In Memoriam of James “Jimmy” Leyden - founder of Calliope′s Children Steel Orchestra
by Dr. Daniel Harrison
A When Steel Talks Exclusive
©2021 When Steel Talks. All rights reserved
...When I joined for the 1974–75 school year, Jimmy was rehearsing material for the LP that the band would record over Thanksgiving weekend. These numbers became the backbone of our set list for the next two years. Though I was getting proficient on my part, and knew the most recent arrangements, I wasn’t ready for the recording studio, and thus didn’t play on the record. When time came to supply a photo for the album cover, however, I and some other new members were included, which was a generous gesture from Jimmy. I’m on the far right, hand on a bass, smiling in spite of my moody adolescent self. By that time, I had learned all the tunes on the new six-drum basses that Jimmy had commissioned from Ellie. I closed these around me in a complete circle, which created opportunities for flashy spin moves and behind-the-back strokes that always enchanted audiences. I was having a wonderful time!
Photo for Calliope′s Children Steel Orchestra′s album cover. Daniel Harrison is on the far right, hand on a bass, smiling. Image source: Jimmy Leyden/FB page
Jimmy’s musical taste was so wide ranging and his arrangements so compelling that I became a devoted if awkward student of his musicianship. He had a great ear that let him accurately notate tunes and charts off recordings after a few hearings, and his music manuscript was beautiful—and therefore easy to sightread! I was in particular awe of his transcriptions of two road marches, Starlift’s “Queen of the Bands” and Harmonites’s “Play Mas’”, which had been put on record by the National Geographic Society during Panorama 1971.2 The rhythmic nuances displayed by those two champion bands were amazing, and although Jimmy simplified some of the figuration here and there, we got the idea. Simply put, he opened the ears of an unlikely (but very receptive) bunch of white kids in suburban US to styles and repertories from all over the world....
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