One of the greatest unsung contributors to Caribbean music is pan and reggae pioneer, the late Mr Nerlin Taitt from San Fernando.
An outstanding pan player who also did some tuning, he was the winning soloist in the island wide ping pong (tenor pan ) competition of 1956.
He was also an outstanding guitarist and band leader in Trinidad, playing with the Dutchy Brothers Orchestra and fronting his own band, the Nerlin Taitt Orchestra.
Stranded in Jamaica after an unsuccessful tour in the early 1960s, he remained there to become one of the founders of the new beat "rock steady" which evolved into reggae.
This link is to an article from tallawah.com, which celebrates the life and accomplishments of this Trinidadian who was an outstanding panist, and one of the most important contributors to the development of reggae music.
http://tallawah.com/articles-reviews/lynn-taitt/
Nerlin (Nearlin) "Lynn" Taitt died on January 20th, 2010. Here is a link to Mr Taitt's obituary in the UK Guardian .
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/feb/10/nearlin-lynn-taitt-obituary
