Trinidad All Stars Kept Them Dancing at Panyard Sensations II
A member of Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra
TrinbagoPan.com Reporters
Event Date: March 18, 2007
Posted: March 25, 2007
The second part of the three part 'Panyard Sensations: De Ole Drum Calling' came off on Sunday 18th March, 2007, at the All Stars Panyard on Duke Street, Port of Spain. Organised by Terry Joseph in conjunction with the Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) and Pan Trinbago, the first part of the series featured PCS Starlift Steel Orchestra at their headquarters on Mucorapo Road.
This event started promptly at the advertised time, 6 pm, with welcoming remarks from Patrick Arnold, president of Pan Trinbago and Jason Baptiste, a representative of TIDCO. In his brief address Mr. Arnold congratulated Trinidad All Stars on their recent Panorama victory.
The Unity Tassa group led by Jameel Bisnath, got the performances rolling, with lively Tassa rhythms that were warmly received by the swelling audience.
Next came a presentation by Carnival band Tribe titled 'Ole Time Something Come Back Again'. The brightly costumed masqueraders paraded and danced to Soca music, giving the audience a taste of the recently concluded Carnival 2007 celebrations. Rosalind Gabriel's winning children's band took to the stage next with a presentation from the 2007 winning portrayal of 'Many Faces, One Nation.' This presentation was done in memory of the great mas-maker, the late Cito Valequez. Led by 14 year old queen of the band, Zia Maria Garcia, the children energetically paraded the different faces of the nation.
The Trinidad All Stars pannists, dressed smartly in red and black, strode to the stage as the MC introduced the band. Trinidad All Stars are six time winners of the Panorama competition and are known for having pioneered the playing of classical music on the pan. This band, born in 1935, has toured the world sharing the wonders of the steel pan.
Enthusiastic audience dancing to the sweet pan music
By the time the Trinidad All Stars pannists had come on stage, the audience had grown dramatically, as the All Stars Panyard was now filled with patrons all eager to hear the 2007 Panorama winners. A large mural of a single pannist playing a tenor pan overlooked the proceeding with the watchwords discipline, dedication and magnificence written underneath.
To the appreciation of the large crowd, Trinidad All Stars launched into a medley of hits. Singer Marilyn Williams soon joined the band and the pannists provided apt accompaniment for her beautiful voice. After playing several more selections, Trinidad All Stars were joined by Raymond Edward who delivered a stirring rendition of "In a Monastery Garden" which won him an encore from the responsive audience.
At about 9 pm, ripples of excitement ran through the crowd as Trinidad All Stars started to play "Pan Lamentations" by De Fosto, the song that won them the 2007 Panorama title. The tempo increased and people got out of their seats and danced. The well-executed crescendos drew applause from the audience and there was even louder applause for them when they had finished the song.
Terry Joseph, retired culture writer and the director of the organizing committee, then spoke of the overwhelming success of the concerts and thanked everyone for their support. He then asked the pannists for one more song, preferably "Woman on the Bass." The crowd cheered and the band obliged, launching into the 1980 hit that won them the Panorama title that year. One patron mentioned that this song is the anthem of Trinidad All Stars and the effect of this song on the crowd was very apparent. Patrons rushed from the seats to the front of the stage and danced in ecstasy to the sounds of the sweet pan music. A lady who was seated with crutches, got up and danced, crutches in hand -- such was the power of the music. It was a fitting end to a tight and well organized concert. The last part of the concert series is on Friday 23rd March featuring bpTT Renegades Steel Orchestra.
Panyard Sensations 2007 - Neal and Massy Trinidad All Stars in pictures:
www.trinbagopan.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=17238
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