[h2]Emrold Gray, known to many pannists as Mallet Man, gives his review of the 17th Annual Pan Jamboree, from Brentwood, Maryland. The event featured wild arrangements, an excited audience and powerful soloists.[/h2]
Written by Emrold Gray
The 17th annual Pan Masters Pan Jamboree was held on Sunday, May 24th, at the band’s panyard, 4559 Rhode Island Ave, in North Brentwood, MD (2 minutes from the DC line). This year’s event, which is always held on Memorial Day weekend, had all the makings of perfection. With weather at a perfect 80 degrees, pan lovers were well in attendance, and the bands, all six of them, came ready to perform.
The evening started with Pan Lara, which is under the leadership of Debbie Lara and arrangers Khandeya Sheppard and Sheldon Thwaites, both Berklee College of Music graduates. This young band actually showed that, in some cases, size does not matter. What seemed to be no more than 10 players, proved that music, when well-arranged and voiced, can withstand the supposed intimidation of the bigger bands. Sheppard’s arrangement of a Machel Montano medley and Sheldon’s Latin arrangement of “Reunion” showed what good education can produce. Other selections enjoyed were Merchant’s “Rock It,” Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me,” and the formidable “Sugar Bum Bum.” The five-year-old Pan Lara is well poised to do wonders in the coming years.
The Philadelphia Pan Stars stepped up to the occasion with a wide mix of tunes by arranger, Brooklyn’s own Patrick Davis. The band has won competitions in Brooklyn (J’ouvert Bomb) and Baltimore (Harborview Festival) and is led by Rondell Pompey. Philly Pan Stars, as they are more commonly called, chose “Jesus Christ Super Star” as their opening selection. The group followed up with the Mighty Sparrow’s “Doh Back Back.” Most of the group’s pieces were in the calypso genre, with the exception of Davis’ improvisation of “Cloud Nine”. Davis and Pompey seem to have made significant strides in keeping the name Philly Pan Stars a memorable one in steelband circles. It will be exciting to see what the Brooklyn Panorama will bring in 2016, as big things are rumored.
Washington, DC has seen its fair share of pannists come and go. However, they seem to “return to the nest” whenever duty calls. Rebirth Steel is comprised of some of these players, plus a few who have always had the desire to learn to play the steel drum. Robert “Bullit” Thwaites, a name familiar with the PanAm North Stars Steel Orchestra, formed this band about three years ago and has worked diligently to bring them to their current level. It helps that Rebirth has arranging help from Sheldon Thwaites, who is the proud son of Robert Thwaites. Except for the lone female Double Second player, this male- dominated band is comprised of players living in the area some 30-40 years, hence the name Rebirth. Their choice of music shows this. The band’s evening started with Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” followed by the Commodores’ “Night Shift.” Foreigner’s “I Wanna Know What Love Is” was a set favorite. This arrangement had the younger Thwaites’ signature all over it. The band completed its set with Allison Hind’s “Bazodee,” which also showed the band’s vocal ability. All in all, these seniors seem to be having fun, which based on its reaction, is what the audience wanted to see.
Every so often, something happens in the Pan World that blows you away and makes you ask, “Did I just hear that?” Such an event happened at the event. The Revolution Institute for Performing Education (RIPE) is a youth orchestra that is visiting the USA and Canada from Trinidad & Tobago. Invited by CAFÉ, the Cultural Academy for Excellence, and under the watchful eye of director Maureen Clement, formerly of Exocubs, RIPE thrilled the audience with their magnificent performance. What made this group special was that it was the junior group of a larger and older group of kids. As told by their director, the older kids were in the midst of their CXC examinations, an exam that is required for entry into Secondary and High Schools throughout the Caribbean, so they could not be taken away from such an important task. Ms. Clement scrambled to put this group together with this repertoire in just six weeks, which included hymns, classics and calypsos, an amazing feat that only one as accomplished as Maureen Clement is capable of doing. Bunji’s “Differentology” and Farmer Nappy’s “Big People Party” were not enough for the very excited and entertained crowd who shouted for “More, More, More!” Next stop for this group is the Spoken Word Festival in Canada.
Another group that thrilled the audience was CAFÉ’s The Positive Vibration Youth Steel Orchestra. Fresh off their award-winning performance at the Virginia International Pan festival in Virginia Beach, this group, under the musical direction of Josanne Meuzically’Fit Francis, an NIU graduate, was destined to prove that they were not to be outdone by their invited guests. They started very powerfully with Andre Tanker’s “Steelband Times,” which included some improvisational work by members Isaiah Thomas, Jeremy Caesar and, of course, Ms. Francis. PV’s songlist included Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Kitch’s “Ole Lady” (with improvs), Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” a very catchy Latin Groove, “Mi Tierra” (Gloria Estefan), and a superb panorama style arrangement of Mark Loquan’s “Outta de Box” by Josanne Francis. CAFÉ has a new music director in Miss Francis and seems to be exploring new directions. Rumor has it that they are stepping into the Steeldrum with Vocals Opera arena.
It’s 11:00pm, and the host, the Pan Masters Steel Orchestra, is about to hit the stage. This reporter has been attending this festival for over ten years, and to one’s recollection this is the latest that the host has performed. Fun has no time limit. One of the perks of moving the festival back to YOUR PANYARD. By current count, P/M had about 30 players (about 10 in the engine room) “on stage,” With a list that included “Big People Party,” “Somebody” (arranged by Belinda Caesar), “Symphony in G,” and “Love in the Cemetery.” The arranger, Roger Greenidge, seemed to have again pulled this this very seasoned group together to honor and defend their turf.
This year’s pan fest was a real treat. Every band performed up to a standard of excellence, and the audience most definitely got their money’s worth. What’s next for Pan Masters? 2015 marks its 30th anniversary year and is certain to bring more celebratory happenings later on in the year. We’ll await the word. Thanks to Pres., Malcolm John and his members for hosting this magnificent Panfest. A special thanks goes out to Willo Francis, DJ Xtasis, for providing the ALL PAN MUSIC EVENING. It’s about time!
