It is one thing to enjoy playing steelpan and quite another to make a living by it.

Melvin Dean does both. Born and raised in Harlem, Dean may be one of few African Americans who earns a living playing the instrument. In 1962, he began playing pan at the Morningside Community Center in a program designed to keep young men off the streets and out of trouble. His instructor and mentor was Vincent Rolle, a double second player with Hilanders, a top steelpan group of the day. When that program ended, he moved over to the Minisink Community Center program under the instruction of Carlos Benjamin, another pan musician with Hilanders.

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Although he played other instruments such as the saxophone, piano and clarinet, it was the steelpan that held his interest. Years later, when an opening for a pan musician became available with Spirit Ensemble, a well-known percussion group, he was asked to join. He recorded with them on the album Ancestral Callings.

Among the musicians he admires most is Victor Brady, who changed Dean’s concept of the scope of the instrument and inspired him to practice more on the tenor; Ken “Professor” Philmore for his comment about “style over competition”; Len “Boogsie” Sharpe for his creativity in soloing and mastery over the instruments, and Carlos Benjamin, who retired in Yonkers, New York as a
pan musician. His favorite tuners are Phil Solomon of Pennsylvania, Learie Harrigin of Brooklyn and the late “Mikey” Enoch.

Two of his favorite musicians are Liam Teague for the “fine quality of his work” and Dale Gulston, who “brings much showmanship to the art form.” Dean, who has his own performance company, Steel the Show, offers the following recommendations for those seeking to earn a living by playing the instrument:

Professionalism: We know you can play but the instrument presents a “learning curve,” so listen, observe and learn.

Mentorship: Find a mentor who is reliable because it is an advantage and allows you to pull head of others.

Instrument: Get your own steelpan for serious practicing morning, noon and night.

Customer Satisfaction: It is the key to a successful career in steelpan performance. There is no room for error here. You must be on time. In fact, it is better to be early to become familiar with the environment. Be well groomed and have a versatile repertoire, each piece no longer than 3 or 4 minutes. Adopt a no-alcohol drinking policy during the performance for clear-headed thinking.

Music Business: Be sure to have contracts, payroll forms, fax and cell phones. A calendar is good to avoid double booking by keeping too many details in your head.

Join the Musicians Union: It pays. He still receives royalty checks (as stipulated in the contract) from having performed on The Kathy Lee and Regis Show back in the ‘90s. When a commercial is recorded, residual checks are paid every time the commercial airs.

To learn more about Melvin Dean, go here
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Visit us at http://www.highlitevibes.com

Coming back to the new work, you can hear a clip of this music here. Once again, it is a brief clip (2 minutes), the function of which is to give the listener an idea of what the score should sound like. Hopefully in 2009, HighLite Vibes can secure the resources to have these works performed live. Just to give an idea of what it would involve, there are parts for a steelband:

—–Single Tenors, Double Tenors, Double Seconds, Guitars, Cellos and Bass———

And the parts for the orchestra include
Strings: Violins I, II, Violas, Cellos, Double Bass
Woodwinds: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon
Brass: Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Tuba
Percussion:Timpani, snare drum, cymbal, bass drum, shakers, castanets, triangle

There would be a challenge in finding the correct balance of personnel for each instrument, but the final number could easily be in excess of forty persons players. The steelband alone would be at least 15 persons (extremely small for a steelband). So once again, all suggestions, criticisms, concerns and generally impressions are welcome…
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Visit us at http://www.highlitevibes.com

We invite you to listen to it and provide us with some feedback. We will be writing/arranging additional pieces in this genre (Orchestra/Steelband) and maybe one day soon, we will actually be able to hear similar pieces performed live by symphonic orchestras and steel orchestras.
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Visit us at http://www.highlitevibes.com

Well this competition is promoting that curiosity and HighLite Vibes have already completed a new arrangement for steelband and orchestra. It is an arrangement of a popular Sparrow calypso and it makes for an extremely interesting and fresh sound. In addition to this, the competition has categories for a steelpan concerto and an Overture for steelband and Symphonic Orchestra. You can find more details here

Quite frankly, the final result should not have been that close - ADLIB was way better on this night - not a point better. Not only was their arrangement superior than both CASYM and SONATAS, the execution was very precise especially in the melodic runs pulled out by the tenor pans. CASYM played extremely well (as expected), well enough to win on any other night, however their short-coming may have been in their arrangement which seemed overburdened with too many “4-note flurries” and not enough melodic motifs and ideas to take the listener on a journey. Sonatas’ arrangement did this, take the listener on a musical journey (exploring several keys) but their execution was not up to the usual Sonata precision, and when compared to ADLIB and CASYM, it was evident. However, CASYM was not 5+ points better than Sonatas, that should have been closer.

The night belonged to ADLIB though, hands down - their performance was well executed with dynamics and showmanship never before seen nor heard by an ADLIB band. The addition of fireworks to their presentation may have been an overkill, but still, it was a memorable and historic performance.

When you search for Pan in A-minor on Youtube (click here), you will discover a quiet world of pan enthusiasts performing this piece. Further, many of these artistes are performing at least the introduction of Jit Samaroo’s arrangement, which will underline the importance of this arrangement and performance. Even HighLite Vibes has a version of Pan in A , that mirrors many of the musical moments from that memorable performance.

Find more information about HighLite Vibes here

When the steelpan started growing in popularity, I am sure it was the vision of many pioneers to share this part of their culture with as many persons they could in the world. However, once more individuals and countries started embracing the instrument, its identity became blurred and it is categorized more and more as a musical instrument rather than a “trinidadian instrument.” For example, where was the flute invented? Or where was the clarinet, oboe, trumpet invented? The “ordinary man” most likely cannot answer these questions but yet these instruments are always present in a standard orchestra and are known around the world.

My point is this, for the Steelpan to become even more standardized, it may have to let go of its roots and this might not be a bad thing even though so many Trinidadians do dread it, I say relax, we’re going to come and go - but the steelpan will remain here…yes its already entering into that eternal musical instrument home - (The symphony Orchestra)

Check out this clip of steelpan and orchestra from HighLite Vibes here.

Additionally, I will attempt to create similar documents for several of the winning panorama arrangements across the years. If you know any resources that would provide me assistance please forward it to me, or comment it on this post!

1. Pan on the Net is quite possibly the most diverse and in-depth coverage of the pan industry especially in the NY scene.

2. The Pan Page is another great website resource that covers the pan industry all across the globe.
3. Pan-Jumbie.com is another interesting website.