LOCAL T&T STEELBAND NEWS

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24th May 1999
eEd - tobagojo@gmail.com

A Tribute to Excellence
Pan Lovers cherish the music

© EXPRESS - Monday, 24th May, 1999, Page 7

A review
By TERRY JOSEPH

MEDIA BASHING took a fresh turn early yesterday morning when, at the end of its Tribute to Excellence show, Pan Trinbago president, Patrick Arnold, called upon the relatively small audience to "boo" the Express. Responding to an opinion column carried in Friday's Express, Arnold referred to the writer's description of several bands as comprising "impostors", saying that the columnist was the impostor instead. He then asked the audience to boo the reporter.

But for that blemish, Saturday night's show, which took place at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain, provided its small patronage with a rich blend of nostalgia and contemporary pan music. True to its title, the show presented Panorama Champions of the 20th Century. In its 37-year history, only 11 bands have won the annual steel-band competition. Desperadoes and Renegades each copped the top spot on nine occasions, while single victories have accrued to Exodus, Hatters and Nu Tones. But regardless of the number of occasions on which a band had taken home the trophy over the years, on Saturday night each of the 11 bands was required to play just one winning song, plus a competition piece. Most bands chose pop songs for the competition part of the show, except for Exodus, who applied the mandatory calypso-tempo treatment to Von Suppe's Poets and Peasants.

Although difficulty in mustering the 85-player minimum [This figure is actually 75 - eEd] caused several bands to rent pannists (and in a few cases, instruments) from other non-competing orchestras, the performances stuck to original arrangements, giving the audience an appreciation of how the bands sounded at the time of their victories. Some of the visuals simply could not be repeated. Although Cavaliers brought their original arranger (Lennox "Bobby" Mohammed) back home to present the band's work, they could not recreate the scene of bass pans stretching from the stage to half the way down the track, as occurred with their original showing in 1967. Multiple winners were forced to make choices, resulting in mild disappointment to some members of the audience, who may have considered the band's trademark victory as a song quite different from the one they selected for Saturday night's show. But those things aside, the six-hour show clearly pleased hard-core pan aficionados. Well before the halfway mark, sporadic dancing had broken out in the aisles. After a reasonably punctual start, the show moved with relative swiftness.

Hatters took just eight minutes to set up and start their performance, after Harmonites finished playing at 09:27 pm.

The longest absence of pan music came when the Miss Universe contestants dropped in on the show. Their presence added little to the evening. Two buses brought the delegates to the western end of the stage, they alighted and walked around the stage as horses would in a parade ring, then, having completed the distance, were herded back into the buses and driven away in a cloud of dust. Applause was lukewarm and audible comments suggested that they were holding up the pan parade, particularly as one of the night's favourites, Starlift, was up next.

Starlift's rendition of Sparrow's Du Du Yemi (aka Natasha) began a procession of heavy rollers from 10:25 pm, ushering in Trinidad All Stars, Desperadoes, Phase II Pan Groove, Exodus, Renegades and the 1998 Champs, Nu Tones. Arrangers Clive Bradley (Nu Tones, Desperadoes) and Len "Boogsie" Sharpe (Phase II Pan Groove) conducted their bands' performances with theatrical flourish; much to the delight of the audience. With special player-costuming for the occasion, some of the bands went the extra mile and brought along Carnival characters or calypso dancers to enhance their visuals. Exodus, whose white with black trim sparkled in the stage lighting, came replete with tall pennants affixed to its pan racks and a small crew of moko jumbies.

Shortly after 02:15 am [Sunday morning], the results of the competition were announced and Phase II Pan Groove was declared winner for its rendition of Kool and the Gang's Cherish, copping the TT$25,000 winer-take-all prise. Each of the bands were eligible for a gross appearance fee of TT$100,000.

Tribute to Excellence
Great show of pan music

© NEWSDAY - Monday 24th May, 1999, Page 24
PHOTO ALBUM

By GARY CARDINEZ

PAN TRINBAGO'S Panorama Champions of the Twentieth Century - A Tribute To Excellence held at the Queen's Park Savannah on Saturday evening proved to be a fantastic musical show.

From the first note in Mama Dis Is Mas by North Stars to Clive Bradley's arrangement of Yesterday played by Nu Tones, patrons showed their appreciation for the music.

But the toast of the night was PCS Starlift who, playing in position number five, their rendition of Sparrow's Natasha and non-calypso tune Penny Lane, transformed the Queen's Park Savannah into a party hall. People were dancing and singing in the aisles bringing back memories of the panyard "blockorama".

Neal and Massy Trinidad All Stars also found favour with the audience with Woman On The Bass.

The pan body also honoured several contributors to the movement, people like Bertie Marshall, Bobby Mohammed, Arnim Smith, Rudolph Charles, Ray Holman, Neville Jules, Ellie Mannette, George Goddard, Kitchener (Aldwin Roberts) and Jit Samaroo. A Tribute To Excellence was a show with great potential, but the crowds still did not come to the Savannah. Several people expressed concern at the marketing of the show.

They felt that a show of that calibre should have filled both the Grand Stand and The North Stand. A stroll down "the drag" also gave an indication of why the show was not well attended.

Again several "pan people" expressed the opinion that Pan Trinbago got caught up in the Miss Universe hype and out-priced pan loving people who would have paid to come and hear such great music.

One man stated, "How could they charge people TT$150 to come in the Grand Stand, that's not for people like me."

"Had they charged less the place would have been sold out and maybe they could have made money." But despite the lack of a sold out crowd pan lovers present will always boast about the night they heard 11 Panorama champion bands play their winning tune on the same stage.

Who's who and boos in pan

© TRINIDAD GUARDIAN - Monday, 24th May 1999, Page 2

By PETER RAY BLOOD

SATURDAY night's Champions of the 20th Century - A Tribute to Excellence at the Queen's Park Savannah, consisted of a lot more than pan.

Not only did the Miss Universe delegates make a surprise guest appearance, but stalwarts in pan were honoured, foreign media were awed by the production, costumed Carnival characters accompanied participants, and Pan Trinbago President Patrick Arnold incited the audience to "boo" a journalist.

Staged by Pan Trinbago as its contribution to the Miss Universe Pageant, the show featured 11 past and present national Panorama champions. The six-hour programme commenced just 10 minutes after its scheduled start, at 08.10 pm.

After Arnold welcomed participants and patrons, St James North Stars, the first band on stage, was greeted by a tumultuous ovation from an almost filled Grand Stand and the less populated North Stand.

The band played its 1964 winning piece, Kitchener's Mama Dis is Mas and Air Supply's Here I Am, the latter being its competition selection.

Of the 11 participants, Cavaliers, Starlift, Desperadoes and Phase II Pan Groove seemed to evoke the best response from the audience.

Led by its legendary arranger Lennox "Bobby" Mohammed, Cavaliers succeeded in reproducing its original sound of the '60s, especially its deep, rumbling bass section, playing Kitchener's 67 and Tzina Tzina.

Starlift was the orchestra which literally had patrons on their feet. The band's two selections, Sparrow's Natasha, a fitting tribute to arranger the late Hershell Puckerin, and Ray Holman's arrangement of Penny Lane, had patrons dancing in the aisles of the Grand Stand. There was sustained applause at the end of Starlift's performance.

Desperadoes, one of two nine-time national champions on the programme, gave an almost identical performance of Super Blue's Rebecca which won them the national title in 1983. Arranger Clive Bradley, the only arranger of two orchestras on the night, conducted Desperadoes for its two pieces, the second being Andrew Lloyd Webber's Don't Cry For Me Argentina.

In terms of harnessing power in sound, none surpassed Phase II Pan Groove, with its arranger, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, displaying a new side to his personality. Aside from coming front stage to give the Woodbrook band its count, a buoyant Sharpe danced while conducting the band through Woman is Boss and Cherish.

At the end of the exercise, it came as little surprise that Sharpe and Phase II had copped the TT$25,000 winner-take-all prize for the Best Tune Of Choice as Sharpe's arrangement of the pop tune, though intricate in structure, was built on an infectious jazz foundation, and was the most original piece of music presented.

Pan Trinbago honoured a number of arrangers, outstanding pannists, and past heads of the organisation.

Among those present to receive plaques, made by south's Construction Termites, were Arnim Smith, Jit Samaroo and "Bobby" Mohammed.

The only down side to the event was at its very end when Arnold publicly chided a journalist during the live television and radio transmission, and with the foreign media in attendance.

A number of patrons expressed disgust over the president's behaviour, with some concurring that freedom of the press was indeed under siege from all quarters.

The show lived up to its hype of being a must-see event, with the organisers and pannists putting their best feet forward. The musicians in every band were fashionably attired, as well as the band's being beautifully decorated.

Other champion bands participated were Harmonites, Hatters, Trinidad All Stars, Exodus, Renegades and Nu Tones.

© 1999 tobagojo@gmail.com - 19990526 - 1m20071228 - 2m20151016 Historic Update: 26 May 1999; Last Update: 16 October 2015 24:00:00 TT Processed by: Jeremy G de Barry

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