LADIES and GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY -- I finally have EVIDENCE of a REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE of a STEELBAND PLAYING A CALYPSO IN CALYPSO ...

As a CALYPSO LOVER, I will tell allyuh about a CALYPSO EXPERIENCE I had. The irony was that THE BAND was not really playing a CALYPSO -- it was PLAYING A POP STANDARD IN CALYPSO ... which is ALL THE SAME TO ME ... because I LOVE ANY VARIATION of HARDCORE CALYPSO.

But some time in the LATER SIXTIES I was in TOWN very late on a CARNIVAL TUESDAY NIGHT squeezing out the LAST JUICE out of the CARNIVAL. And it was REAL LAS LAP around 11:30 at night or so. And I ran into DUTCHY BROTHERS playing "STORMY WEATHER" fully knowing that THE CROWD wanted the HIGHEST HEIGHTS as the CARNIVAL ENDED.

And I am telling you that I have NEVER HEARD no CALYPSO JAM in MY LIFE as that LIVE BLAST from THAT BAND.

I stood back some and watched the CROWD try to TOUCH THE SKY as the CALYPSO INTERPRETATION ROCKED MY SOUL. I had just come back to TRINIDAD from living somewhere outside (I can't quite remember) ... but that was my ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE in "CALYPSO MUSIC" and THE CULTURE OF TRINIDAD.

This is the RECORDED VERSION of THE SONG -- but I can assure you that what they did that night was 20 TIMES MORE CALYPSO than THIS RECORDING.

Listening to EBONY STEELBAND play this SONG took me back to SILVER STARS STEELBAND and THE SIXTIES and all the FETES I attended with THEM JAMMING CALYPSO -- IN CALYPSO!!!

I just listened to THIS PAN RECORDING about 5 TIMES IN A ROW -- which is like a MIRACLE FOR ME. But I could swear that in TWO SECTIONS of the SONG I heard a little bit of JUNIOR POUCHET styling ... except that this ARRANGER is much more musically polished than JUNIOR POUCHET was (and I don't know who the ARRANGER IS, eh). And that is to be expected SO MANY DECADES LATER.

This recording is 5 minutes long -- without an INTRODUCTION and a GOOD BREAKDOWN and a JUMP UP AND WAVE ENDING (or should I say A MILLION DOLLAR WINE ENDING) ... leaving the audience CALLING FOR MORE ... which could make up the missing 3 minutes of a PANORAMA ARRANGEMENT ... IMAGINE 125 PLAYERS on stage JAMMING THAT!!!

Ah going and give them ONE MORE LISTEN -- that might just be the SWEETEST PIECE OF PAN MUSIC I have heard in DECADES!!!

Yuh think that ALEXICA could come and tell me that SHE EH HEAR the ORIGINAL SONG (CALYPSO) in that ARRANGEMENT for AH WHOLE FOUR MINUTES -- YUH MAAAADDD OH MEH LAARRD OHHHH!!!

Replies

Claude Gonzales March 9, 2020 at 2:27am

As a CALYPSO LOVER, I will tell allyuh about a CALYPSO EXPERIENCE I had. The irony was that THE BAND was not really playing a CALYPSO -- it was PLAYING A POP STANDARD IN CALYPSO ... which is ALL THE SAME TO ME ... because I LOVE ANY VARIATION of HARDCORE CALYPSO.

But some time in the LATER SIXTIES I was in TOWN very late on a CARNIVAL TUESDAY NIGHT squeezing out the LAST JUICE out of the CARNIVAL. And it was REAL LAS LAP around 11:30 at night or so. And I ran into DUTCHY BROTHERS playing "STORMY WEATHER" fully knowing that THE CROWD wanted the HIGHEST HEIGHTS as the CARNIVAL ENDED.

And I am telling you that I have NEVER HEARD no CALYPSO JAM in MY LIFE as that LIVE BLAST from THAT BAND.

I stood back some and watched the CROWD try to TOUCH THE SKY as the CALYPSO INTERPRETATION ROCKED MY SOUL. I had just come back to TRINIDAD from living somewhere outside (I can't quite remember) ... but that was my ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE in "CALYPSO MUSIC" and THE CULTURE OF TRINIDAD.

This is the RECORDED VERSION of THE SONG -- but I can assure you that what they did that night was 20 TIMES MORE CALYPSO than THIS RECORDING.
Listening to EBONY STEELBAND play this SONG took me back to SILVER STARS STEELBAND and THE SIXTIES and all the FETES I attended with THEM JAMMING CALYPSO -- IN CALYPSO!!!
Claude Gonzales March 9, 2020 at 12:43am

I just listened to THIS PAN RECORDING about 5 TIMES IN A ROW -- which is like a MIRACLE FOR ME. But I could swear that in TWO SECTIONS of the SONG I heard a little bit of JUNIOR POUCHET styling ... except that this ARRANGER is much more musically polished than JUNIOR POUCHET was (and I don't know who the ARRANGER IS, eh). And that is to be expected SO MANY DECADES LATER.

This recording is 5 minutes long -- without an INTRODUCTION and a GOOD BREAKDOWN and a JUMP UP AND WAVE ENDING (or should I say A MILLION DOLLAR WINE ENDING) ... leaving the audience CALLING FOR MORE ... which could make up the missing 3 minutes of a PANORAMA ARRANGEMENT ... IMAGINE 125 PLAYERS on stage JAMMING THAT!!!

Ah going and give them ONE MORE LISTEN -- that might just be the SWEETEST PIECE OF PAN MUSIC I have heard in DECADES!!!

Yuh think that ALEXICA could come and tell me that SHE EH HEAR the ORIGINAL SONG (CALYPSO) in that ARRANGEMENT for AH WHOLE FOUR MINUTES -- YUH MAAAADDD OH MEH LAARRD OHHHH!!!

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