Thoughts and ideas relating to the music and culture of Trinidad and Tobago , especially the steelpan and the steelband
I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and never played basketball. Back then, we knew little of the game, and as youths we played cricket and football (soccer) as team sports. I migrated to the US Virgin Islands in the late sixties and joined the US Army in 71. While in the army I watched … Continue reading How I came to love the Boston Celtics
Let us really do something for pan! The think is, whether we wish to accept it or not, there’s an historical and cultural nexus between the carnival and the steelband, and that’s the lens through which most of the world see the steelband. Because , if we know our cultural history , it was the … Continue reading Re-examining and Renewing the Steelband/Carnival Connection!
From the Trinidad & Tobago Music Festival Vol. III "Finals" The flawless performances of intricate classical pieces at The Steelband Music Festival of 1966 proclaimed beyond a doubt that the steelband had arrived on the world music scene as a complete musical orchestra, capable of interpreting any type of music, including the music of the … Continue reading Highlights of the Steelband Music Festival of 1966
Part of this essay was previously presented at the Trinidad and Tobago Folk Arts Institute’s symposium on Lord Kitchener at Medgar Evers College (City University of New York), January, 2009. Calypso-Happy A United Nations survey published in 2013 found Trinbagonians to be the happiest people in the Caribbean.[i] The findings attributed this feeling of… … Continue reading Shadow, Kitchener and the License to Leggo! | Shadowlingo
One of the good things about being retired is I get the opportunity to enjoy books that I may have missed, fiction and nonfiction.Audiobooks make it even easier, as I can listen, while doing other things like driving. Cornelius Ryan was born on June 5, 1920 in Dublin, Ireland. He was a writer, known for … Continue reading Politicians vs. Military Leaders
PanTrinbago is a cultural organization which was incorporated by Act of Parliament, 5 of 1986. It formerly operated and was registered as a Union representing the interest of steelpan players. The general membership of the steelband Movement decided that it would better serve their interests in the development and promotion of the steelband, to become … Continue reading A link to Pan Trinbago’ website
J’Ouvert is the most electric street party that I have ever attended.Caribbean Tales: J’Ouvert — Mauby Tales
Listening to those classic panorama tunes of yesteryear by Solo Harmonites , Desperadoes , All Stars and others set me thinking. There have been significant changes in the style of panorama music and arrangements over the decades , and after some thought, I've drawn a couple conclusions Feel free to agree or disagree. My first … Continue reading Panorama arrangements, Then and Now.
Nineteen eighty-six was a memorable year; two incidents made that year unforgettable to me. The date was January 28th 1986, and I was at Logan Airport in Boston on my way to Trinidad for the Carnival, when we got the news that the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all … Continue reading 1986 , The Year of The Hammer
Calypsonian Carlton Joseph,The Lord Blakie was born on November 3, 1932 and died January 6, 2005. CARLTON JOSEPH , THE LORD BLAKIE One of the greatest of our old time calypsonians and an all time favorite of mine, he was also known as The Warlord.The sobriquet was no accident since as great a calypsonian as … Continue reading Remembering another calypso legend , Mr. Carlton Joseph , The Lord Blakie.
