Christmas on steel

De Musical presentation to de nation by Youlou Pan Movement last Sunday evening, was indeed my best Christmas Gift in years. All six Steel Bands slated to perform were ready to rumble at de scheduled 5:30 p.m. start, but dey had to wait ah whole hour foh de (disrespectful) patrons to arrive. De Show was featuring foh de first time in SVG, six Steel Bands combining to form ah 100 member ‘Mass Band’. Wid two items specially selected: ‘Jesus joy of man’s desire’ and ‘I wish you a Merry Christmas’.{{more}}

In conversation wid Arranger/Conductor, Ashley Kirby who was contracted to prepare de Bands, ah was made aware of some ah the challenges preparing six bands wid de right balance, right sound, playing as ah single orchestra, all dis was done in one month. Each Band practiced separately, stretching from Questelles in de south to Higher Lowmans in de north. In addition to de two special items, each Band had to prepare ah different Repertoire of Christmas Songs for de Show. Christmas Season is also School Exams season, dis is critical as most ah de players are students. De Arranger’s task was made lighter wid some Bands having experienced Arrangers like Johnny JP Pompey of Potential, Jomo Francis of Symphonets and Marla Nanto from SE. Lots ah Kudos foh de young Panists, dey were very keen, showed an interest to learn and have good Pan skills. President of YPM Onika was recognized foh her role in making de combined presentation ah reality.

De Show began on ah high note wid South East (SE) Steel Orchestra, professionally dressed in black pants, white shirts and west-cut One ah de high point ah de Show was de colourful uniforms of each Band. Dis South-East Band is sounding better every-time ah hear dem. De name Marla Nanton was called as de Band’s inspiration. Den we had New Direction, de youngsters from Lowmans Windward, de Band dat practices under very adverse physical conditions, in ah community building dat is leaking and widout electricity. What ah Guv-ah-mint!! Before ah forget, all de Bands comprised lots ah young, young players. Thanks to X-Come-mesh-in-ah Me-Law wid his Pan Against Crime initiative.

Next was Potential of Calliaqua, who made us all, including veterans, Grey and Pest, proud when it was dey time to deliver. Starlift, de oldest band in de land, colourfully dressed, sounded very good pulling from its war chest of Christmas music. Symphonets, de lickle Band from Questelles wid Jomo as dey Arranger, played well too, and is another Band dat is improving wid exposure. Panorama Champs, Sion Hill Euphonium certainly did not disappoint. Rodney’s training in Jamaica came thru strong, he introduced ah lot ah new chords in dem Carols. I still want to hear dem play softer.

Den it was Show Time, de moment de Crowd had waited all evening to hear. De 100 member strong combined Band, unfortunately Sion Hill did not take part so it boiled down to five Bands. De Songs were “Jesus Joy of Man’s Desire” by Bach, and “Wish you a Merry Christmas.” De mass band had one dress rehearsal, dey sounded as though dey rehearsed all week. Dey were balanced, de musicians (dem tenors) played well, in unison and while we heard sweet sounds, de Pans were not tuned foh such ah special occasion. De crowd ask foh more and got an encore.

ASHLEY IS MY SANTA

So dat was my Christmas Gift and de Father Christmas who delivered it, was Ashley Kirby, ah Pan Maestro living in privacy, de son of Doc and “Tanty” Monica,. Ah felt obliged to interview Ashley to provide inspiration foh our young Panist. It all began foh dis youngster, (Osama Bin Laden look alike), in 1966 wid de (BGS) Grammar School Steel Band. Acting Headmaster, Curtis King is determined to reintroduce de Steel Band in de school again. Ashley also played wid Starlift, before pursuing de BSc. degree in Agriculture at UWI in T’n’T in 1973. While down dey, de young student found time to play and gain valuable experience wid several ah de top Bands: Texaco Sky Chief, Carib Tokyo, Curepe Scherzendo, Curepe Moods and Unknown From Curepe. He established ah good record in T’n’T and is always welcome by de Bands to play foh Panorama. On his return home from UWI, he played wid and arranged for Starlift in 1977, and later in 2003 and 2004, on all occasions Starlift won Panorama.

In 1978, he recycled a set of used pans from Phase II, ah local Band in Camden Park and formed his own Band, Fantasia. And foh de first time de community of Edinboro had its own Steel Band. Fantasia never placed first but always held its own among de bigger guns Starlift, Bishops, Twentieth Century et al.

Ashley felt he had to move up to ah higher level in Music, and in 1980 he attended de Music Course offered at de Edna Manley Cultural Training Centre in Jah-mek-her. His sojourn in Jah-mek-her was ah great experience. In his second year he was granted an internal scholarship, and was invited to work part-time Music Instructor. During dat period he also started de Edna Manley Steel Band. He was also ah member ah de UWI Steel Band “Pano Ridim,” both as player and assistant Arranger to Leroy Thomas, ah Trinny buddy from de Curepe Band. Ashley speaks glowingly of de various musical groups with which he played in J-ai, including ah popular Jazz Group, Unlimited Africa that toured de USA. He is now sharing his expertise as Music Teacher/Arranger in Pan, Drumming and Percussions, operating from his Home studio. And wid dat is gone ah gone again. “Have yourself ah merry little Christmas.”

One Love Bassy