Jimi Phillip: The man with the hammer

Guardian - Joel Julien

In 1970 Phillip said pan tuner Wallace Austin came to Chaguanas and he was taken under the wings of the "top tuner". "Austin came Chaguanas to tune for a band and he wanted people to work with him so I went and I hooked up with him and I already knew how to sink so I just had to improve, so I became his right-hand man," Phillip said.

Austin, who last tuned pans for Ex­odus, died last month and his funeral was held a week ago. After being trained by Austin, Phillip started making pans.

"By trying to learn to fix my pan I started making pans. And in making them one wouldn't come out good so I tried to make a next one and I tried to make it better and tried to improve, and then a friend came and asked me to make a pan for him and I did, and then I made another one and then I got professional and it became like a job and I never wanted to be that," Phillip said....

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  • glad to know this history

  • Jimi I believe that Tenor pan you have without the skirt is money in the bank. T&T people watch what this Brother did and lets see how we can make it better and sell it. NO fight down.

  • Keep up the good work Jimi.

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