panorama Central! Complete information on the 2020 season of the Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama, and competitions:  Schedules, Orders of Appearance for preliminary, semi-final and final phases for large, medium and small conventional steel orchestras, and single pan bands; arrangers’ bios, bios of steel orchestras; full results, panyard addresses, history of previous Panoramas, and much more!
see complete information index

Web Posted - February 2020
When Steel Talks

Complete Summary of Results of all Conventional Steel Orchestras - 2020 Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - At a glance and on a single page, access the comprehensive summary of results for the Small, Medium and Large conventional steel orchestras that participated in their respective categories in the 2020 Panorama.

Follow the musical journey of respective bands through all three phases - compare side-by-side preliminaries, semi-finals and finals through data on band info, scores, tunes of choice and arrangers - on one page.
access full summary