I may be late with this news, but I was just informed on the passing of Sheldon....this means we have lost another great one...so many from the homeland are leaving. Sheldon was a very young man in his 30's. Many would know of him winning the Ex Temp
My sincerest condolences to Alvin Daniell, and the rest of the Daniell/Cudjoe family in this time of our loss. Dianne Daniell nee Cudjoe, was one of a kind, and I will always remember her hospitality whenever I used to visit their home, which at one
Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.- The steelband fraternity yesterday came out to the St Finbar's RC Church in Morne Coco Road, Diego Martin, to bid farewell to founding member of the Silver Stars Steel OrchestraJunior Edgar Francis Pouchet.
Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Desperadoes wasn’t at the finals on Panorama night, in part because the average fan could have hardly recognized the personality of the band, though 42-year tenor player Ursula Tudor stood out as usual.
Santiago de Cuba - A steel band will play the “Ave María” for Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, this Tuesday, March 27.
The “Steel band” composed by 14 amateur musicians is one of the most impo
Recently, a call came in – someone was looking for a steel drum player for a local gig, and was referred to this one “working panman" from Trinidad; a Florida resident, and one of Boogsie's "crackshot" tenor pan players for Phase II. Negotiations wer
Some say that given pan music’s relative newness, which makes ongoing exploration in the tuning area a foregone conclusion, any move toward standardized instruments would be premature. For others, such talk jus
Music from the Ebony Steel Band laces its way around this fine revival of Errol John’s play. At first, it sounds joyous but, with repetition, you hear the melancholy in it. And so it is with John’s p
Florida, USA - She is one of the world's foremost experts, educators and promoters of the steelpan instrument. Her name is synonymous with inspiring and guiding young musicians to achievement, greatness and academic excellence. When Steel Talks
Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.- She is one of the world's foremost experts, educators and promoters of the steelpan instrument. Her name is synonymous with inspiring and guiding young musicians to achievement, greatnRead more…
...Maybe that is one of the reasons why they no longer command capacity audiences, with the North Stand just over half-full last Saturday night, when the first big band didn't come on stage until a
New York, USA - Over the February 11-12, 2012 weekend, New York University hosted the 4th annual PAS (Percussive Arts Society)-KoSA (KoSA International Percussion Workshops)-NYU Weekend of Percussion at the University’s Frederick Loewe Theater. The e
Sometimes we try too hard to convince folks where we're coming from about this or that matter. A case in point being the recent appearance of Mitt Romney before a conservative gathering in Washington,
Last year I made my first pilgrimage to the Mecca of Pan and had the opportunity to write about my experiences over the two month period I spent in Trinidad and my first Panorama. Since returning home I longed to retur
I HAVE been nursing a not-so-quiet anger since last Sunday's Panorama Semi-finals, and no, it has nothing to do with Despers being omitted from the finals, although I feel "a how" about that. I have asked fellow pa
I’m not pointing any fingers nor am I taking sides; I just think that a serious conversation has to be had among stakeholders about the type of competition we want the panorama to be. Is it about music? Is it about jam? I have no beef with whicheve
For the last few years, I have been very disappointed with the panorama judging. This leads me to ask:"WHO'S JUDGING THE JUDGES?" As the music has evolved and improved every year, the judging seems to be the same old biases and personal preferences