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Something of an epiphany came to me after the Panorama finals. Steelband arrangers genuinely seem to respect and admire each other. I couldn’t think of any instance where they have made derogatory remarks about their competitors.
Apart from the swagger that is typical in a competitive environment, there is a recognition that they belong to a family. My feeling was reinforced by a subsequent Facebook post from Trinidad All Stars hailing out Exodus, and Exodus returning the greeting while they were on the road.
Photo: Pan Trinbago
It set me thinking, as these things often do, about the broader impact of this mutual respect. It is reflected in the attitudes of players, both in the internal way they respond to band and section leaders, and to the wider pan community.
Players and supporters belong to their bands. They belong, and that feeling of belonging builds a powerful bond and contributes to a sense of identity.
I won’t go into why the conduct of steelbands is a splendid model for building a society that is desperately in need of recalibration. Martin Daly has repeatedly made rational and passionate cases for it, as have others, and it is enough to say I wholeheartedly support those ideas.
Steelbands continue to lead the way in every aspect of their existence.
I have come to believe that nobody thinks otherwise, and the problem is that nobody—in the places that can make changes—knows how to go about doing it. More on that later, because for now my head is still a bit hot with pan.
Photo: Pan Trinbago
I thought that the decision by Danté Pantin to go with Kitchener’s Pan in A Minor that had been done by Despers in 1987 was a really bold move. I was blown away by the arrangement.
I am no musical expert, but like all of us who know when we love something, I put my hands up for it immediately—as I did when All Stars played Inventor, yet another Leon “Smooth” Edwards offering.
When Invaders played that arrangement of Free Up by Arddin Herbert I heard a comment that it was a tad too slow for Panorama, although it was sweet. It set me wondering again, and in my ignorance I ask: if a tune has a slower tempo, is that a demerit?
Two versions of Woman on the Bass by All Stars jumped into my memory. The fast, scintillating version for Panorama and the slow, seductive sweetness of the one for the road.
Both were captivating and unforgettable. Is it part of the Panorama rule that it has to be frenetic?
And on the question of judging criteria, how did “Gypsy” get into the final of the Calypso Monarch competition with a composition that was so crass, puerile and downright silly?
And what does it say about a society’s ambivalence towards its ethics when the head of the National Carnival Commission sees nothing wrong in participating in competitions overseen by his organisation?
His declaration that he is a calypsonian first is the kind of disingenuous statement that politicians are notorious for. Gypsy knew he was a calypsonian and that he couldn’t stay away from the stage before he became NCC chair; does he really think he should have it both ways?
I don’t want to descend into complaints, because there is a time for post-mortems, but I do want to pick up where I left off last week in praise of the beautiful things we make right here in this confounding place.
Photo: Lost Tribe
From a distance of sorts, I have been looking at various elements still visible in our current seasonal festivities. One of the recurring laments over the past few years has been over the dwindling participation and interest in many of the traditional aspects of Carnival.
I do not doubt that this has been true, but I discern a revival, at least from within the realm of the artists and artisans involved.
Given the way this generation has embarked on a quest for identity, I sense that this resurgence, this desire to look back to the past to find solid roots, emanates from this yearning to belong to something of substance.
Photo: Lost Tribe
The past, our past, has become imbued with a kind of majesty and nobility, and whatever the meaning of that to individuals, it is a far cry from the generations who spurned and blocked out their histories.
There was a time when people sidled away from their childhood experiences, erasing memories that were either too painful or too embarrassing. I suspect that is the shift we are witnessing.
I may be seeing more into this than there actually is, but I feel that there is a movement toward excavating stories and taking pride in being affiliated with them. (Look at DNA’s resonance.) It might take time for the transition.
Photo: OPRTT
Downtown vendors in Port of Spain moaned that there were hardly enough spectators on Jouvert morning to make it worth their while. That has been a tangible sign of the decline, but I figure it was exacerbated by three other factors—fear of crime; extreme heat: we’ve never had these kinds of temperatures before; and Saharan dust, which was predicted to be heavy for the two days.
We will have to wait to see whether this ongoing search for identity is indeed fuelling a resurrection of the carnival arts. Perhaps this year has been the turning point.
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