It is Panorama again but not in Trinidad but at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. This can mean only one thing, Carnival is here again! Yes, it is Labor Day Carnival celebrations in the Big Apple and West Indians are dancing and feting bringing the sounds of the Caribbean to life in the Tri-State area. The West Indian Community with special reference to the Trinidadian sector of the communities know and love the Brooklyn 'steelbands' very well and will be out in force to support "we own tonight". Let's hope the judges don't leave people upset this evening.
It is 'Pan in Yuh Pwefen' tonight and we like it so! Surely it sounds like Trinidad Panorama but the interviews and the voices heard are not the same that we are accustomed to hearing back home. The voices have an American accent mixed in with various 'twangs from the Caribbean diaspora'. It is unique but unusual at the same time. This year, in Trinidad and Tobago, we lost the golden voice of Allyson Hennessy, a voice that Trinidadians identify with Carnival and Carnival broadcasts. Here in New York (this year for the first time) the TCN network in conjunction with the WIADCA presented the events free via the Internet. The voices doing the broadcasts were not familiar but the feel of the event was enough to keep us logged on to the Internet watching the event and at the same time, anticipating the results.
However, one must also keep in mind that the songs played at this competition have already been masterly arranged and heard at Trininidad's Panorama Competition. As a result, there was a very relaxed atmosphere surrounding the competition from where I sat as compared to watching and experiencing Panorama in Trinidad and Tobago (not the Big Yard and not the big name bands that we are accustomed to hearing). The songs were not new and as they say, "been there done that before"! Then again, this is their 'Big Stage|Big Yard' but it is not the Queen's Park Savannah and truly not the real Big Stage that Trinidadians know and love so much. None of that mattered because it was 'Pan' and we love our 'Pan' to the extent that at 2:31 am on Sunday morning I was up watching the final band, Harmony Music Makers, play their final notes to Destra's "Calling Meh". What can I say... I have a weakness for our National Instrument. The following are the results as announced early this morning (time to go and sleep).
POSITION 1 Winner
Band Name: ADLIB STEEL ORCHESTRA 458 points
Tune played: Do Something For Pan
Composed By: Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe
Sung By: Sache Alexander
Arranger: Andre White
Tuners: Fitz Worrell / Patrick Worrell / Desmond ‘Mappo’ Richardson
POSITION 2
Band Name: CASYM 456.5 points
Tune played: Doh Be On Dat
Composed By: Arddin Herbert & Ricardo Jones
Sung By: Roland Remy Yearwood
Arranger: Arddin Herbert
POSITION 3
Band Name: D’RADOES 451points
Tune played:Trini
Composed By: Rodney ‘Benjai’ Le Blanc
Sung By: Rodney ‘Benjai’ Le Blanc
Arranger: BJ Marcelle
POSITION 4
Band Name: PAN SONATAS 448 points
Tune played: It’s Showtime
Composed By: Edwin Pouchet/ Alvin Daniel
Sung By: Anslem Douglas
Arranger: Yohan Popwell
Tuner: Bertran ‘Birch’ Kellman
POSITION 5
Band Name: DESPERS USA
Tune played: Doh Be On Dat
Composed By: Arddin Herbert & Ricardo Jones
Sung By: Roland Remy Yearwood
Arranger: Arddin Herbert
POSITION 6
Band Name: CROSSFIRE STEEL ORCHESTRA
Tune played: Trini
Composed By: Rodney ‘Benjai’ Le Blanc
Sung By: Rodney ‘Benjai’ Le Blanc
Arranger: Leon ‘Foster’ Thomas
Tuner: Roland Harrigan
POSITION 7
Band Name:PANTONIC STEEL ORCHESTRA
Tune played: Calling Meh
Composed By: Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore / Mark LoQuan
Sung By: Destra Garcia
Arranger: Keith Roberts
Tuner: Roland Harrigan
POSITION 8
Band Name: SESAME FLYERS
Tune played: Advantage
Composed By: Kernel Roberts
Sung By:Machel Montano
Aranger: Freddy Harris III
Tuner: Anthony Neal
POSITION 9
Band Name: HARMONY MUSIC MAKERS
Tune played: Calling Meh
Composed By: Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore / Mark LoQuan
Sung By: Destra Garcia
Arranger: Eddie Quales
POSITION 10
Band Name: BOSTON METRO
Tune played: Soca Night
Composed By: Blackie
Sung By: Blackie
Arranger: Glen Gabriel
Tuners: Kim Wong & Kevin Griffith
POSITION 11
Band Name: METRO STEEL ORCHESTRA
Tune played: Calling Meh
Composed By: Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore / Mark LoQuan
Sung By: Destra Garcia
Arranger: Cieon Gomez
Band information presented here was obtained from the WIADCA site.
ADLIB is phenomenal and is hard to beat so you Brooklyn pan players better kick your game up a few notches to compete or this band will be a runaway winner each year.
Good job all around but please, please start the show on time and tell the male Co-MC to quit making so many mistakes with band position and band names. Jemma can carry this show on her own.
Denis & Jackie Clarke
Denis Clarke
Maryland