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Len 'Boogsie' Sharpe
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad &
Tobago
- The air was extremely festive, with a few hundred people milling about
both inside and outside the Woodbrook panyard of Phase II Pan Groove,
2005 National Panorama champions.
Some were holdovers from
the popular annual Village Lime hosted by Phase II a few hours earlier;
others were fresh arrivals with high anticipations of a night of great
music from a champion steelband. Arranger Len 'Boogsie' Sharpe
had returned to the pan yard to be greeted by scores of well-wishers - he
was a star, and every one wanted a piece of him - quick hugs, short
exchange of words and other interactions with people passing by, among
them Carol Charles (pictured below with
Sharpe), wife of the late
legendary leader of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra. Boogsie himself was dancing around as he chatted with When Steel Talks. Just as the short interview began, the band struck up once more. Phase II entered the panorama competition with a Len 'Boogsie' Sharpe original composition once again. This year the selection is a poignant one - written in homage to the late master musician and arranger Clive Bradley, who passed away November 26, 2005. Sharpe says he wrote the song This One is For U, Bradley soon after. It is vocalized by veteran calypsonian Ronnie McIntosh. For the panorama arrangement of the piece, Boogsie says he 'tried to create Bradley, with Boogsie style.' Phase II is going into the finals on Saturday night, and is determined to keep their title. Boogsie felt that playing position was key, and said as much to Wayne La Pierre who 'pulled' the position. According to Sharpe, Phase II had to play behind Trinidad All Stars. And La Pierre did pull off the incredible earlier that same afternoon - he chose the final position from the field of eight competing steel orchestras. So Phase II was indeed positioned to play after the Duke Street-based band as Sharpe had hoped. This appeared to give the arranger a bit more incentive to be happy. Though Phase II has run second to All Stars in both the preliminaries and semi-final competitions, Sharpe was confident that his band could make up the point difference on finals night. The veteran arranger said he had done a lot of work, and was pleased with the arrangement thus far, saying that the band 'had to drill.' "I'm going there to win...and Clive, wherever you are, we're going to bring this home for you - this is for you."
C. Phillips, Basement
Press Corp. Copyright 2006 - Basement Recordings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ANY REPRODUCTION, REPRINTING OR COPYING OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS, OR ANY OTHER MATERIAL - AUDIO, VISUAL OR TEXT - FROM THE BASEMENT RECORDINGS/WHEN STEEL TALKS/PANONTHENET WEBSITES, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE MANAGEMENT OF WHEN STEEL TALKS.
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More
Than An Experience - Pan 4 Life