Blog 2.0

ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 1

WITCO Desperadoes’ arranger Andre White, 21, speaks with Dalton Narine
about a few of his competitors in the 2012 Panorama

Sunday January 15:

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I visited the Renegades pan yard when I first came [from New York] to Trinidad at 15. It was an exciting moment. I didn’t know it was like that, hearing it live. It was a clear, full sound. I’ve always admired Jit Samaroo, from the Panorama videos I saw of the band. He brought more excitement than I can remember. A roller-coaster ride is the best way to describe his music.


Each arranger has a distinctive sound. For example, I’m impressed by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe’s motivic development. It’s more unconventional, even with him soloing. He turned me on to jazz and bebop lines when I played with Phase II in 2007. The pan yard was an atmosphere of pure vibes, which carried you away like ecstasy. It was a natural high.

When I think of Leon “Smooth” Edwards, Trinidad All Stars’ arranger, the image is of him commanding the band with attention and respect. I met him in 2009. I saw the discipline up close. He stays consistent within himself. He’s true to himself.

I know the history of Desperadoes and its arrangers. What I learned from Clive Bradley was how he structured his harmonies and the way he orchestrated the music. Bradley made people dance. And feel sad. He did what he wanted. He paved the way for the art form along with Jit, Boogsie, Smooth and others in the Panorama. I distinctly remember his lines in In My House, Mind Yuh Business and Picture on My Wall. But Horn is a special song to me. He took a three-note ostinato (a motif or phrase that is persistently repeated at the same pitch) and manipulated it through the whole eight minutes of the Panorama song. When he changed harmonies the bass line went with him. Like a horn thing in a kinda way. He actually had you chipping to three notes.

I’ve got to put Edwin Pouchet of Silver Stars up there, too. He changed the game as far as the entertainment aspect of the competition. Kept you entertained all through his band’s performance. Yes, he pushed it in that direction. Others may have done it, too, but he pushed it in a different direction.

After I put down the first song for the band, Pan in We Soul by Johnny King, I was satisfied with the quality of the sound. It’s Despers, you know. Later, I overhead a player telling another that the band’s in good hands with the young fella. “He know what he’s doing.” It was my first day (six days ago). You know, Rudolph Charles was the ideal manager. He treated the community with respect and he got respect. I have to draw a line in the pan yard. I don’t push my weight around. I’m not the one playing. So I have to show them respect. It’s a give and take. It’s not necessary to be leading to be a leader.

Auntie Jean (of ADLIB) worries about my diet in Trinidad. I don’t eat meat or dairy products. But I’m good and I’m up to the challenge of taking the band where it wants to go.

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ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 2

WITCO Desperadoes’ Arranger Andre White speaks with Dalton Narine

Wednesday January 18:

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A few days ago, I started laying down the music for our Panorama song, Prophet of Pan, and already we've got five and a half minutes of the 8-minute performance humming on Cadiz Road.


Visitors to the pan yard even dance along to the piece. A good sign because my intention is to touch people with ecstasy.

Auntie Jean can sleep well because I eat well and feel good about my daily experience here.

My day begins about 2 p.m., when I’m putting down music for the day crew. They admire how well I fit in with the band. My style - the approach I take with the music - has brought feedback from the band's elders, too. All positive vibes. They embrace the work, and it’s a love so far.

Expectations are high. Everybody wants to compare me to the band’s pioneers. With Bradley, for example. That’s their guy. Bradley’s a big influence on me. But I cannot be Bradley. Just as I cannot work with other arrangers. The last time I did that our band came in 10^th.

Could you wake up in the night and share your dream with someone? You could describe it. But two people will never have the same story - or the same dream, for that matter. But all of that had been pre-arranged with management before the season started, and I’m happy about the resolution.

Just as I’m pleased about the way things have been going during our nightly practice sessions. Last week, we had a small side, about 20 players, and this week we’re up to 80 to 90 musicians. More and more are floating in, some from New York and London (ADLIB and Mangrove, mostly). So we'll have our complement of 120, maybe exceed that. But management says only the best will play.

No road music as yet. Perhaps after the preliminaries. And as for the Bomb [tune], that’s already been arranged by Andre Robley.

My focus is on the Panorama music. Incidentally, I’m arranging for Sforzata, also.

_____________________________________________________

ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 3

WITCO Desperadoes’ Arranger Andre White speaks with Dalton Narine

Wednesday January 25

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We’re getting there, coming close to the end of Prophet of Pan. We should wrap it by tonight or early tomorrow. I’ll put down the introduction by Friday.

The vibes in the pan yard are real nice. Guys who have been Despers players for many years are real excited. And that moves me.

The song is a good choice by management, considering my first encounter with the band. It’s a perfect start-off for a marriage.

Regarding my creative process, in the beginning, I wasn’t getting enough of me in the sound. Now, I get the right approach. The band may sound like Despers, but it really sounds like Andre White with Despers. So, in a word, the creative process is feelings. I’m painting a picture. It’s the image of what the song portrays. I’m trying to create a story.

But not in the sense of the lyrics per se. The harmonic process is creating the story for me.

The yard is packed every night. The people of Belmont are so supportive. And supporters from Laventille, too. Supporters from everywhere, they all crowd the yard. It’s difficult for spectators to get parking, especially around 10:30-11 p.m. when I return from a three-hour session at Sforzata. Even though I’m in the Despers yard from 11 a.m., the day is really not a strain.

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ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 4

Re: WITCO Desperadoes and arranger Andre White: by Dalton Narine

Tuesday January 31

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Note: Andre White is resting today following Desperadoes’ performance for the Panorama judges last night (Monday, Jan. 30) in the pan yard at Cadiz Road, Belmont, which looks out to the Savannah. The event was mostly a head count of band members and cryptic comments by the adjudicators. I spoke with Kirt Gordon, captain of Desperadoes, who has a symbiotic relationship with Andre White, having championed the appointment of White along with a nine-member committee that oversaw the search for a new arranger for the band in November 2011. Here’s Capt. Gordon’s blog about the band’s performance of its Panorama selection, Prophet of Pan.

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The judges praised Desperadoes’ introduction, but thought the jam was a trifle long. Overall, it was a great performance.

The yard was the most crowded in years. The people (and the judges) put full attention on Andre and Desperadoes.

Our intention is to win the semifinals on Sunday. We plan to keep the vibes going to get to the top. The adrenaline is pumping and we’re looking for a jump start in terms of points when the gate opens. Music from the get-go, without let up.

The arrangement is new. Sounds new. Fresh. Andre knows our style. He did a good job, which would account for success in the semis.

We have no fear. The crowd is back. Desperadoes is back.

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ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 5

WITCO Desperadoes’ Arranger Andre White talks to Dalton Narine

Sunday February 5

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When you hear Prophet of Pan on the stage tonight, the arrangement should come across as what I would sound like with a great band such as Desperadoes.

[A man sipping from a beverage interrupts, intent on making plans to resume a conversation they had together earlier. Another walks up to tell how him how grateful the band is to have him play such wonderful lines - the ecstasy that abounds in Laventille over the vibes he’s brought to the band. White is gracious to the fan, acknowledging his “feelings.”]

Is it difficult to put together music where the chorus is kind of a jam? I’ve never come across a song that’s difficult to work with. As long as the song has a motif to take the sound through phases, moods, emotions. For example, I didn’t emphasize the Prophet of Pan as Boogsie, though as the subject he is a prophet in his own right. The story is not to reframe him as a great artist - rather, it’s about the trials and tribulations of his art and what it takes to produce great stuff.

In a sense, I have a picture of any musical giant. The prophet I was thinking about was [deceased jazz trumpeter] Miles Davis.

As you see, I’m having a great experience. Who doesn’t want to hear their music with Desperadoes? But I’m not starstruck. It’s almost as if I was SUPPOSED to be here. This is family. It’s great to interact with members of the band, elders and all. Very nice to get to know them. They respect you. You respect them. And once they accept you, it seems you’re in this thing for life. A Desper.

The plan is always to win.

_____________________________________________________

ANDRE WHITE

BLOG 6

WITCO Desperadoes’ Arranger Andre White talks to Dalton Narine

Tuesday February 7

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I was in the pan yard when the decision reached me from across the Savannah through the PA system.

It shocked me. It shocked a lot of pan people in Trinidad and Tobago.

I refuse to sell myself short of what I know is real music.

I did what I was accustomed doing, but with Desperadoes behind it. That song is embedded in Desperadoes.

For those of you who stood with me and had my back over the past few weeks, I thank you for your support.

Again, I'm grateful for your comments.

Andre.

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American pannist and composer Andy Narell is an iconoclast who fearlessly challenges the narrow definitions of acceptable pan music. He is global, and his usefulness as an ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument is tainted by suspicion long held by panmen and the steel pan fraternity in general here. It may be an attitude of his own making. Long held beliefs are hard to dispel with logic. Pan pioneer Rudolf "Fish Eye" Ollivierre welcomed itinerant writer Patrick Leigh Fermor back in the late 1940s to Hell Yard, as described in his travel book The Traveller's Tree—"The ease of his manner was admirable"—implying a sense of awe and acceptance we have nurtured over the years in this region for "tourists." Narell has long ago stopped being a tourist. The cri de coeur of a Trinidad-resident critic sums up the native posture towards Narell:

He is one of us and thus, prone to the same criticisms and praise as the rest of us. He is critical of our music, our Panorama and we react without obsequiousness. And rightly so, for that is the Caribbean posture, effectively practised by the panman forever; never back down from a challenge.

Andy Narell belongs to a pantheon of expatriate creatives who "belong" here in Trinidad and at the same time are aware of their difficulty of so belonging. Important regional authors were temporary immigrants to these shores in the mid- 20th century—Edgar Mittelholzer in 1941-48, George Lamming in 1946-50, Derek Walcott in 1959-76—and their presence and experiences added to the canon of great West Indian literature. Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain, and by extension, the island is a place frequented by those wanderers in search of inspiration and succour. It still is a moving place designed to shape memory and ways of feeling.

George Gershwin's symphonic tone poem, An American in Paris is the impression of a visitor—probably Gershwin himself recounting an earlier visit—moving through the city of lights. Andy Narell is an ideal template of An American in Paradise! The idea of an expatriate musician in a foreign land and his potential influence on the music industry formed a question in the writer's head: "would an American in Trinidad energise a jazz (pan jazz?) renaissance in Trinidad, or would it foster competitive jealousy?" The answer could be gleaned from the Narell narrative.

Narell's initial visit was as a 12 year old child to perform at the 1966 Trinidad Music Festival. That life-changing experience introduced him to the panyards and the pioneers, especially Ellie Mannette, and served as the education of this lifelong student of the steel pan and the steelband movement. His annual pilgrimage to the source has been unceasing since 1985. His encyclopaedic knowledge of panmen, the music and the environment of pan suggests that he has done his work, and his global journeys in the service of spreading the sound of pan and his music are not matched by many.

Trinidad-born Nobel laureate in literature, VS Naipaul posits poetically in A Writer's People: "small places with simple economies bred small people with simple destinies." Narell, the American, sees the world differently. He recounted that when he first did a concert in Trinidad in 1985, it was billed as a shoot-out, a competition. The promoters thought that would pique interest. The implication of race and nationality was an unspoken catalyst. That idea was whispered loudly!

The apprehension by Trinidad and Tobago to fully adopt this ambassador of steel pan jazz has been noticeably clear. French film maker Laurent Lichtenstein, in his portrait of Narell filmed in Trinidad in 2009, Andy and the Jumbies, asserts that his presence and concert "may help him to be accepted as a real Trinidadian." Narell himself has noted to writer Asha Brodie in 2007 that he wasn't everybody's cup of tea: "I guess I also have a reputation for being 'avant-garde' and for not caring about who wins [Panorama], which is why my phone isn't ringing." That isolation could either be the result of xenophobia or artificial rage. "Small people with simple destinies."

His presence has not swayed the minds of dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists. The years-long struggle for the privilege to compose for Panorama was an exercise in the fleshing out of de facto prejudices that disallowed foreigners from composing or even arranging for the competition, much less a tune without lyrics. Triumphant in 1999 in breaching the divide, Narell was once again in Trinidad arranging his composition "The Last Word" for Birdsong Steel Orchestra for the 2013 Panorama competition. This is his third competition, and controversial to the end, judges and commentators noted that the tune doesn't "reflect Trinidad's energy or language!" Champion steelband Despers' arranger Beverley Griffith noted in a conversation with ethnomusicologist Shannon Dudley: "Excitement is one of the key things in today's Panorama; you hear that on every judge's score sheet: 'It could do with a little more excitement.' They wouldn't tell you exactly what it is..." De facto prejudices and de jure standards are continuing challenges to Narell.

A narrow focus on ensemble music for pan can limit the Trinidadian's need to accommodate him. He is more than an arranger. It is not without trying that he succeeded to place the instrument in the context of global music industry via prolific recorded output, sales and performances. According to his bio:

He's one of only a small handful of steel pan players in the world who are playing jazz, and perhaps the only one among that coterie to commit an entire career "live and in the studio" to creating new music for the pan in that context.

The intersection of location and presence can yield surprising results on music output. Narell was categorized by the music industry in the US—sheet music publishers and reviewers of his initial Heads Up recordings—as a Latin Jazz artist, even if not so self-described, thus negating the growing influence that the music of the Caribbean isles had on his growing canon of music. His effortless movement and adaptation of Latin American melodies and rhythms including his work with Caribbean Jazz Project and on the album Behind The Bridge in the mid-to- late 1990s signalled new directions in music.

In 1999, he reaped the benefit of post-apartheid South Africa's adulation of him and his music at the Arts Alive Festival, with 60,000 fans "singing" his lyric-less steel pan melodies. The juxtaposition of an Afro-Caribbean bred instrument in Africa led to recordings there. Later relocation to Paris and meeting with exiled French-Antillean jazzmen there led to the formation of Sakesho and the resultant two CDs. The corpus of Trinidadian steel pan music allows space for this maverick.

Narell, the frequent visitor—in 2013, he performed at the annual Jazz Artists on the Greens in Trinidad in March, Jazz in the South in St Lucia in May, and St Kitts Music Festival in June—if not the fortunate traveller has created music that to the local ear resonates with the sound and energy of calypso and the harmonic and melodic sentiments of the Panorama compositions of calypso legend Lord Kitchener, and steel pan players/arrangers Ray Holman, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Robert Greenidge, among others. This town—Port of Spain, paradise—has rubbed off on him. He belongs to Trinidad.

Photo Credit
Ari Rossner

members,can you name the big steel orchestra that played one tune at panorama, then after the semifinals played a different tune for the finals. i know one band that did it, do you know or remember any steel  band doing that ?.     

It is a shame that a big band like Skiffle Bunch cannot produce some young Trinidad Arrangers from their sponsored band. You have over a hundred players every year and the question is. Why can't you train some of them in music and arrangements? By importing Foreign Born Arrangers just to win a Panorama shows bad management and a lack of shame and a slap in our country's education abilities. There is no excuse for your Band's decision. Stalin, Merchant and Relator knew this from their past songs. Pan in Danger and we are importing our own culture. Imagine some of these Band Managers do not have the common sense to see that pretty soon we will be importing our own culture and it was started by these South Bands. Bands are using FOREIGN Tuners to make their pans and arrange in contrast to the fact that most of the drums comes from the South. Pan Trinbago and some other band officials fail to incorporate our Steel Pan technology by using our best Tuners to teach young and upcoming tuners. All they do is to wait until they are dead to give them a lot of stupid Speech. Check it out, we are running short of all the best TUNERS that was born in the WAR ERA. Right now you have TOP PAN TUNERS Without a WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE to sell their products.  Besides Gill's Pan Shop and two large shops. The TOP NAMED TUNERS DO NOT HAVE A SITE AND THEY ARE NOT EMPLOYED AND PAID TO TEACH THE ART BY ALL THE GOVERNING BODIES IN T&T.

They are getting paid to teach people out of the country and the so-called smart Trinidadians does not realize that they are not taking care of their own but walk about we are the smartest and the best. WAKE UP STEEL BANDS AND PAN TRINBAGO

I was recently at an event for the Borough Day celebrations in Point-Fortin.  There I witness the treatment of one of our foremost pan tuners; a Chaconia Medal receipient, being turned away at a Pan event. Now I understand that this event was sponsered by a private company, however Pan Trinbago was involved. His name was not on a list by the door, an oversight by the individual who invited him. There were officials from Pan Trinbago at the door and none could vouch for Mr. Kellman, who I am sure was humilliated by this action. A Pan compitition out front and most of the "invited guest" in the back partying, eating and drinking, while several of the performing bands, their instruments were made by guess who? Mr. Kellman. We are too small as a society to allow our icons to be treated this way. Dont wait untill they are no longer with us to give them their due, moments of silence, big shows of appriciation. They need to feel the love now, while they are still with us. Let us cherish and respect them for the contributions they have made and continue to make to put our country on the world stage. This has been said time and again, however I feel that it should  be said as many times as this sort of nonsense occur.

I just wanted to say farewell to Richard Mc David, engineer and pan stalwart.

Richard passed away and was cremated on November 5th, just a couple of weeks ago. Apart from his active involvement in the management of Renegades, Richard worked as a contractor for the Steelpan Initiatives Project and was the lead engineer for the G-Pans and the steelpan fabrication facility at Macoya. He was a member of the team that was awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal in 2008. He was a brilliant man!

The first picture posted below is one of just a few I have in my possession and shows myself, Richard (centre) and master tuner Roland Harrigin at Roland's tuning room in Belmont in December 2008.

Richard is the second member of the G-Pan team to have passed away - Keith Belle passed on last year. Keith was a keen metallurgist and an avid parandero.

The second picture shows Terry Crichlow (slightly hidden on the left), Richard at centre and Keith working on a G-Pan top with a jig they jointly fashioned in 2007. They all were members of the CARIRI steelpan research team of the early 1980s, a team that included Bertie Marshall, Anthony WIlliams, Keith Maynard and others.

Sadly their hopes of seeing the G-Pan to greater success never materialized.

May God bless their souls

On behalf of all conscious Pannists everywhere, I extend a heartfelt thank you, to Bro. Salah Wilson and those Pan Lovers around the world, who signed a petition in support of our struggles with the Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism to retain the One Thousand dollars as negotiated with the former regime, to which the Panorama players had become accustomed. Regardless of the outcome, I say thanks to all of you.

In Trinbago, the home of the Steel Pan, there is mischief afoot. Please allow me some space to tell my story.On the night of Feb. 9, 2011, just around 10:45PM the Southern Marines Steel Orchestra was outside their Pan Theatre rehearsing for Panorama 2011, as is the custom and practice for the near sixty years of this Steel Orchestra in the community of Marabella and with Panorama preliminaries just three days away two Police offi-cers, PC #13246 and WPC #17908 (information given by them) in Police vehicle # PCL 9796, came and informed a member of the leadership that the Steelband does not have permission to practice outside the yard, and they should stop playing the instruments immediately.

The members thought this had to be an early all fools trick, so they kept on playing. I came in time to see the driver reentering the vehicle. I indicated to him and the WPC at his side, that, maybe we should talk. He made a sign indicating that he was not hearing and drove off. Within half an hour a member came into the Pan yard to inform me that they were back, with reinforcement. When I came outside, I saw one other officer, making them three in number and they were trying to explain something to a member of our executive.I intervened by saying goodnight, who is the senior officer in charge here. The new comer identified himself as the one.

I invited him to walk into the Pan Palais where it was more appropriate to converse, seeing that the band was rehearsing outside. Inside the Palais, I asked him for his name to which he replied that he was Gar-raway #10886, and we were breaking the law by playing outside of the Pan yard, and we should stop.I gave him a brief history of the Steel band in the Community of Marabella, and in my sixty odd years in this community where I was born, this is the first time the police had made such a demand.

His reply was, we’ve been breaking the law all those years and somebody was afraid to tell us. (I must say at this point, that there was no hostility displayed at any time of our conversation).He went on to state that anytime we want to rehearse outside of the Pan yard, we must go to the station and make a request. (Southern Marines Steel Orchestra played at the opening ceremony of the said station). I, still in a taken aback mode, said that this is the strangest thing outside of the shooting of pannists in the Pan yard.Southern Marines always rehearses outside the yard the week leading up to Panorama/Carnival.

He went on to talk about the EMA and noise levels, and how somebody made a report, and the fact that he is from Point Fortin, and is nothing personal. There and then, I started to wonder if something was amiss. I started to recall the many sleepless nights full of fear and unease over the years that the people of Marabella have had to endure because of noise and chemicals in the atmosphere coming out of the Pointe-A-Pierre refinery.Only a few weeks ago, the whole Community was startled out of their slumber due to a loud noise coming from the refinery, that started around 11:30PM, and lasted till around 3:30AM.

The whole of Marabella was affected. Where was the EMA?But some young people, in a crime riddled community, coming together to play the National Instrument, in preparation for a National competition within the National Festival, suddenly become the target of the law en-forcers. Somebody please tell us what is really going down? Are we going back to the Good ole, Bad ole days?

There seems to be mischief afoot.Why after all these years of conflict and pain, blood sweat and tears, we still have to be defending our right to enjoy the beat of the DRUM…be it skin or steel? Why today, when the Steel Pan is now established all over the world, and those involved could make a career of it, some one or the other, is working over time, to frus-trate and turn the minds of those involved away from it?What is this mind game all about? If the early Pioneers did not give up so today we can enjoy the fruits of their struggles to preserve this god given instrument, who says that we in this generation are prepared to give up now.Pannists awake…somebody is stealing the soul of the nation before our very eyes.

Michael L Joseph {Bro. Scobie}

President

Southern Marines Steelband Foundation

(Sandra Blood writes on the humbling of Renegades)

 Renegades extends congratulations to the bands that are cited to perform at Panorama finals come Saturday 5^th February, while at the same time, thinks it fitting to addresses the unfortunate circumstance that skewed the judges ability to properly hear its rendition.

On Thursday February 10, five days before Panorama preliminaries, a feature “Renegades coming ready, deadly and lethal” graced pages B12 and B13, respectively, of the Guardian newspaper. On Sunday February 20, however, following their performance at the semi-finals, six adjudicators – Bernadette Roberts, Lennox London, Lambert Philip, Richard Pierre, Corinne Soo Ping Chow, and alternate judge, Damian Phillip – concluded that the band may have been lethal….but certainly not ready.

 This we know from their remarks and, clearly, from the points they awarded the band. 

How can five days prior to, in the preliminary leg of the competition, a tune appealed to judges, heard “clean and precise”, and on the internet as well, subsequently, further rehearsed and drilled to precision, and five days after at semi-finals, all fell down?

“Let’s hear it for band No.1 appearing in the large band category…bp Renegades,” declared the house announcer, readying the banner holders, followed by the Renegades players and supporters, and racks for the pans, to the sound of “How We Coming”, blasting from the house DJ.

Then the time to perform shortly came when a constant announcement soared through the air, requesting “the music in the North Stand to be stopped.” But no matter how repeatedly or forcefully the announcer urged, the music just continued.

A group of passionate people all warmed up, excited, confident and raring to go, to deliver a solid, acutely laid-down, well-rehearsed piece of music on a stage, where the “world governing body for pan” is hosting a prestigious competition, but they are subjected to getting cold and deflated, as the call to stop the North Stand music seems never-ending, and never heeded.

At that point, after a few minutes of the tiresome, irritating announcement, the now-confused performers-to-be, waiting in cue to take their bow, and the supporters and other spectators, have become uneasy and concerned, fully focusing on the northern side of the stage.

 Players who were facing the Grand Stand, turned around and faced the North Stand wondering whether or not the DJ over yonder wasn’t hearing the announcement, or if they weren’t seeing a band was ready to perform. Meanwhile, the spectators and supporters on the western end of the stage began shouting, drawing police presence.

 Some players were muttering: “But what is this, where d police across there to maintain order?” “Where d Pan Trinbago management team”? “It seems as though they want to frustrate us”!

The players—in their minds, and spirits – what is happening at this point in time?

We are in a quandary as to whether or not this beautiful masterpiece is ever going to be heard any time soon in the manner in which it was rehearsed – to precision.

You may have performed on a stage in the Panorama arena for over 30 years; you may have performed on TV, and to other types of audiences in many countries. No matter how frequently you do it, when the big Port of Spain Panorama moment comes, the ‘psyche’ is built up; the butterflies are tearing at the stomach, yet you remain focused on what is to be delivered and accomplished. But the environment must be reasonably conducive.

That is to say, you come with the understanding that the place of performance is ready to receive, hear, and see you. And where music is concerned, there must be no delays; relative peace and quiet, nothing seriously to disrupt your comfort level.

Should the listeners – including the adjudicators – have heard anything less than a perfect performance, how would they know it’s not a result of the ripple effect of the pre-performance commotion compounded by the constant flow of music in-between the performance? The disturbance of the mind and spirit caused by some audacious DJ/s, some selfish people who evidently lacked respect and discipline; some person or people who do not really care about the art form or what is happening on stage? People who had spent more than $300 just to come and “lime”?

What an insult to the performers, and integrity of the show by extension!

 Weren’t they aware a serious musical competition was in progress?

Clearly not, for they had secured position behind the stands--on “the greens”, oblivious to, or uncaring about, what’s transpiring in front of the massive stands.

Who is to be held accountable for the mental, spiritual and psychological disruption that caused Renegades’ demise pushing them to 13^th place? What do the relevant authorities have to say for the breach of integrity of their show? 

Other big bands encountered delays of their own doing as their supporters refused to clear the stage, but not delays as lengthy as that endured by Renegades’, and the inconsiderate playing of music was curtailed.

Taking what transpired, and all of the above into account, I think the honourable thing to do is to allow Renegades to be judged for the finals. For they have been dealt a blow undeserving to them, arising out of the blatant lack of regard of some patrons of the show…because Renegades is Ready!

Sandra L Blood played seven-bass with Renegades at Panorama semis, and played nine-bass over decades before.

Word has reached me that my expression of disappointment with the speed at which CAL Invaders delivered their rendition at the Oval Car Park at the Preliminaries for the Large Bands Category has hurt or even angered members of the Invaders fraternity.

I take this opportunity to unreservedly apologize for the negativity it has caused and to stress that there was absolutely no malice meant.

I remain

Yours respectfully

CHAIRMAN – NORTHERN REGION 

Dr. Anthony Achong Comments on; The ''PanART Hang Documentary: A Propaganda-Filled, Dissemination of Lies'' (Part 1) Posted by Rudy Kendall on July 3, 2016 and Reply posted by Michael Paschko.
 

I initially intended to email this piece only to Felix Rohner who first drew my attention to the WST blog posted by Rudy Kendall but because of its importance, and because my name was mentioned in one of the blogs that followed, in order to put the records straight and inform the readers, I now betray my oath of not using the Social Media. I don’t know Rudy Kendall. I also read the blog reply by Michael Paschko. I know him. These blogs and others posted on the topic, contain a number of errors and lots of nonsense!

When Rudy writes (in his blog) what is right and makes sense he tends to follow it with an equal amount of writings irrelevant to the issue at hand. Some of these irrelevant issues were first introduced by Rohner through his writings outside the blog. I don’t have time for what’s irrelevant even though some of them, from both side of the argument, upset me: like when Rohner writes about my people of Trinidad having “lost their roots.” Or when Rudy in writing about the vision recorded in the Book of Revelations, where St. John describes the hair of Jesus as white as wool and white as snow; Rudy Kendall changes this to “wooly hair,” something altogether different, in order to suit his own interest. Don’t you know you never attempt to alter the Word of God for any reason whatsoever? However, even though his style is clearly different from mine, I commend Rudy for his defense of our people’s culture, our history and our Pan. Likewise, Rohner must be commended for his contribution to the Pan particularly for his introduction of nitrided steel; not a new material but new to Pan.

There is another indirect contributor to the blog, the “narrator,” who, as reported by Rudy, states, ''The central place of the tuner is symbolic, if not divine. It is he who knows how to put the sound back into the drum.”

Achong replies: What meaning can one give to this compounded nonsense? Absolutely none! Maybe the narrator is making reference to the musical drum and the drum tuner. But I state categorically, the Pan (in any form, standard Steelpan or Hang) is not a drum. The phrase “to put the sound back into the drum” has no technical interpretation for there is no sound to “put back” into the drum, so it does appear that the “divine,” who can do the impossible, is being implicated here. Pan Tuners (including myself, and certainly the hundreds that I know or have met and spoken to) are neither “symbolic” nor “divine.” Whether or not the “narrator” singled someone out for divinity or has the power so to do, on this matter of divinity I leave this “narrator” in the hands of God! While the “narrator” remains there, one can only hope that God has mercy on him for his utterance “The world of music welcomes an entirely new musical instrument,” seeing that he cannot tell the difference between a drum and a Pan, not even the difference between what is new and what is not, and most importantly, the true identity of The Divine!

Michael Paschko makes an almost equal number of errors but some of them are quotations so it is not always entirely his fault. I only have time for one or two. Okay, three!

Paschko says (1): "The pan generated a completely different principle from that of the oil drums. What the real meaning of this sentence is, we will see below.”

Achong replies: Whatever meaning is given to this nonsensical statement, that meaning cannot be correct. There are real musical instruments called “Pan” but there is no musical instrument called the “oil drum.” “Different principles” therefore cannot arise. You cannot compare the two! Only in America (so I thought, until reading Paschko) do you hear Steelpans being referred to as “steel drums” or “oil drums”; these are “hangover” expressions from the visiting American Tourists to Trinidad in the 1950s and 1960s, drunken by excessive “rum and coca-cola.” But the more sober, native Trinidadians, who are better educated on Pan, don’t use those expressions.

Paschko, in writing of nitrided steel, goes on to further quote: “This was a completely different principle than using a steel drum as raw form. This lead us to initial acoustical examinations: How can this raw form be tuned? How does it sound? “

Achong replies: As I said before, there is no different or completely different principle! This rawform (nitrided steel) as all others that have been tried, aluminum, brass, stainless steel etc, is tuned in the same way as one tunes the Pans made from the traditional low-carbon steel drum rawform. They ALL operate under the same set of principles. No “new” geometry is required either. Not all metals are equally good however. The sound is NOT in the metal (a common mistake) but in the Dynamics. This common mistake of “sound in the metal” is often made by listeners who, on hearing the sounds of a properly prepared Pan, are so mystified that they attribute the beautiful tones to the metal. I have seen this mistake even among Pan Researchers. The Dynamics is the first secret I have revealed to you.

Paschko refers to my book “Secrets of the Steelpan” (indirectly through a review by Rohner) so he and readers of this blog should read this 1200-page book to find all the facts, all the secrets and the correct answers.

Paschko says (2): “The second was the idea of the hands on the sheet metal. Trinidad doesn't play the Pan with the hands. In the whole world people are seldom playing with the hands on iron or steel.”

Achong replies: This statement is factually and historically incorrect. Pan players in Trinidad, in the early days, first played Pans with their bare hands or wrapped their hands with cloth. I have seen it in the early days, as a boy, so I bare record! I can vividly call to mind an event of some 65 years ago, of a man carrying what today could be classified as a “Bass Pan” but in those days were called “Doo Doops” (for its sound), while “beating” the instrument with his left hand which was wrapped in white cloth. My memory on this is so clear that if that player were alive today, I would recognize him for he stared directly at me! I thank him for that experience which has helped to shape my fondness for the Pan! In Pan Practice, covering the hand with cloth is regarded as “bare hand.” In connection with these “early days” Rudy Kendall is right when he speaks about the early Pans being convex (upward) like the Hang. While all early Pans were not played with the bare hand, it is neither convenient nor expedient to play the concave (downward) Pan, as found today, with the bare hands. Bare hand playing restricts the musical range of the instrument to the lower registers. Read the Chapter on Stick-Note Impact in my Book to find out why! This is why the hand-playing Hang cannot go much higher than 9 notes. The restriction on musical range is not on how many notes you can physically place on the Pan surface but how many can actually be played and be heard either by playing by hand or with a stick. This is fundamental to all Pans whether you call them Pang, Ping, Hang, Handpan, Tenor, Cello, Double Seconds, Quadraphonic etc. (Please Read my Book.) As the early Trinidad Pan Makers extended the musical range of their Pans upward, they also introduced, because of the fundamental reason just given, cloth bound then rubber bound sticks of various sizes. In cultural shows in Trinidad, performers would often “bring back” the early Pans played with bare hands. Paschko has probably never played the notes (all on the lower registers) of a Pan Cello or Double Guitar with his thumbs! In Trinidad, Steelpan Tuners like me, do! We may not do this in concert but when tuning and while up close to the notes, quite often, since we know what to listen for, it gives us a better understanding of the tone and the behavior of the note surface.

The real problem here is that aural music and its appreciation are very subjective. If one wants to say that a modified timber creates a new instrument I would argue that it merely creates a different sound. When a trumpeter places a mute at the horn end of his trumpet, does that create a new instrument or just a different sound? The same holds with the violin when, with your fingers, you pluck rather than bow the strings. Plucking is like using the hand (thumb) on the Pan, while bowing is like using the stick on the Pan. Now you can blow a conch shell as a musical instrument. But when you stand on the seashore with the conch shell to your ear, does the rustling wind and the crashing waves combine with the shell to create a new instrument? It is subjective isn’t it!

Paschko says (3): “The third was the integration of the air resonance into the Hang sound. The Hang is a vessel. Understanding the interplay between the modes in the sheet metal and the Helmholtz resonance was one important aspect that drove…………Gubal, Hang Gudu and Hang Urgu.”

Achong replies: I don’t want to get mired in scientific or technical details here so I shall try to be short and simple on this one as well. “Modes in the sheet metal” is not a good technical term, but I shall allow it to pass (only in the blog). The use of acoustical (air) resonators on Pans, or its operation as a semi-enclosed vessel, is not new. They have been tried and discontinued on Pans in Trinidad many years ago and suggested for the ill-fated G–Pan more recently. The natural resonances of a given Helmholtz resonator in any shape or size cannot be made to agree with a contiguous list of notes on the musical scale not even with all the musically tuned modes found on the Hang. When the Hang is played, you may not always be listening to resonances between the notes and the Helmholtz (Hang) cavity! But if, on the Hang, you depend on Helmholtz resonances, assuming you tune to a key-note (which you must), then you lose the higher partials on that note (unless you are slack in your definition of partials). But then also, the other key-notes are in trouble because the cavity resonances do not all correspond to the musical scale not even over a small range! The key-note on the physical note itself to which the cavity is tuned, also suffers by its interaction with the Helmholtz resonance and by the loss of its higher partials. You end up with a compromise (not good in music). The Pans fabricated by Rohner are tuned with weak higher partials from the octave upward anyway (when compared to standard Trinidad made Pans) so this loss may not be seen as detrimental (this is the compromise) although, at the same time, you must further limit the musical range on the individual Gubal, Hang Gudu and Hang Urgu. Making modified Hangs with single notes will not solve the resonance problem; the compromise remains.

Treating the Hang-Helmholtz problem in the simple manner as above, is not fair to the Pan Makers/Tuners, so I need to be a little more technical (but I shall limit the level of technicality in this blog). The compromise I wrote about above is deeper than what it first appears to be! Once you allow the notes of a Pan (Hang, Tenor or whichever Pan) to interact too strongly with the resonant states of some other mechanical or acoustical resonator, the vibrational properties (frequencies and tonal structure for example) of the Pan notes are changed. Since the resonant frequencies of the two systems in question (Hang notes and Helmholtz cavity) are generally different and the intended mutual interaction is purely acoustical (through the air), and therefore weak and linear, there can be no interaction at all! In this case the “interplay” sought by Paschko, does not exist! What happens then, on hand or stick impact, is that the two systems are independently excited. You, at your ear and brain, are then simply combining and listening to, two simultaneous but independent sounds. If you proceed to match two of the frequencies, one on each system, so that the systems interact (“interplay"), then the simple explanation above suffices to explain the effect (for now). If, you now proceed to couple these two resonances too strongly, then the corresponding keynote and its associated upper partials on the excited note (only that note) are seriously affected even to the point of becoming untunable or of short truncated duration or both (this is a non-linear problem the details of which, are outside the scope of this blog but you can find it all in my papers of the 1990s onward and fully, in my book). Pan Tuners encountered this problem long ago but did not understand the problem. Their only recourse, the proper one, was to avoid those acoustical and mechanical resonators. Sadly, some more recent researchers are still unaware of this (maybe in my opinion, they are either stubborn or pretend to be, after being told) and try to include these resonances in their “inventions!” The result, “inventions” that do not and cannot work as proclaimed. Sometimes, only close examination can reveal the truth!” I am not asking anyone to close down their program; I am only giving advice against something that can prove to be costly and lacks room for further improvement (to the full satisfaction of musicians) or are unworkable in the long run. The ill-fated G-Pan mentioned earlier is a strong case in point. In addition to the resonance problem, there is more that has gone wrong with the G-Pan designs (read my book)!

With the Pan, what we call progress should not be the substitution of one compromise (or nuisance) for another compromise (or nuisance). Company policy should not be “who cares if it works or not so long as most people think it does!” As a Pan Scientist and advisor to The Steelpan Tuners Guild of Trinidad and Tobago, I cannot live with or tolerate such standards!

In order to be helpful to everyone concerned with this issue, I should make clear that the extent of the Helmholtz resonance problem is not too obvious on the present Hang precisely because of the hand-playing action which limits its musical range. If the range is extended upward and the Hang then played with proper sticks (hands would not do), the full problem would be revealed to the player and listener. The present Hang must be played directly with the hand or a matching soft, lossy, stick! There is another problem on the hand-playing Hang, that of Contact Noise, which only grows worse as you extend the musical range upward and play with the bare or covered hand. I shall not go into the details of this other problem here (by now readers should know where they can find the information).

If readers are waiting for me to say whether or not the Hang is just another Pan, well you can find it in my replies above if you haven’t already done so. But since it was Felix Rohner of PanART, who first drew me into this online discussion and asked for my opinion, being true to my profession, I categorically state the following: The Hang is a Steelpan (Pan) having limited musical range (low registers only) because of the chosen method of direct Hand Playing. Helmholtz cavity resonances are only partially employed but when fully employed, further restrict the musical range, even to the extreme limit of a single note. Resonances between the Pan notes and the Cavity will in all cases alter the tonality of all partials, even making the notes (as sets of musically related partials) untunable when the resonant interaction is made sufficiently strong. The strength of the coupling between note and cavity resonator, increases as the separation between the resonant frequencies of note and cavity is reduced i.e. as true resonance is more fully employed. For the sake of musical acceptance, compromises must therefore be made, precisely because of the use of the hand and the use of an attached resonator. Generally, because of the intrinsically non-linear mode of operation of the Pan (which I first proved some 30 years ago), resonant attachments will always adversely affect tonality. The case of the “loose chime” is well known to all Pan Makers! While it may appear attractive, to some, to incorporate resonators on the Pan, performance of truly pristine Pan Operation is always degraded. The physical properties of the hand (fingers and thumb) gives the Hang note impacts similar characteristics to that obtained when playing the Pan Cello with soft standard size sticks. The hand is a natural, personal item; therefore the tonal character of the Hang is player dependent.

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

CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY, FRIENDS, FANS AND RENEGADES STEEL ORCHESTRA ON THE PASSING OF DR. JIT SAMAROO, ON BEHALF OF DESPERADOES STEEL ORCHESTRA.

Now that the carnival is over, could anyone say when will be the election of officers for the Central Executive of Pan Trinbago.  I heard from a reliable source that PTB has appealed the decision of the court, in the two matters they lost.  Is it that the current executive  is prolonging their stay at the top with a lot of unnecessary legal fees, and are just making attorneys 'RICH' at the expense of panmen/women? Is it true that in one instance where they withdrew the matter with Mr. Keith Simpson and he won that matter out right, they are now appealing that same matter?

Could some one in the know please advise??

The matter of Casablanca Steel Orchestra not going forward to the semi-final round in the small band category was not only an issue of a couple points short of qualifying. While awaiting their turn to perform, the captain Allyson Poteon was informed by a Pan Trinbago official that the Dj had lost the copy of their tune which had to be played before the band’s performance (the tune of choice is played for all bands competing at every level of Panorama and the scores are given based on arrangement and interpretation of that tune).  Efforts to have the Dj retrieve the tune off of a digital device proved futile because the Dj’s USB cable had a short resulting in the inability to have it played for the judges and patrons. In addition, two minutes into their rendition of “Big Mama” composed and arranged by their vice president Michael A Gabriel; the band was stopped via the announcer when Pan Trinbago’s officials realized that one of their judges was in the restroom.   A video circulating on facebook shows the effect the interruption had on the players. 

This had never happened in the history of panorama save and except when Renegades was stopped because of the noise emanating from the north stand.  A written appeal was sent to Pan Trinbago’s head office but to no avail. It is indeed unfortunate that the band should fall to such ill fate after having put in their blood, sweat and tears into their preparations to appear and perform at the preliminary round of the competition.

The questions then arise; why wasn’t the scores of the alternate judge used rather than stop the band in full performance? Failing this, why wasn’t the band afforded the opportunity to proceed to the next round based on the destroyed morale and state of minds the players would have incurred because of the stoppage? Further, (based on the presumption that the judges did not hear the tune of choice) how did the judges score the band if they did not hear the entire tune of choice?

It is also hoped that this does not affect the bands opportunities for sponsorship whereby it may appear the problem was lack of preparation. Some members of the public are of the perception that the band faultered on stage when it was in fact the fault of Pan Trinbago’s officials.  

Global

PAN BUZZ AWARDS  2011

After much deliberation by our judges’ panel, and endless gulps of black coffee, it is my pleasure to present the Pan Buzz Awards 2011.  First let me thank all those who sent in nominations.

The judges’ decisions are final, and no injunction, cussing or bottle-pelting, will be entertained.

Pan Song of the Year:  It’s Showtime
Arranger of the Year:   Leon “Smooth” Edwards 

Top Ten Pan Songs

1. It’s Showtime -  Edwin Pouchet/Alvin Daniell

2. Pan For Peace -  Kygel Benjamin/Sheldon Reid

3. How We Coming -  Brian “Bean” Griffith/Alvin Daniel

4. Momentum -  Don Clarke/Alvin Daniell

5. Calling Meh - Mark Loquan/Ken Philmore

6. Zhess - Dexter Keane

7. Pan Badjohn - Earl Brooks/Kurt Allen

8. Alien Steelband - Dunstan “Carwash” Lawrence

9. Bamboo Man -  Alston Jack/Chris and Samantha Jack

10. Ruction -  Jason “Peanuts” Isaac

Allan Gervais Pan Heroes Award

No tribute is too great to pay to the Dixielanders, who this year celebrated 60 years of their ground-breaking trip to England. These defenders of the Pan went up against family and friends, putting their college education on the line for pan. They won acceptance for Pan... and panmen.  They are: Hady Lee, Curtis Pierre, Billy Carpenter, Joey Ng Wai, Mervyn Telfer, Miguel Barradas, Trevor Cumberbatch, Alfred Toussaint, Lennox Totesaut, Lennox Langton, Russel Valdez, Michael “Natsi” Constant, Angela Christopher and Sonny Blacks.
 

Other awardees are: Thunderbolt Williams, Sterling Betancourt, Barrie Nanton, Elton “Smokey” John, Cyril “Nick” Boxhill and Zigilee.

International Pan Heroes Award

Terry Noel, Pepe Francis and Andy Narell

_______________

BEST OF LUCK, SEION

Like Duvone Stewart (bptt Renegades), Señor Seion Gomez (pictured) has stepped into the big league on Pan. Seion campaigned in the Second Division of pan (Medium category), but has now been given the tough assignment with the Solo Harmonites.  Yohan Popwell has been given two bites of the cherry, but failed to deliver.  Pan arranging is becoming like football coaching, you either stand, or fall, on your results.

_______________

 
“BOOGSIE” TO EAT AH FOOD

Len “Boogsie” Sharpe will eat ah food in three categories of Pan next year. He has just been given the assignment with single pan band Carib Woodbrook Playboyz.
 

In Tobago, he will eat some curry crab and dumplings with medium band Our Boys, and his biggest plate will come from his beloved Phase II Pan Groove.

My spies tell me that “Boogsie” has stopped his foolish excursion, and pitbull behaviour with Pan Trinbago, and is getting down to what he does best... music.
_______________

Wherever you are in Pan’s world, keep loving up The Pan.

Mr. Ruppert Phillip a member of Desperadoes since 1962 has passed on.

Rupert, was a percussionist who was the only one that performed at all 50 Panorama Preliminaries and 45 of the 49 Panorama Finals.

He was formerly a member of Serenaders, but was recruited by the late Mr. Rudolph Charles in 1962. Mr. Rupert Phillip was also the brother of Mr. Elias "Pjue" Phillip one of Desperadoes noted Double Second Pannist.  

I enjoyed Rupert's work especially on Desperadoes' 1966 Double LP.  

My personal condolences to the family of Mr. Rupert Phillip.  (RIP) 

The Pan Movement across the world has gone into orbit but our Panorama is still stuck in the mud. Please know that the reality is our instrument is no longer ours: the pan has taken on a life of its own and is roaming freely, taking root wherever it is appreciated. At this time, our only claim to it is that pan originated in Trinbago. Trinbago as the mecca of pan music is now becoming in jeopardy. If better music is being played elsewhere, there is where the focus and attention will be. The organizers of the Panorama are stifling the growth, creativity and development of pan music in Trinbago, especially at Panorama.

               Panorama 2015 is now behind us and the decision of the judges is final, but almost everyone disagrees with their selections. What this tells us is that the judges have to go, that the judges do not have the capacity to assess and appreciate creativity and innovation in music, that the judges have become programmed to the extent that they seem to be working from some formula and that the judges are stuck in a rut.

Music that is creative and innovative confuses them and with a simple stroke of their pencil they dismiss anything that might be outside of their comfort zone. Where does this leave our Panorama musicians – our arrangers?

The judges have our arrangers in a state of confusion.

If we are stuck with these judges who are selected by Pan Trinbago, then understand that the ‘formula’ has to evolve, because the music is certainly not stuck in time. There are arrangers who are taking the music to another level. My question at this time is, are any of these judges musicians. A degree in music does not make you a musician and does not give you the ability to judge the music of musicians. The ability to teach scales to children does not qualify you to judge a Panorama competition. To the judges on the panel of Panorama 2015, I pose this question. “How many minutes of published music have you produced?“

So you award your points and there is a winner and nine losers and the state of confusion is perpetuated. At this 2015 Panorama the band that was announced as winner clearly did not have the best music, which happens all too often at Panorama. As a result we are no better off this year than we were before. Keen competition is what brings about improvement. An arranger knows when there is an arrangement that is better than his/hers and would strive to be better. But when the judges, with their left-brain formulas, award their points and a winner is announced who clearly did not deserve to win, then our Panorama is in jeopardy. This is a competition that is watched and scrutinized internationally by musicians. What are they to think. It remains popular but it is not growing. Most of our bands sound the same year after year and this is condoned and encouraged by the judges. The judges and therefore Pan Trinbago are contributing significantly to the demise of Pan in Trinidad and Tobago.

               The system of judging and/or the judges have to go. There are six judges on the panel for the large band category of Panorama. My suggestion is that a maximum of two judges from Trinbago be on the panel and the remaining four be sought out internationally to eliminate any bias that the local judges might have. Only then will we be able to say that the competition was fairly judged and the best band on the night won.

               No more than one-third of the judges on the panel should be from Trinbago and at least one of these should be from Tobago. The remaining judges could be sought from countries such as, but not restricted to, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Haiti, Martinique, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, countries of the African Continent, India etc.

               Please let us not take this lightly. Who we are as a people and our contribution to the world are at stake here. I appeal to the general public and specifically to the arrangers, captains and tuners of all steel-bands to take action now and get rid of this system of judging Panorama. I am suggesting a meeting be held as soon as possible. Please contact me through email- dosomethingforpan@gmail.com

Thanks to Mario Nunes for this link:
Despers at Lapeyrouse

I also attended the ‘Excellence in Steel’ NY Panorama at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday, September 3, 2016. I have withheld my comments about the section in the program booklet referenced by Dr. Nyomba (https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/forum/topics/pan-players-dissed-by-excellence-in-steel-committee-chair-in) while observing the posts from the WST community. The responses on WST were wide-ranging. But, along with  consensus on the distraction posed by his struggle with the language ‘mechanics’, there was agreement that much of what Mr. Babb wrote was confusing and logically inconsistent. Any sober pan player could relate to where he was coming from and all should agree that the program booklet was no place for such verbiage.

But when the entire situation is put into proper context, one realizes that the disrespect in the program booklet was just the tip of the iceberg. The management of the steelband industry and the production and distribution of “cultural goods” requires more profound understanding and thorough analysis of these processes for the realization of the economic benefits especially by those involved in their production.

Pan players dissed pan players while Pan Trinbago Officials wined and dined

First about the section in the Panorama program booklet, it is obvious that Randolph Babb, Chair of “Excellence in Steel 2016” Committee, was disrespectful to the same pan players who were performing at the panorama. Panorama adjudication is always contentious. Pan players usually do not agree with the results of Panorama unless their band wins. Ken “Professor” Philmore, for example, still complains about Fonclaire’s ½ point defeat on more than one occasion. The subjective element in the judging, which underlies this contention, will remain until the technology for computerized adjudication is developed. Nothing is wrong with criticizing pan players, especially if the criticism is constructive, but using the official program of the NY Labor Day Panorama as a forum to “pong” pan players amounts to nothing less than total disrespect, not only for pannists in Brooklyn and elsewhere, but also for the mostly Caribbean audience at the Brooklyn Museum grounds on Labor Day Saturday evening.

Ironically, among the guests of honor in the VIP section of the audience were several members of the Executive Committee of Pan Trinbago: President Keith Diaz (he was introduced as being “on his way”), Allan “Pablo” Augustus, Trustee, Michael “Scobie” Joseph, Public Relations Officer, and Gerard Mendez, the Northern Region Chairman. Whether they were in Brooklyn attending to the business of pan, or simply enjoying one of the many perks of being in the leadership of “the World Governing Body for the Steelpan,” is open to question. Apart from the partying, there seems to be some disconnect between the affairs of steelbands in Brooklyn and the Pan Trinbago leadership.

While the steelband executives were basking in the limelight, enjoying the complimentary liquor and food, the leaders of some steelbands competing in the panorama were hoping their band would win so that they would be able to defray some of the expenses associated with outfitting their band for the competition. In Brooklyn there are no “appearance fees” and “assistance to bands” as in the T&T Panorama. Other leaders were concerned with vacating the lot which they rented to practice for the contest. Few steelbands in Brooklyn have a panyard, not to mention one that could accommodate a 75- to 100-member steelband. Real estate in Brooklyn is a scarce resource which is increasing in value and cost.

"Same Ole Khaki Pants"

In actuality, steelbands in T&T and Brooklyn face essentially some of the same issues. Panorama just serves to highlight these concerns and bring them back into the annual conversation. Problems with adjudication (real or perceived) will always be present given the subjectivity which undergirds the judging process. Also, as businesses become more fiscally conservative, sponsorship and other funding for steelbands decreases. Like in T&T, Panorama along with band launchings and other fund raising events is the major, if not only, source of income for steelbands in Brooklyn. Meanwhile prize monies are stagnant and the price of pans and other accessories for steelbands keeps increasing.

Tuners too are encumbered by the exorbitant cost of chroming pans and the making and blending of pans for steelbands which cannot afford to pay the tuners for the value of their skills and labor. To add insult to injury, some steelband leaders opt to bypass Trini master-tuners to whom they are indebted and instead contract other less experienced tuners to blend or, in some cases repair individual notes on, the pans made by the master tuners, further decreasing their income stream (not to mention the coveted space on the band’s banner!)

Respondents to the piece on WST also expressed concern with the judging criteria for the panorama. Adjudication issues reoccur year after year, Panorama after Panorama. Panorama compels us into a unidimensional mode of thinking about the steelband. The end result is that we tend to address the surface level problems: judging, competitions, prize money, the sound reproduction, etc., as opposed to the building of a solid logical foundation for the industry.

49 years of Carnival: progress, stagnation, or what?

WIADCA should be given the necessary credit for the massive undertaking it has managed with reasonable success for 49 years. I have had the opportunity of participating at the executive level in the production of an expat Caribbean carnival, albeit a smaller festival than the Labor Day Carnival, so I can attest to that level of organizing and coordinating necessary. “It ain’t no joke.”

But WIADCA is also a part of the problem. Over the years, audiences at their revenue-generating events, the BrassFest, the Children’s Carnival, the Dimanche Gras show, the Panorama itself, and at the Labor Day Parade, have grown exponentially. So too have the vendors and vendor fees. And massive NYPD plus other security at the gates has made it more difficult to “storm.” (Unfortunately, instead of demonstrating their support for the steelpan by being paid patrons at panorama, some “supporters” of steelbands still attempt avoid paying the admission fee by sneaking-in with the band or using other dishonest methods. Arbitrage is a common practice at Panorama and other carnival events.)

Yet the panorama prize money has been stagnant for about 15 years.  In fact, the panorama prizes were increased in 2003 only after most of the steelbands boycotted the Brooklyn Panorama opting for the USSA-organized panorama held at Jefferson Field in Flatlands in 2001 and 2002. The top prize in the USSA Panorama was $20,000, doubling the first prize in the Brooklyn panorama. WIADCA was therefore compelled to raise the first prize to $20,000 to attract the bands back to the Brooklyn Museum in 2003. Since then there has been no increases in the panorama prizes.

The prize money was not the only issue that motivated the move to Flatlands. Other matters raised by USSA included the question of respect for pan players and concerns with the adjudication and the sound system for the panorama. These issues remain contentious today as evident by the statement by Mr. Babb in the panorama program booklet and the usual post-panorama wrangling on WST and elsewhere. More fundamentally, there has been little development of the infrastructure for Panorama and the Labor Day weekend events. We cannot, for example, continue to aspire to the dust and pot-o-lets at the back of the Brooklyn Museum.

To my knowledge, beyond the efforts of the Caribbean Culture Center and the work done at Hunter College, it’s not too much of a stretch to assert that there has been little capacity and institution-building undertaken by WIADCA or (except in a few cases) the pan and mas fraternities in Brooklyn. Nor have they been able to use the 49 years of the Labor Day Carnival with 3 million spectators and the estimated over $300 million it generates annually to leverage additional public sector and private sector funding. The National Endowment for the Arts, the Smithsonian Institute, and several other private and public foundations, provide major funding to arts organizations with missions similar to WIADCA. Even at the local level, increased public sector funding could be strategically pursued. We should recall seeing a photo of NY Mayor, Bill de Blasio, and his family “jumping up” in the 2014 Labor Day Parade while he was campaigning for the office. Since then he was not heard from until his aide was killed during the 2015 Labor Day J’ouvert. Surely the Mayor’s office could be targeted to address the saga of the “vanishing” (really "non-existent”) panyards in Brooklyn.

Will the “first generation” pan players in Brooklyn leave a legacy of Panorama, rife with all its problems, for the young pan players to inherit? Leaders of steelbands in T&T and North America  should be able to empathize with the steelbands leaders in Brooklyn and their annual efforts to secure rehearsal space and funding to prepare for Panorama. For many in the pan and mas business, cultural production is indeed “a labor of love” with meagre financial returns.

Research on Caribbean Carnivals

Let’s put carnival in its proper perspective. Research has shown that, in terms of attendance and economic impact, Caribbean carnivals are the largest cultural festivals in Europe (Notting Hill Carnival) and North America (Brooklyn Labor Day and Toronto Caribana). Globally, the cultural sector, estimated at 7 percent of GDP, is one of the one of the most rapidly expanding segments of the world economy. Studies show that the annual attendance at Notting Hill Carnival and Toronto Caribana both approximate 1.2 million spectators, while Labor Day attracts over 3 million. From the data available, the economic impact of Notting Hill Carnival was $122 million (2002), Brooklyn Labor Day generated over $300 million (2012), and Caribana $438 million (2009). (See references below).

Before proceeding, a few words of caution about the data collection and use are in order. Data made available in the public domain may not stand up to rigorous scrutiny by professionals in the field. Researchers are not just concerned with the data presented. The methodology and assumptions underlying the collection, analysis and presentation of the data are just as important as the data. The motivations of those involved in the data gathering and analysis are also of significance. The predictive capacity of data is impacted by all these factors. Nevertheless, these are the data available and they do give some general sense of the economic activity generated by the carnivals, a point of departure toward realizing the benefits of Caribbean cultural resources

It would be useful if Pan Trinbago became serious about gathering data on the steelband industry in T&T and internationally. Thanks to WST there are some data available on pannists and steelbands globally.  Some of the primary data on economic impact of the major carnivals are dated and in cases withheld from public consumption. But the secondary data available show that pan players are at the bottom of the income distribution ladder. For example, I estimate that less than 3% of the total income of Caribana goes to pan players. Another critical observation of carnival is that the economic benefits to those producing the carnivals is smaller when compared to the economic impact on businesses and the tax revenues collected by the host cities.

Caribbean people do not own the airlines, the hotels, the car rental companies, the liquor stores, major restaurants, etc. that benefit most from the spending (of mainly Caribbean people) during the Labor Day and Caribana weekends. Caribbean residents of NY, Toronto and elsewhere where carnival is held are not the only beneficiaries of the tax revenues generated from sales, licenses, insurance, etc. The data doesn’t show the distribution of the jobs created by Caribana among Caribbean versus other Toronto residents. That would have been useful in assessing the extent to which Caribbean expats in Toronto benefit from the economic activity generated by Caribana.

Given that these cultural festivals are the largest in Canada and the US, one wonders why they are not able to attract more funding, at least comparable to other cultural festivals which receive government support. Unfortunately, these carnivals have been associated with violence, squabbling among the organizers and financial mismanagement. Maybe there should be some introspection among the producers of carnival arts in Caribbean expat communities and reassessment of the entire process of carnival production.

In the case of Caribana, it has been compared to the Calgary Stampede which has an economic impact of $173 million over 10 days and in 2009 received $10 million in government funding while Caribana received only $484,000. The question was raised as to whether this is due to Caribana being perceived as a “cultural outsider.” In the case of Brooklyn Labor Day, one wonders whether a similar perception is abound. Put the shoe on the other foot, we lifted the phenomenon out of one jurisdiction and tried to plant it into others, with no modification and then we are upset when neighbors in the vicinity of steelbands complain about the bands practicing late into the night. Should we impose ourselves on others who may have no relation to an activity that may be supreme to us, but totally unacceptable to someone else?

Changing the status quo

But all is not lost. The disrespect in the program booklet definitely calls for dialog between WIADCA and leaders of the steelbands in Brooklyn. With the sentiments expressed by (ex-Flying Squad operative) Randy Babb, maybe there is need to revisit the judging criteria, the selection of judges and the adjudication process itself. Also, WIADCA officials and pan players should be educated on the matters of mutual respect and discipline, as these seem to underlie Mr. Babb’s “ranting and raving.” Definitely the prize money should a major issue on the table. The first prize for the Labor Day Panorama champs has been $20,000 for the past 15 years.

Maybe WIADCA should take the lead set by Pan Trinbago at the 2015 ICP and offer $250,000 for the first prize! LOL! The wisdom of that extravagance is still mindboggling to me, especially since the first prize in T&T Panorama (the only real precedent or benchmark) is only $166.667, and foreign bands received as much as $60,000 in “assistance”! But that’s another story.

Several “minor concerns” should also be part of the conversation to make the panorama environment in Brooklyn more steelband-friendly. For instance, pan players should be more intimately involved in the designing and building of the stage and in the audio mixing and reproduction to avoid problems as the nearly 45 degree sloped on- and off- ramps and inconsistencies in the sound of the bands at the Museum. There should also be dialog with the police with respect to NYPD officers being more accommodating when directing steelband traffic to and from the panorama.

It is good to note that the Mayor is on board in terms of his support for the Labor Day activities. In the wake of the two killings in the 2016 pre-J’Ouvert hours, he promised that the J’Ouvert will not be cancelled. (These murders were not connected to the J’Ouvert and it is important that carnival community makes the necessary clarification to offset media reports which suggest otherwise.) But this is an excellent opportunity for the powers that be in the Caribbean community to begin institution-building and strengthening their relationship with their non-Caribbean neighbors, especially the recent ones brought in by gentrification in Brooklyn. Programs should be developed (or where they exist expanded) to deepen the understanding and broaden the appreciation and acceptance of Caribbean culture among these residents.

BTW, NYPD, Parks and Recreation and all the other agencies concerned should be called out for “locking down” the Ronald McNair Park, across from the Brooklyn Museum, during the Labor Day weekend. The park is usually used by young mas players and pan players as they line up to enter the Museum grounds. With the park locked-down, the sidewalk was the only place for the mas players and pan players to sit and relax, in some cases for hours, before their band is allowed into the Museum grounds. The entrance of bands into the Museum grounds for both the Children’s Carnival and the Panorama is usually staggered for security and other reasons. WIADCA should bear some of the responsibility for the park being locked-down.

Broadening the steelband horizon

Steelbands in T&T and NY should transcend the almost exclusive focus on Panorama. That event is one data point, albeit a significant one, but it is not the be-all and end-all of the steelpan industry. There are so many aspects of that sector which need to be developed strategically and coherently. For example, one of the problems underlying the functioning of steelbands in T&T and the US is that most are not constituted as legal entities. This has contributed to alternate models of ownership, leadership and management very often unfavorable to the pan players. In the North America this also limits the ability of bands to attract funding awarded to non-profits and to participate in arts and culture programs funded by government agencies at the county, state and federal levels.

Steelband leaders should give the young pan players a broader playing-field to explore. Things are already in motion in Brooklyn with the likes of Garvin Blake and Iman Pascal, who performed with Othello Molineux (his first ever performance in Brooklyn), to a mediocre audience on Father’s Day 2016. Iman was also featured at the Arrangers Concert in Brooklyn last May.  Both events hint at the direction headed by the young pannists in Brooklyn: beyond the confines of Panorama. Also noteworthy is the progress of young arrangers such as Odie Franklin, Marc Brooks, and Kendall Williams who together arranged for Brooklyn Steel Orchestra in the ICP and for Skiffle in the 2016 Panorama in Trinidad. They should be encouraged to further their musical talents by exploring other genres of music. Some steelbands are obtaining tax-exempt status and pursuing new models of steelband development extending beyond Panorama. This too is an indication of the forward movement of the steelband.

The integration of computer technology, the Internet and the steelpan by Northern Illinois University graduate Mia Gormandy and Pastiche Steel Ensemble in their Virtual Steelband Project demonstrates the promise of the intersection of the vision of young pan players and the application of the modern technology to the steelpan. Further, the use of social media for marketing and networking opens a universe of possibilities for young pan players and steelbands.

In terms of the steelpan in T&T and globally, Pan Trinbago’s leaders, as well-intentioned as they may be, should recognize that the management of a strategically valuable organization requires more than a marginal knowledge of basic business, strategy and other critical prerequisites. This alludes to the requirement that they become more open to ideas and willing to contract professionals to manage the steelband industry in T&T. A myopic vision is counterproductive to the management of strategic cultural resources.

As far as the expat carnivals are concerned, given their economic impact, a major challenge to organizers is how to attract greater capital investment from the public and private sectors. There should also be efforts geared toward increasing the share of the economic benefits of all carnivals which accrue to the organizers and artistes involved in the production of the carnivals. We are the producers, the artistes, and we comprise the majority of the spectators at these festivals, but not the main beneficiaries. Need I say more?

REFERENCES

“The Caribana success story,” TheStar.com, May 3, 2010. (https://www.thestar. com/opinion/editorials/2010/05/03 /the_caribana_success_story.html).

London Development Agency - Research, “The Economic Impact of Notting Hill Carnival,” May 2003.

Lennox Farrell, “Caribana, Ownership Versus Control, Part Two,” Share News, November 12, 2014. (http://sharenews.com/caribana-ownership-versus-control-part-two/)

Patricia Meschino, The Business of Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade, August 31, 2012 (http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/touring/1083948/the-business-of-brooklyns-west-indian-day-parade)

Ajamu Nangwaya, “Caribana, exploitation and disrespect of a cultural resource.” (http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/blog/ajamu-nangwaya/7758).

Keith Nurse, “The Cultural Industries and Sustainable Development in Small Island Developing States.” Unpublished paper, Institute of International Relations, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

Keith Nurse, Globalization and Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity in Global Culture. Cultural Studies 13(4) 1990, 661-690. 

Keith Nurse, “Globalization in Reverse: The Export of Trinidad Carnival,” Unpublished paper, Institute of International Relations, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

Jo-anne Tull, “Money Matters – Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2005,” presented at Reflections on Carnival 2005, Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, April 22, 2005.

Dana Yates, “Analysis shows Caribana's impact on economy and potential for future,” Ryerson University, July 27, 2010. (http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/ Research_News/20100727_caribana/)