Martin, Andrew Richard

2011-06

The American steel band story is one of migration and the appropriation of the national instrument of Trinidad by and for the cultural dominance of America. Moreover, despite its humble beginnings the steel pan has slowly positioned itself to thrive in the United States.

The following study parses out the development of steel pan in America into sections that include an analysis of early steel band influences within Cold War American popular music, the 1950s calypso craze, the New York Carnival scene, Pete Seeger and steel pan as American folk music, the United States Navy Steel Band, early examples of steel band success in academia, steel band's attempt to find a voice and identity within the American popular and commercial music landscape, several individual case studies, and current trends. Despite its unique nature, the steel pan has experienced a fate similar to many other non-western folk instruments; it has been integrated, appropriated, and modified by American practitioners into an entirely new and musical genre, increasingly different in style and character from its Trinidadian roots.

The present study further explores the social and artistic phenomenon of steel pan in America and its development over time. The development of steel pan in America is a serious art movement in both social identity and artistic development, and it is my aim to illustrate the motives that propel the scene. Accordingly, every attempt will be made to explore, locate, and provide a historical analysis of the first appearance of steel band music in the United States, drawing links between institutional locations (military bands, school and university programs, recordings/record labels, and more) and regional sites (Harlem, Brooklyn, Dekalb, Illinois) whenever possible.

Other avenues of research considered include American steel band's historical links to conflicts with other Trinidadian musical genres (calypso and soca) and black diasporic, and (white) mainstream postwar cultural practices in the United States. Under discussion, too, is the global impact of the American steel band, the historical impact of American popular music on steel band music, cultural appropriation, transvaluation, and remade traditions such as the Brooklyn Carnival and J'ouvert tradition.

http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/112688

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  • Focus on this.It has been integrated,appropriated,and modified by american practitioners into an entirely new and musical genre,increasingly different in style and character from its Trinidadian roots.If this does'nt get the attention of anyone in T&T then i know its the begining of the end of pan in T&T as we know it.

  • Trinidad&Tobago BEWARE i said before and i will say it again pan is in grave danger of becoming a creation of someone other than trinidadian or tobagonian.

    • Cedric: Where the hell have you been? But yuh is good looking fellah, boy.

  • Chapter 5

    Early Steel Band Developments in the American University

    In the June 27, 1999 Chicago-land edition of the Chicago Tribune, noted arts critic Howard Reich was charged with reviewing a recent concerto performance by steel pan virtuoso Liam Teague and the Chicago Sinfonia de Camera. The performance was one of the first steel pan concerto performances with a notable American orchestra, and the review was mixed as Reich took issue with some aspects of the performance. The ability of Reich‘s prose to encapsulate the novelty of the instrument and identify the audience‘s preconceptions surrounding the steel pan make this review an important testimony to the development of steel pan in America. This is nowhere more evident than in the headline for the review which read ―Steel Pan Alley: To become a virtuoso on the steel drum, Liam Teague had to leave his native Trinidad to study in—where else?—Dekalb. As I will discuss in later chapters of this study, the typical imagery conjured through steel pan music is of tropical islands and cruise ships; certainly not the flat corn fields of Dekalb, Illinois. In this sense, Reich‘s review locates one of the central ironies of steel drum education in which regional geographic sites such as Illinois are hotbeds of pedagogical activity whereas Trinidad is lagging behind. Moreover, considering that one of Trinidad‘s most prominent virtuosic steel pan heroes (Liam Teague) is a product of American steel band training, the notion held by many Trinidadians that steel pan belongs to one place, people, and culture is under fire. It is logical to assume that one must travel to Trinidad, the birthplace of the steel band, in order to learn the instrument and culture of its people. However, Reich‘s review muses that, although it‘s logical to think Trinidad in this situation, perhaps one would be better advised to traverse the corn fields of northwest Illinois in search of steel pan knowledge and training.

    How did Northern Illinois University become an international hotbed for steel pan education? Dekalb and Port of Spain are approximately 2700 miles, and several large bodies of water, apart, yet they share an affinity for the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. The present state of steel pan education in primary schools, secondary schools, and university steel pan programs forms a thriving and robust scene: the strongest and most active climate in the steel pan‘s sixty year history in America. In the past two decades, steel drum ensembles have become increasingly popular additions to school curricula throughout the United States. The open arms of American universities, though initially on a very small scale, proved a receptive outlet for steel band activity following the implosion of the calypso craze and waning public interest in exotica during the late 1950s. Like the vibrant folk music revival of the 1960s, contemporary steel pan ensembles were received warmly at college and university campuses across the country during this time. Moreover, there are numerous accounts of touring Trinidadian steel bands (the Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band, the Trinidad National Steel Band of 1964, and the Renegades Steel Band for example) visiting American universities and performing concerts for the student body or at multicultural festivals.

    http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/112688

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