- So, according to reports he (Philmore) rolled his vehicle and as a result suffered internal injuries .He was taken to SGH where in 2018 there are no doctors capable off treating traumatic injuries. When will Trinidad medicine get better?.Condolences to his family and friends .
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ABOUT THE MAN HIMSELF
Much is known of Ellie as a pan tuner and popular steel-band man, but not many people know of his academic side. Ellie as a young man was very ambitious and at an early age became an apprentice in machinery and graduated at the top of his class as a Lathe Operator. He was well recognized for his work in Trinidad in that field, as a valued employee at the Acme Engineering Co. on Richmond street. His first encounter with Navy would come when US Navy forces staged a maneuver in the Gulf and in so doing broke a propeller. The job to repair the shaft was sent to Acme Engineering and no other that Ellie was given the task. On the completion of the job the Admiral wanted to know who in this Island was responsible for doing such good work and Ellie was invited to meet the officer. This meeting started a collaboration between them for a navy steel-band. The rumor has it that he was the number one tuner in the Country at that time.
Ellie brought a meticulous manner of application into the pan arena, using dividers, compasses and more precise measurements that was not present before. He changed the method of shaping from convex to concave. He introduced for the first time the full-size drum to apply new measurements for the first chromatic pan, and changed the method that was used for the initial sinking of the drum. Instead of cutting the pan off the barrel at the desired length and placing it on the ground and hammering into the ground, thereby causing a rough surface, the pan was worked entirely with the whole barrel until it was completed and then cut off at the desired length.
He was someone that liked to dress a lot and from time he would come into the yard well dressed in very light color clothes, two tone shoes and decide to make a pan. He would fold his shirt and pants halfway up, put some slippers on and begin the process of sinking, burning and tuning at the end of which there was a well-tuned instrument and impeccably still well-dressed Ellie. I would take his lunch to him at his job many times and noticed everybody had overalls except Ellie who was in his flannel pants and butter colored shoes. To me that was an example to be always neat and clean.
There was always something new happening in the yard that would pique your imagination like the way a note had to be tuned after many attempts without any results. For instance, once, during the sinking of a drum a small tear appeared in the material. He said, “Oh, don’t worry.” He circled that area with a punch, made that spot a note and repositioned the entire pattern around that note. Another time, there was a pan that he made for a friend. When the guy showed up to pick up the drum, he told Ellie there was a note missing. Ellie asked what was the note. His friend said E. There was a D note. Ellie grooved the D in half and tuned it to E. Being around Ellie you never ceased to be amazed.
Once I observed that Ellie was working on a pan while some other gentlemen in the yard were placing pram wheels on a stand to carry a pan on the road. One of the legs was shorter than the other and they were having trouble making it level. Ellie must have been watching them struggle while he was working although he never spoke to them or asked what was the problem. He simply excused himself and said he would be right back. When he returned he came back with a large u staple that was hammered into the shorter piece of pipe making it level with the other leg thereby finding the solution to the problem. That was the way his mind worked. See the problem, figure out a solution.
“Don’t use those drums to make basses” he would say to Emmanuel “Jack” Riley. Of course, Jack would do differently only to find out in the end they could not be tuned as basses which Ellie already knew and was the reason he told Jack not to use them in the first place.
Ellie had that feel about steel that I have never seen in anyone. He had an uncanny way of note placement and combinational balance of tones which he combined with the idea of playing across the pan as compared to playing around the pan. He developed the engineering that went into making two or more pans come together as one instrument which was user friendly in accommodating the universal left and right hands application.
Dr. Elliott “Ellie” Mannette
Elliiott was always surrounded by the people who loved him throughout his entire life and I am referring to his earlier days as a young pioneer in the Steel Band world in Trinidad Tobago his home land. Even dating back to the steel band riots of the 40’s he was revered and recognized for his pan tuning skills. During riots that existed at carnival time a truce was established to allow him safe passage as he was escorted through hostile territory from one band to the other so the longtime rival band’s pans could be tuned.
“ELLIE” as we called him, an abbreviation of his real name, Elliot Anthony Mannette, was once called LA CARIO, the maiden name of his mother. This quickly morphed into Cairo, a derogative term to show toughness amongst the Steel Bands. This was changed to “Ellie” by Trinidad’s first lady of dance and founder of the Little Caribe Theatre, Beryl McBernie, when she collaborated with him to provide steel band music for her dance troupe. She insisted, “What kind of name is that? Your name is ‘Ellie’. Sounds more god-like.”
“ELLIE” was one of those rare persons that had the support of thousands of people for many years because of that love that was shared both ways. He was always a visionary when talking about pan. Anyone one that was interested in pan tuning could just stand next to him while he worked on a pan and listen to the information pour out that was so complex but at the same time very explainable that you knew in your own mind it was true. Back home we call that “show off” but in reality, it was just a wealth of knowledge being passed from the thesaurus and pan encyclopedia that was Ellie Mannette to the world and its inhabitants. Every day there were new experiences and new discoveries.
You don’t need a formal introduction to “Ellie”. DR. Elliot still sounds corny. The first time I met Ellie I walked up to him some 60yrs ago in the “yard” as it was known, and asked him if he knew my elder brother by name, who at the time was a member of the “Woodbrook Invaders.” One of the things that I vividly remember is the manner in which he spoke to me as though he knew me for many years and this encounter was just one of the many times we met. He looked across the yard and said to Emanuel ”Jack” Riley, “Do you know Sydney? “Jack” said, “Yes, that tall guy from Belmont.” Ellie replied, ”This little guy is one of them.” And that was the beginning of my journey in life as a pan man and pan tuner. He took me under his guidance and I started sinking his pans for him, scribing and laying out the patterns and I became known as “Ellie’s boy.” He became more of an uncle to me than a good pan tuner.
I consider my self fortunate to have had the chance to grow up in the shadows of such an icon and great teacher that influenced me to learn, even duplicating his mistakes at times, and to be always critical of your own work, never stop learning and experimenting, most of all sharing your knowledge with others.
I would like to take this time to share a moment about the Maestro. We stayed in touch throughout our lives and I spoke to him about a month ago and his voice sounded raspy. I asked how he was doing. He replied, “I am feeling kinda weak but I always bounce back.” He continued saying, “But boy Ansel, looks like this one is going to take me down!” So when I got the news that he had an issue with his kidney it was not a surprise. I do think he knew what was going on and that he would want us to celebrate his legacy, not be saddened, but be happy that we came to know him and all that he has accomplished (especially if you know the history of Pan in TRINIDAD&TOBAGO) and was able to give this gift to the world.
