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New York SteelPan - Panorama and
Beyond The drums of steel and summer are again
quiet.
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And another fabulous panorama season has come to an end.
Of course, not without tremendous travail. But once again
the men and women of steel have triumphed and conquered, however
temporarily, their environment, to put on once again one of the greatest
and biggest music extravaganzas in North America. Moreover, tales
and music that will be repeated for the ages came into being. The panman,
with his resilience continues to lift the human sprit through his stubbornness,
tenacity and undeniable passion for his music. There is nothing like
the anticipation, excitement and visual grandiosity generated by the
steelpan folk as they wheel musical war chariots into the staging area
and then onto the performance stage by the hundreds, coming from all parts of
Brooklyn, New York to partake in 'Panorama'.|
Panorama 2005 New York's Steelband Music Panorama
competition traditionally marks the end of the summer season for the
large steel orchestras in the community, as the mighty 100-player strong steelbands
immediately after are reduced to their normal stageside sizes. The 2005 season was a particularly difficult one for all the steelband organizations. It presented both new and old challenges that were formidable and debilitating to the creative process, and performance music theatre of events. Practice space, meager or non-existent financial resources, belligerent and uncompromising authorities continue to be the cause of an extremely hostile environment for the steel orchestra in New York. Yet in spite of all this the New York steelpan music movement continues to grow and thrive, though it is always one step away from total extinction. The New York steelpan community continues to demonstrate its flexibility, resourcefulness, resiliency and intelligence. The New York steelband panorama is easily one of the greatest if not the biggest music performance spectacles in North America, and is challenged and/or equaled in pageantry and drama only by the Marching Bands Drum and Bugle Corp competitions. However, unlike the latter, the New York steelbands have yet to receive comparable financial, media and corporate association, sponsorship and partnership. Indeed, the New York steelbands are for the most part community-based organizations, while major marching bands are normally associated with large universities or parochial organizations - which automatically solve many of the ills that plague the New York steelband community. Sound:
D-
{we really wanted to give them an
F
and the customary 'directly to jail' ticket but they actually improved
in 2005
year - they were only very awful this year} Some of the basic questions have still been left unanswered. For instance: if the bands have different instrument configurations and sizes, how does the engineer know beforehand what levels and balance are suited for a specific band without a sound check? If the sound engineer is unfamiliar with the class and range of specific steelband instruments within a band, in addition to where specific instruments will be set up on stage beforehand, how does he know what class of mics and floor position placement are best suited for the bands? Moreover, if the engineer is unaware of the style and overall tonal quality of a band - how does he know if he is projecting that band's true nature and sound? How does the sound engineer not confer with the musical directors and arrangers of each orchestra? Given the horrendous track record of the sound engineer - why is he not practicing days before the event?
We can only conclude that there has been and continues to be a blatant
and
total disregard for the steelpan artist, his art form, music and most of
all - the paying attendees of the performance. This is a musical event
whose every aspect is totally dependant on the quality of the sound.
Perhaps the time has come when each steel orchestra can use the
morning of the event to get a proper sound check with their musical
director present. By the way - this is not a unique or new
phenomenon - all artists have a sound check before their shows.
Adjudication -Pass-
{It would have been helpful if the
judges had left more comments on their score sheets as a means of
explaining their thought process to bands and arrangers... A few
bands have complained about the lack of comments on their sheets} Judges
The judges appeared very alert and attentive at all times. No sleeping judges this year. As we said last year - the judges' decisions are final and thus are not subjected to question. USSA-appointed monitors viewed the process. Arranging C+ {overall all the arrangers had great moments - some much longer moments than others, no one created their best work at this panorama - at least we hope not} Anytime you mix greats like Clive Bradley, Pelham Goddard and Jit Samaroo with a field of talented arrangers led by the likes of Arddin Herbert and Yohan Popwell among others, you're going to get something special. Let's face it: arranging a ten-minute panorama piece in the calypso/soca music genre for a New York steelband is one of the most difficult musical challenges a musician can face. The ability to arrange a cohesive musical piece that covers all the requirements of the judging criteria - without frightening, or boring to tears, one of the toughest reality audiences one will ever come across, is no joke. Many have tried, few have survived and/or made the grade. Many can successfully arrange for five minutes, but it's that extra five minutes that separates the "wanna bees" from the masters. And again this year was no different. One can get their reputation and feelings hurt real quick as there is little room at the top. The Big Apple's panorama has very high expectations and is different than it's overseas counterparts. A great performance without great musical content will not get you over in New York. New York's panorama is not as musically conservative as other areas. For example, four out of twelve bands chose the popular Dead or Alive as their panorama selection - which is far from a traditional panorama tune.
The Show: C {it was a mediocre production; pan folks' efforts and talents are not being realized to the max...} The showtime was promoted as 7:00 PM with doors opening at 6:00 PM. This year we noticed that the bands were not wearing their customary wristbands for entry into the panorama. They were given tickets instead. There was a separate entrance for the performers and media. We observed none of the customary confusion at gates this year. The door security/authorities performed a thorough search of our bags before allowing entry. They were not as confrontational as they have been in the past, although different security check points had arbitrary rules, as they were not all in sync as to their guidelines. Once again this year there was no program to give any guidance or information about the panorama performers. Luckily the panorama fans are very knowledgeable about their pan music. The MC seems to know less about New York Pan every year. Why is that? Let's face it - if you eliminate the large video displays and the cell phones, there would be no difference between 2005, 1995 or 1985... No growth! No imagination! Nothing to make you go "wow!" Now that's a shame. Who's taking credit for this "great" production this year? The producers of this show need to take a vacation and go to a few concerts and see just how shows are put on in 2005 (as they have been for some time!). Luckily there is a huge need for programming material
for all the entertainment and educational gadgets. Young, new and
exciting productions on a grand scale are just around the corner for the
New York Steelband fraternity. It's been the I-Pod generation for
a few years now... soon the younger generation of the steelband
movement will have other options... |
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Panorama Running Time Clock: A
{got to give homeboys their
props... the bands moved on and off the stage like clockwork - The
bands completed their performances in four and half hours}
To the best of our knowledge, no Media Kits with band information were presented to visiting media. In terms of ease of accessing the bands from basic vantage points while they performed on stage, When Steel Talks ran into significantly more turbulence than usual. There was no post-performance area set aside for press to interview/photograph the performing artists. [New York Panorama 2005 In Pictures.] Stage Smediaize Still too small for the larger bands to set up quickly enough. While the orchestras with smaller complements of players managed the task in an acceptable amount of time, the powerhouse steel orchestras fielding upwards of eighty musicians have to accomplish an on-the-spot feat of engineering to place all their instruments in the limited space. They take up significantly more time before being ready to play. Prizes / Appearance Fees D- Oh, and by the way, what are/were they? It would be good for the audience to know what prize purses are up for grabs. It's a normal feature of competitions to periodically inform/announce to, all those present, what is at stake in the event. This is one competition where sometimes even the bands themselves don't know exactly what they are competing for - even after the competition... Management of at least three of the competitors for the September 3, 2005 competition said either that they were unclear, or had no idea as to the prize purses at stake, and had received no official communication before the event, nor to date. When Steel Talks contacted the offices of the promoter/organizers of the Panorama on September 26, and was told that "they [promoter/organizers] had no information on the prizes as yet." For the record - figures of a first prize of between $17,500.00 and $20,000.00 were bandied about, with some management reportedly hearing unofficially that second and third prizes were around $15,000.00 and $12,000.00 respectively. Appearance Fees Curiously, and at least to the best of our knowledge - the New York Panorama held at the Brooklyn museum grounds is the only competition in US history that in effect, punishes top-placing bands/winners by taking away their appearance fees (is this even legal?), reportedly in between the amount of $3,500.00 and $4,000.00. Again, does anyone have documentation that will provide the exact amount? An appearance fee is just that - an appearance fee. Isn't this for just showing up and taking part in a competition? The appearance fee should have nothing to do with a band's other financial rewards at a competition. Post-Production and Follow Up The panorama results are actually up on the promoter's web site. We haven't seen any pictures but they are sure to follow. Right? No 2003 embarrassment here? We are sure the promoters did get pictures of the winning band performing. Right? There has been no word on a DVD or CD yet. We've been told that the governing bodies lack the ability to market and move CD/DVDs. If true that's truly unfortunate. In terms of the media we've seen no stories, articles, releases from either the promoter or pan governing bodies about the panorama or its participants. Access (bands, players, management, arrangers, fans): A+ [NY steelpan community is very media savvy and has a keen understanding of the importance of documenting, promoting and telling their own story... Indeed it is often said "if it wasn't documented - did it really happen?"] As we indicated earlier our Steelpan Photographers were truly frustrated and annoyed at the difficulty and obstacles they encountered in trying to access the stage for shots of the bands at the 2005 panorama - even though they had legitimate media credentials - issued by the promoters' office. Interestingly enough, we were told some folks have more access rights than others. Nevertheless When Steel Talks was able to document the panorama in pictures, largely because of the continued cooperation we received by the entire New York steelpan community, a process which was ongoing throughout the season. In this regard, the players, managers, arrangers and fans get an unconditional A+ for their courtesy, professionalism and cooperation in facilitating the documentation of their season's work. New York Panorama - 2005 In Pictures click >> New York Panorama 2005 In Pictures. J'ouvert:
B J'Ouvert - 2005 In Pictures click >> J'Ouvert 2005 Pictures In Review
PR Departments
C Side Bar Stagesides Utopia Pan Soul: The Next Generation, CASYM, Pantonic, Sonatas, Steel Sensation These five represent the best stagesides in New York. All five of the groups are very unique and bring a very different look to the under-30 player arena. All have stepped it up big time. They added an interesting array of new and old songs to their respective repertoires. And all have already either released recordings, and/or have recorded new music that will be available in the near future. |
This year's event was
again held at the Brooklyn Museum grounds located in Prospect Heights,
Brooklyn and is a testament to the Pan Man's and Woman's will to survive.
Normally capital punishment is in
order for the sound engineer and those who employed his services.
Was the sound engineer bad this year? Hell yea! Did he take
the enjoyment the audience should have had out of a serious and
professional music event? Indeed! Did he impact adversely on fortunes of the participants? Of course, how could he not? He
was horrible. And yes, he toyed with the hard work of the players, tuners
and arrangers... And for the most part he was consistently horrible.
This year instead of making basses sound like tenors and tenors like
cellos he used a trick. VOLUME. The system was so loud most
people were not able to tell how bad it was because their ears were overloaded. Which eventually leads to ear fatigue, blank
stares and
delayed reactions by the audience. Yes, once again the sweetness
was filtered out of the "sweet pan" performances. Some bands
fared better or worse than others, depending on their musical
arrangement, stage setup, orchestra
instruments' configuration and performance ability. Some of the
orchestras suffered from low register dropouts caused by what appeared to
be phase cancellations. This was very disconcerting to the
audience; hopefully the judges were immune to these audio maladies.
The youth-oriented orchestra from Freeport, Long Island has improved in
every facet. It is no longer "if" or "can" ADLIB move into the
upper area codes of New York pan. The youths of ADLIB are no
longer satisfied with making a good appearance at the panorama.
There is great musical talent in the group and their sights are trained
on loftier goals. ADLIB has great management that brings
competency, consistency and stability to its operations. The
organization has had to overcome a series of obstacles and
disappointments that made this year difficult and challenging.
Nevertheless, ADLIB survived and put on a great show at the 2005
panorama. This year the group returned with Rubin Nelson as their
arranger. Their placing is not indicative of the band's
ability. ADLIB's stageside is solid as the group
continues to perform throughout the year. Management
remains committed to the development of young musicians.
Group recordings to date --
The organization made great strides forward musically and
administratively. Harmony has improved every year of
its existence and invested heavily in their infrastructure.
This year they went with Brian Nicholas, one of their resident arrangers, as arranger for panorama, and
they also brought new tuner
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Related Links |
2005
Pan In New York CD
An
educational, historical, cultural and artistic masterpiece that
showcases one of the most vibrant live music performance movements
in the United States today...
The yard recordings are
available from participating orchestras (CrossFire, Sonatas, CASYM,
Sesame, Marsicans, Pantonic and D'Radoes)
click to hear samples
1-718-421-2042