Silver Stars among tops acts on show

By Tricia George, Steelpanauthority.com Correspondent

The life and times of late calypsonian Lord Blakie, Carlton Joseph, will be celebrated in a concert on Father’s Day, June 16, at the PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars Pan Yard, Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain.

Showtime is 5pm.

The event, presented by Stacey Benjamin–one of Blakie’s daughters–will honour the calypsonian’s career, his life and his love for the steepan.  It would feature a cast that includes Member of Parliament and calypsonian Winston “Gypsy” Peters, Kurt Allen, Duane O’Connor, Marvellous Marva, Cro Cro, PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars Steel Orchestra and MCs Errol Fabien & W.A.C.K. 90.1fm Personality, Damian Melville.

“We are also going to host a 15 minute segment where his confident fans would get the opportunity to win cash prizes if they convincingly perform one of his songs complete with his signature laugh,” an excited Benjamin told Steelpanauthority.com

Lord Blakie died in 2005 at age 72 after losing his battle with prostate cancer.  His hits included “Steelband Clash”, “Maria”, “Hold the Pussy”.

Benjamin added that four years ago, when she presented her Jazz in July Concert at the Queen’s Hall, it was her first official tribute to him.

“I’ve actually wanted to do this for a long time, but this year things just lined up beautifully for the show to come to fruition.”

Benjamin noted that none of Blakie’s 11 children (she is the only girl of her mom and Blakie’s four children) followed in his footsteps, but that his musical talent lives on in her children, nieces and nephews.

“I felt that it was important for them to see the full scope of who they are as his descendants. None of them has really witnessed him in the fullness of who he was as a calypso icon and cultural giant.

“Father’s Day just felt like the right time to give him such a gift.”

Growing up with a father like Lord Blakie was interesting Benjamin said, to say the least. She enjoyed sitting in the front row at his shows and watching on as the women in the audience blush at his cheeky comments in between his song set.

“My heart would be filled with pride once he walked on that stage and I looked around at the audience with a goofy smile because as I remembered, he was always well received.”
Benjamin also enjoyed going to the studio with her father and watching him record.

“Me and my younger brother Carlton used to get on the instruments and hope to hear ourselves on the album too.

“A big favourite moment was when a neighbour’s dog bit me and daddy actually wrestled the dog to the ground in anger.”

Benjamin’s mom and Blakie separated when she was 14, but he remained her hero. She described him as an active parent who would spoil his children rotten if her mother didn’t rule with such an iron fist.

“I grew up knowing that I could do anything I put my mind to because he kept telling me that in his fine “Blakie” style.

“Whenever I had an exam he’d call me out at the door, as I left for school and say ‘Queen…doh fraid dem yuh know…yuh go lick dem up clean! This was followed with his signature laughter that made me laugh, too.”
The two grew apart when Blakie and her mother separated, but Benjamin was grateful that she got the opportunity to reconnect with her dad before he died.

“His wife Joycie played a major part in making this happen,” she said.

Benjamin would love for this Father’s Day tribute to Blakie to be an annual one, but is content to space it out, preferring to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his death instead.

The Blakie tribute is her focus right now and seeing it through.

“This show is all about him.”

Tickets are available at Cleve’s One Stop Shop, Crosby’s, WACK Radio and Artherly’s San Fernando.

So impressed was First Lady of China, Madame Peng Liyuan yesterday with the performance of Exodus Steel Orchestra at the concert in her honour that she extended an invitation to the pannists to visit China.

As the St Augustine-based steel orchestra played two Chinese nation-building songs – “Fields of Hope” and “I Love My Home Town”, China’s First Lady nodded her head, keeping time with the tempo and smiled broadly in appreciation. At the end of the first song, Peng and members of the Chinese entourage applauded heartily with the second song also being well received by the audience at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain. At a photo opportunity at the end of the one-hour show, Peng greeted the Exodus pannists and even tried her hand striking a few notes on the national instrument. Through a translator she told the band members the steelpan had produced a “very pleasant sound.” She remarked that some of her countrymen did not know the name of the instrument and had described it as an “oil drum” in their reports. She said she has heard steelpan music on the radio at home and it was “wonderful” to be able to see it played “in person”.

She evoked laughter from the pannists when she quipped, “I think the two Chinese songs you played were better than how I sing them.” Peng is a renowned contemporary folk singer and performing artiste.

She told the pannists if they got a chance they should visit China.”You are welcome by the people of China,” she said with a smile. Peng had earlier accompanied her husband, China’s President Xi Jinping, on a courtesy call on Trinidad and Tobago’s President Anthony Carmona and his wife, Reema. Reema Carmona accompanied Peng to NAPA for the show that featured the Bishop Anstey High School Choir, dancer Juan Pablo Alba Denis of the Metamorphosis Dance Company, Tenor Edward Cumberbatch, National Youth Action Committee Calypso Jewel Winner 2012 Timel Rivas and the Exodus Steel Orchestra..

Exodus’ three-song set also featured Simon and Garfunkle’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

Peng also commended Cumberbatch on his performance and greeted members of the Bishop Anstey Choir who had earlier performed “Street Cries” and a medley of Lord Kitchener’s calypsos. She also spoke to the school’s choir mistress, Lorraine Granderson.

Granderson said China’s First Lady talked about t voice training for the students and said she, Peng, understood the difficulties, having been part of a 100-member choir in China.

“She said their voices were very pure and she enjoyed the performance tremendously,” said Granderson. The group was also encouraged to visit China.

Calypso and Jazz debuts at Southern Mississippi showcase

By Ashton Pittman, Steelpanauthority.com Correspondent

HATTIESBURG, MS — “How do we top this?” said John Wooton, director of the steel pan orchestra for the University of Southern Mississippi, (USM) School of Music. “I mean, how do we top this?”

 Wooton had just watched months of hard work culminate in the performance of a lifetime on the Bennett Auditorium stage at the university’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi campus. On the evening of April 19, the School of Music’s steel pan orchestra joined forces with the Jazz Lab Band One to put on an epic performance alongside three special guests – Trinidadian and Tobago (T&T) calypso artist Relator (Willard Harris), five-time Grammy winning drummer Mark Walker, and renowned steel pan artist Andy Narell.

“He’s a very famous and probably the most recorded steel pan player in the world right now,” Josanne Francis, a Southern Mississippi alumni and T&T native, said of Narell.

 But Francis also received praise from a former band-mate.

“She’s done a lot for this program,” said USM Music Education Major David Joseph Louviere. “She’s a great steel pan player.”

 While Francis now studies as a graduate student at North Illinois University, she returned to Southern Mississippi to play alongside Narell in this special performance.

“Steel pan has really taken a big leap forward worldwide,” Francis said. “This is a very non-conventional setting for a steel pan, because usually you see the steel band by itself with calypsos or they might have a soloist with them. But now there’s steel pan and jazz band performing side by side, so it’s kind of like you have two completely separate bands brought together.”

Wooton first saw Narell lead a similar performance with WDR Big Band on YouTube. From that moment, Wooton knew he had to bring it to Southern Mississippi.

“I called him right away and said, ‘Man, you’ve got to come over to Southern Miss and do this with the jazz band,” Wooton said.

 At first, it didn’t seem like it would happen. But after Narell started getting more requests, his son wrote new horn arrangements that were different enough from the WDR Big Band versions that they could be played elsewhere.

Narell, who travels with his wife, Anita, who also plays in steel bands, said experiences like the one he had just had at Southern Mississippi are motivational for him as a performer.

“I spend a few months out of every year teaching and traveling around to a lot of schools and working with musicians, playing this kind of music and learning about it,” Narell said. “It gives me a lot of energy. And I get to work with Lord Relator and it’s so much fun.”

Lord Relator’s calypso performance was just one of many firsts that night, Wooton said.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever had a calypsonian here for sure,” he said. “Mark’s been here once, a few years ago. But this is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this.”

Things might’ve been more difficult for the embattled music department, which suffered extensive infrastructure damage and complete destruction to the school’s jazz station when an EF4 tornado struck the campus just two months before – in February.

But Wooton was determined to find a silver lining.

“We lost a few days of rehearsal,” Wooton said. “But it worked out because it put us and the jazz department in the same building right next to each other. So rehearsals were actually a lot easier for this project than they would’ve been if we’d been in the old building.”

Wooton said he was excited to find that Southern Mississippi’s new president, Rodney Bennett, was taking an interest in the program.

“He’s just a great guy,” Wooton said. “He came to a rehearsal last week. And I’ve been through five presidents. I’ve only had two of them come to a performance. Aubrey Lucas, [former USM president] was a huge fan of ours, and he was here tonight.”

But since Lucas, said Wooton, no USM president has come to any of the performances. He hopes that will change with Bennett.

“The other day I went and introduced myself to Dr. Bennett and he talked to me for 45 minutes and I was like, wow, this guy’s really nice,” Wooton said. “The next day, he came to rehearsal and stood in the back of the band. He stayed for an hour-and-a-half dancing in the back. He loved it. I’m excited we have that support.”

As for how he felt about the night’s performance?

“It went by really fast, and I knew it would, but I loved it,” he said. “The rehearsing is a lot of the joy. The journey to the performance, that’s where we get a lot of our joy. We just hope it comes out and the audience sees that and they can at least absorb that much.”

The future stars of Junior Sammy Skiffle Steel Orchestra will be on show. PHOTO: SEAN NERO/STEELPANAUTHORITY.COM

Skiffle, Phase II and Renegades promise a tasty music feast

TRICIA GEORGE, Steelpanauthority.com Correspondent

For the last 14 years the Skiffle Steel Orchestra (formerly Skiffle Bunch) has been successfully hosting its Tribute to Mothers Concert – a unique event that marries steelpan entertainment with fashion.
This year, the band will yet again stage the popular show, tomorrow (May 12) this time featuring current Panorama Champions Phase II Pan Groove and second runner-up at Panorama BPTT Renegades. The latter hasn’t played in the South for the last ten years.
Venue is the band’s Coffee Street panyard in San Fernando. Showtime is 6pm.

Nine-time National Panorama champion BP Renegades. PHOTO: SEAN NERO/STEELPANAUTHORITY.COM

Skiffle captain Junia Regrello said the show began as a way to celebrate the mothers who have over the years been consistent in bringing their children to pan practice.
“Mothers have supported the fraternity throughout the years and in a number of instances, several of them have made themselves available whenever extra hands were needed to perform various tasks associated with the functioning of the band. It is only fitting that we recognise their contributions and honour their presence on this day. The concept of Tribute to Mothers was an instant hit from its inception,” Regrello said.
Mothers, he said, loved that they could hear the winning steelbands and they also welcomed the presentation by The House of Jacqui,  which provided them with a number of style options.

These pan lovers will be in for a fashion/music treat. PHOTO:SEAN NERO/STEELPANAUTHORITY.COM

“We have been amazed by the response to this feature of the concert over the years,” Regrello said, of the fashion segment within the show.
“They (the mothers) actually look forward to it. As a matter of fact when the pan lovers complained that we should discontinue the fashion show mothers threatened to boycott the event.”
Regrello added that the band has put in the spotlight southern talent on the show’s cast over the last few years including dance groups and vocalists.

Junior Sammy Skiffle to thrill mothers.PHOTO:SEAN NERO/STEELPANAUTHORITY.COM

St Margaret;s Boys: PHOTOS:STEELPANAUTHORITY.COM/LIMETT.COM

…Forging boys of steel into great musicians

By Carol Quash, Steelpanauthority.com Correspondent

Members of every steel orchestra entering the National Panorama Competition series, dream of taking home at least one first place title.

St Margaret’s Boys Anglican School Steel Orchestra in Belmont has done that, and then some.

The group has pulled two hat tricks consecutively, placing first in the Under 13 Panorama Champions Primary School from 2008 to 2013. That journey, however, started back in 2004 through 2006.

Co-ordinator of the school’s pan programme Rosemarie Abraham says the simple programme was started by her daughter Shenelle many years ago, and has evolved into a structured, successful programme, as evidenced by the orchestra’s numerous accomplishments.

Among members of the group are some of Abraham’s Standard Five students, who say being part of the group is an inspiring experience and a “real stress reliever.”

“The orchestra includes students from the infants to Standard Five classes, as well as past students,” Abraham explains.

“There are 90 students, and rehearsals are held on different days to facilitate everyone.”

Practice sessions are held on the school’s compound after school and on Saturdays.

“We are even training the infants to do drumming, because you know drummers are hard to find,” she says, smiling.

“The kids look forward to it because it acts as a motivator.”

Being a member of the group is not a free for all, however.

“One of the requirements is that our stage-side musicians must be music literate, from grades one to five.

“We want young professional musicians, not just pan players.”

In addition, she says, members of the group must be disciplined.

“Anyone who does not show discipline is not allowed to be a part of the orchestra. And that discipline benefits them, because it eventually reflects in their school work as well.”

Abraham is especially grateful for the input of the past students, some of whom are tutors in the programme.

“There is a brotherly bond. St Margaret’s is like a refuge to them. But it serves a purpose for me as well,” she chuckles.

“Some of them are at secondary schools, and some are at UTT, COSTAATT etc. Their presence gives me the opportunity to keep an eye on them and to monitor their school work. I want them to be all-round individuals.”

The orchestra, she says, hosts a number of fundraisers in order to keep the programme going.

“Pans and racks are expensive. We have to raise funds to buy everything ourselves. We have no sponsors because nobody has volunteered to assist.

“The parents of the students are actively involved and it’s because of them we are where we are today.”

However, she says, the group is not short on arrangers and tutors, with musicians like Clive Telemaque, Keon Robinson, Rory Aleong and Paul Charles giving of their time to the programme.

In addition, she says, the group has a good rapport with the community.

“When there is any event in Belmont, we are called to play. The Belmont Freetown Foundation, the Football Old Boys Fraternity and other groups allow us to give back to the community.”

So, does the orchestra plan on bringing home another title next year?

“Definitely, although we don’t know what we will be playing yet. All we know is that we will be competing in the Under 13, Under 21, and Conventional Band categories.”

By Katie Finlon, Steelpanauthority.com Correspondent

The Northern Illinois University Steel Band, located in the United States, performed its bi-annual concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7.
Legendary steelpan virtuoso Robert Greenidge, a good friend of NIU Steel Band directors and pan legends Liam Teague and Cliff Alexis, performed as a guest artistes for the band’s concert. In this interview, he stresses the importance in representing steel pan all over the world—particularly in his home of Trinidad and Tobago.

Steelpan Authority (SPA): What is the Trinidad and Tobago dynamic in having so many young musicians offer themselves to become certified and qualified in the field (of music)?

Robert Greenidge: The thing about it is that Trinidad is very much a cultural society—they love music, all types of music, and the great thing about it is that we have led ourselves and people all over the world to the steelpan. My days growing up and all of the rest of the days was that a lot of guys played pan—not a lot of girls played pans. It’s so great to see that the art form of steelpan is really evolving and becoming bigger, and people are into it in all of the colleges all across the U.S. and Europe. Right now, I’m very pleased with what I see in Trinidad—a lot of youths being focused in on the steelpans, and that instrument is my favorite instrument out of all the instruments, as you can tell. I’ve been playing it since the age of eight to ten years old and I still play it at this age right now.

SPA: If you don’t mind us asking, what age are you now?

Greenidge: Me? Uhm, early forties. [chuckles] I’m in my sixties—it’s a long time playing pan and I feel good doing it still, and I won’t stop until whenever that day comes.

SPA: Going off the idea of reshaping the musical landscape, what do you think that could mean for reshaping the musical landscape in their homeland of Trinidad and Tobago?

Greenidge: I think it could help a lot to take a lot of the youths off the street. I think it could help for a lot of different things to encourage the youths themselves because they’re the ones that are going to be taking over this business and really make something out of it. We might be dead and gone by the time the youths are really taking over and making something really more professional than what we’re doing with it. You know, I think it’s a good thing for the whole country of Trinidad and I think it should continue.

SPA: Just to come back to the U.S. and Chicago in particular, how important is it for you to place your stamp on the NIU Steel Band program?

Greenidge: I think it’s very important—I’ve been here before on two different occasions, in 1991 and 1993, and I’m just happy to come back and really support my particular good friends, Mr. Clifford Alexis for starting the program with Al O’Connell of all people, and also Mr. Liam Teague. I’m very proud and very happy to be here today, to really assist in any way I can and help the program get better than what it is. What I’m seeing so far is such a great thing—even better than some of the places and some of the things that they are doing in Trinidad.

SPA: Could you elaborate on that?

Greenidge: Well, as far as the music goes, meaning getting a degree to play pan here and all of those kinds of things, whereas before in Trinidad, they did not  do that. And now, I’m hearing and seeing things that groove a little more in the universities. Nowadays, people are getting their degrees in Trinidad. That is a great thing, but that’s been done out here [in the U.S.] for a while. I hate to say, but again, they do things out here and they don’t realize what is being done, how fast the word is being spread and how fast these kids out here are learning these instruments. Everybody’s reading, and everybody does what they have to do. That is the little edge I think they have over Trinidad. Hopefully Trinidad will catch up, and I know they will eventually, and in really realizing the importance of the instrument to the world.

SPA: Wow. Now, to turn the focus more on you as a musician, how did your embrace of the steelpan make you a better person?

Greenidge: Well, as I said, growing up in Trinidad at a young age doing what I had to do with steelpan, like joining groups like the Desperadoes, which I have been playing with since 1965 or 1966. I learned a lot in that, as we called it, the “University of Desperadoes.” It’s a place where we had great arrangers, great players, and I got a chance to come up here and play different things with different artistes. I did a lot of recording sessions here in the U.S. with bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, John Lennon, Ringo Starr—all of these people have used the instrument in their songs. It’s a great pleasure to do that and work with these great artists. Also, I did a lot of movie soundtracks, different things like “48 Hours”…all of these other things that had pan in it—a lot of times, we’re a part of that. Also, I play music with a gentleman named Jimmie Buffett, and I’ve been playing with him since the 1980s and I’ve been with him ever since. I went in to do a recording session and, after that, I became a member of his group. Being there, I’ve learned a lot, seen the world, played with blues singer Taj Mahal—between Mahal and Buffett, I got a lot of schooling in traveling. Right now, I feel very honored and pleasured, it is a pleasure for me to keep the pan rolling and spreading the word.

SPA: Do you still practice eight hours a day?

Greenidge: Yes, I do. I still do, I still like to practice. That’s one of my favorite things to do is to practice. I think I play better when I’m practicing sometimes than when I’m on stage.

SPA: And why is that?

Greenidge: You know, because when you’re practicing, you’re free to do whatever you want, but when you’re on stage, all eyes are on you. It’s not that you play bad on stage—you play what you have to play or you do what you have to do—but for me, personally, I think when I practice I feel better because I can try to make mistakes, even though your hands may go to the wrong note, but still, it’s okay, it’s a good thing. I still practice eight hours a day as much as I can, once I have that time.

SPA: Are you a father?

Greenidge: Yes, I have two kids—I have a boy and a girl. I don’t have any more that I know of.

SPA: What are their ages?

Greenidge: The boy is 32 and the girl is 34.

SPA: And are they following your steelpan legacy?

Greenidge: No, they are not.

SPA: What are they doing, then?

Greenidge: My son is in the U.S. Coast Guard, flying around helicopters to different places, and my daughter is at Kaiser Prominent Hospital. They don’t have time for me, they’re doing their own thing—I spread the word, and maybe my grands, when I have grands, will take it over someday.
For more information about Robert Greenidge and his tour dates, visit www.robertgreenidge.com.

I’m ready to take on the world

By Carol Quash, Steelpanauthority.com Contributor

The Panorama dust has settled and Ken “Professor” Philmore is using the down time to plan and rehearse for what seems to be leading up to a whirlwind 2013 pan performance season, much like 2012.

“The 2012 season was hectic and successful,” he said.  “I was out of the country for five of the 12 months last year.”

The world-renowned pan soloist says he has been to Barbados, South Africa, Nigeria, London, Japan and the US, representing T&T on the national instrument.

He said: “It was fantastic.  I love to play soulful music on the instrument, and when I play in different countries I play music they know.  So, for instance, when I did the South Africa Jazz Festival in September, I did Miriam Makeba’s Pata Pata and Hugh Masekela’s Grazing in the Grass on pan.  It was truly amazing and the presence of the South African President in the audience made it a remarkable experience.”

He says his performance at a concert at the Prime Minister’s residence in Barbados before a number of dignitaries was just as amazing.

“Arturo Tappin and I closed the show,” he added.

Meanwhile, in Japan, he says, “Steelpan has gone clear.  They love it dearly and so many people want to learn to play it.”

He says they are even interested in forming bands.

“But its not like here in Trinidad where you could walk into a panyard and you getting pan to play, sticks, food, jersey, and money.  There, everybody owns their own instrument.  You have to buy your pan, buy your food, buy your sticks,” said Philmore.

And in Nigeria the experience was similar.

“We were supposed to perform in Nigeria for eight days from November 22.  Those eight day turned into six weeks. Nigerian music is similar to soca.  I took some popular Nigerian songs and played them on the pan. The Nigerians went crazy.”

When Philmore left Nigeria and returned to T&T in early January, he landed right into Panorama 2013.  All he was required to do, though, was fall in line. For being the diligent and responsible pan arranger that he is, he had prepared his bands – Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille and NLCB Fonclaire – before departing for Nigeria.

“I did everything before I left for Nigeria,” he said.  “I took night and made day and went the extra mile because I didn’t want to disappoint the players. I had a great pan season. Courts Sound Specialists came in second in the Medium Band category, and this is the second year running they won the People’s Choice Award. NLCB Fonclaire made the finals and tied for eighth place with Silver Stars.”

He says he respects the judges’ decision.

“Boogsie has a powerful band in Phase Two. As an arranger he knows the elements and what it takes to bring out the best in a band. Congratulations to Phase Two.  I tried my best with Fonclaire and we placed eighth.  We will go back to the drawing board and take it from there.”

But while he is at the drawing board, he continues his labour of love of taking pan to the world.

“Pan eh reach nowhere in the world yet. This is a big world.”

He has used his talent and his love of soulful music to put together a CD titled Perfect Combination, featuring vocalist Jerome Bissessar, with 15 classics such as Earth Wind & Fire’s September, Smokey Robinson’s Cruisin and Michael Jackson’s Human Nature.

“I play Soul, R&B, Jazz, you name it.  Any genre of music can be played on pan.  It’s my way of promoting the instrument to the world.”  In addition, Philmore is preparing for Tobago Jazz, Notting Hill Panorama in London, a Mother’s Day show in Toronto, Canada, and arranging for Sound Specialists and Fonclaire for Point Fortin Borough Day.

“While I’m thankful for the rest, I’m always willing to represent and promote the red, white and black when it comes to pan.  I’m always ready for national duty.”

Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove, reigning National Panorama champion in the conventional category large. PHOTO: SEAN NERO

The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra has joined the cast of energetic performers at Pan Trinbago Northern Region’s “1-2-3-Plus” concert series which begins tonight (April 5). Showtime is 8pm.

Venue is the Damien Street, Woodbrook, panyard of reigning National Panorama Champion Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove.

Defence Force, the first runner up in this year’s National Panorama Single Pan category has been added to the cast along with Sapophonics Steel Orchestra.

These bands will replace Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars and Laventille Serenaders which were previously advertised.

Other steel orchestras performing at the Northern Region initiative are Phase 11 Pan Groove and runner-up BP Renegades. When these steelbands take their respite, DJ Cutting Crew will keep the entertainment going.

Tickets cost $40 per person and $60 for couples.

Two other concerts under the “1-2-3-Plus” banner are planned for All Stars and Renegades pan theatres respectively.   The names of the participating bands and times will be announced at a later date.

This fund-raising concert series is the northern region drive towards self-sufficiency.