IN OUR HOUSE: THE REALIZATION OF 'SELF' THROUGH SOUND IN
CLIVE BRADLEY'S MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE CALYPSO "IN MY
HOUSE" FOR THE DESPERADOES STEEL ORCHESTRA
CHANTAL M. ESDELLE
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
GRADUATE PROGRAMME IN MUSIC
YORK UNIVERSTIY
TORONTO, ONTARIO
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I+I Canada ABSTRACT
The music created during Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival, like the festival itself, is instrumental in reconstructing and retaining cultural tradition, building community, and recording history. The steelband, a community institution that produces music for
Carnival on the national instrument, the steelpan, has been instrumental in effecting this.
In this thesis I examine how this is done by looking at the specific example of the
Desperadoes Steel Orchestra in the Laventille community in Port-of-Spain Trinidad, and the music arranged for the band by Clive Bradley. I analyze how Bradley uses the text of the calypsos, and the experiences of the members of Desperadoes, to create musical arrangements that serve as an historical reference of relationships and events for the community and the members of the band. I use the musical example of his arrangement of the calypso "In my House" to investigate the process of creating, preparing and performing a piece that is easily accessed as a vessel for individual and communal memory.
iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My interest in the music of Trinidad and Tobago was first inspired by my parents, both of whom were active participants in Carnival. In the case of my mother this involved working with the NCC (National Carnival Commission) and its predecessor the CDC
(Carnival Development Commission), and serving as the Public Relations Officer for one of the country's most prominent steelbands, Trinidad All Stars. The live and recorded music they shared with me instilled a great appreciation and reverence for Trinidadian music. This love for music could not have been developed without the musical training I received from Louise Mcintosh at Pan Pipers Music School in Trinidad and Tobago. It was there that I not only began my training as a musician but also began to play the steelpan.
My experience as a pannist has been invaluable throughout my exploration of
Trinidadian music and so, I must recognize the insight gained from my tenure with several steelbands in Trinidad. My association with the steelband fraternity, since the age of 13, has allowed me to gain an understanding of the significance of steelbands in the development of community and relationships. To all the bands and my colleagues in the
Steelband movement I, therefore, express my thanks. I am particularly thankful to
Desperadoes for embracing me and claiming me as one of their own. To my fellow band members, Robert Greenidge, Curtis Edwards, Anthony McQuilkin, Nigel Flemming, and
Stacy Rose, I express my gratitude for your support and the invaluable information you shared with me about band.
v Creating this academic record has been made possible by York University. I would like to thank my professors at York, particularly Michael Marcuzzi, Rob van der
Bliek and Louise Wrazen, who all took great care in introducing me to the style and form of academic research and scholarly writing. I would also like to thank my colleagues at
York whose discussions and papers at our seminars enriched and aided my graduate experience and the development of this thesis.
Embarking upon this degree has required that I be separated from my immediate family for long periods of time. I must thank my husband, Robert Young, for supporting me, my aunt, Ruth Esdelle, for helping me situate myself in Toronto, and my brother and close friends for being available to me throughout this process. Finally, to Mr. Bradley, my sincerest apologies for not chronicling your musical work and history when you first asked me ten years ago. Although you are no longer on this earth to witness the beginning of this work I know that, even from beyond the great divide, you can appreciate the fact that I have finally begun.
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. Who is you? A consideration of the social, historical, and cultural circumstances that cultivated Trinidadian society, Carnival, and the community organization called the Steelband 16
Economics, Immigration, Class and Culture 17
Carnival and Cannes Brulees 24
Steelpan, Music for Carnival 28
2. Laventille, Desperadoes, and Clive Bradley 32
Laventille 32
Desperadoes 34
Preparing for Panorama 41
Bradley 44
3. Developing an arrangement for Panorama: Musical Analysis of Clive Bradley's arrangement of the calypso, "In my House," for the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra 50
The Performance 51
Instrumentation and Orchestration 53
The Arrangement 57
4. Chronicling the Carnival Story in song: Bradley's representation of community, connection, and relationships in his Panorama arrangements for Desperadoes 70
Laventille Fosters Community through Desperadoes 71 vii Bradley tells his Story 77
The Story of "In My House" 87
Conclusion 93
Appendix 99
Appendix A Background information on the Desperadoes members
interviewed and referenced 99
Appendix B Lyrics of "In my House" 104
Appendix C Audio CD Track Listing 106
Appendix D Desperadoes Steel Orchestra Steelpans 107
Appendix E Analysis Chart 113
References 124
Discography 127
viii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig la: Bass line Section B (0:51-1:50) bars 1-8 as played by low basses 53
Fig lb: Bass line Section B (0:51-1:50) bars 1-8 as played by tenor basses 53
Fig 2: Scored melody of the verse and chorus of "In my House" 55
Fig 3: The three motives 57
Fig 4: Frontline pans descant line in Section D 59
Fig 5: Minor melodic phrase (based on Motif 1) for the stops in Section I 62
Fig 6: Section K bars 1-8 63
ix Introduction
Through the centuries, Latin America has been despoiled of gold and silver, nitrates and rubber, copper and oil: its memory has also been usurped. From the outset it has been condemned to amnesia by those who have prevented it from being.. .1 am a writer who would like to contribute to the rescue of the kidnapped memory of all America.. .(Eduardo Galeano. Memories of Fire, Genesis, xv)
The western Europeans situated themselves in the Americas for profit. Galleano reminds us that the resulting capitalist economic system instituted in the Americas, a major tenet of it being slavery, not only resulted in the exploitation of the primary resources of the Americas but also instigated the decimation of the cultural heritage and history of the people who constituted the labour force: indigenous people, African people who were enslaved and brought to the Americas, and the indentured labourers who came from Africa, India, Southern Europe, the Middle East and China. He suggests that as an
American writer he may be able to rescue the memory of the American experience through his work. Many, like Galleano, have attempted to rescue this memory. How, then, have they attempted to do this?
Wilfried Raussert suggests in his monograph, Negotiating Temporal Differences:
Blues, Jazz and Narrativity in African American Culture (2000), that jazz and blues have been used to represent social and cultural change as well as historical and physical time for individual African Americans and the African American community, while Edwin
Hill suggests in his PhD dissertation, "Black Soundscapes, White Stages, the meaning of sound in the Black Francophone Atlantic," that "while colonial conquest must always deal with landscapes colonial subjects must always deal with soundscapes" (2007, 5).
1 Both authors suggest that not only did the resulting oppression of economic and social systems influence the creation of musical forms but also that social thought and communal and individual experience was expressed through this temporal state of sound.
J.D. Elder suggests that the music and art in Trinidad's Carnival serves a similar function since carnival is an artistic institution in Trinidad and Tobago whose music, dance, costumes, masks, handicraft, religion, poetry and sculpture are representative of the performers worldview, belief system, and philosophy of life (Riggio 2004, 48-49).
Shanon Dudley adds that the performance and patronage of carnival music helps to articulate social identity (Dudley 2004, 4).
In this thesis I have chosen to consider how this American experience is expressed in Trinidad through the music created and performed for Carnival. The study will focus on the way the urban working class community of Laventille in Port-of-Spain
Trinidad retains its cultural heritage and maintains its sense of community and identity through the establishment of its steelband, the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra and, more specifically, through Desperadoes' preparation for and performance in Panorama (the main steelband competition in Trinidad's Carnival). I chose to examine the possible function of the creative process and product through an analysis of Clive Bradley's arrangement of the calypso "In My House" for Desperadoes in the Panorama competition of 1999, and through a brief survey of the history of and relationships between Clive
Bradley and Desperadoes.
My choice of Laventille's Desperadoes, and Clive Bradley's arrangement, was motivated from a social, historical, and personal perspective. Socially, Laventille as a 2 poor urban community in Trinidad and Tobago would have had to develop its own means of perpetuating its culture and existence. I rationalized that it was very possible that the formation and performance practice of Desperadoes steel orchestra was one way in which they may have done this, so that the community and the band would fit the profile of the study. Historically, Desperadoes is one of the most renowned steelbands in the world.
They have performed at Carnigie Hall and Royal Albert Hall, won the Panorama competition ten times (more than any other steelband) and in each decade since its inception in 1963, won Panorama with three arrangers (most steelbands with repeated wins have done so with the same arranger), and won the World Steelband Music Festival three consecutive times. Continued research and information on Desperadoes would, therefore, also be useful to the national archive of Trinidad and Tobago. Personally, as a member of Desperadoes, and a musician and arranger who was inspired by the work of
Bradley, I wanted to examine an arrangement that I played and whose creation and performance I had experienced. The 1999 arrangement was also chosen because I found it significant since it was the first Panorama arrangement Bradley did for Desperadoes since his departure from the band in 1984.
I was able to source information on the history of Trinidad and Tobago,
Trinidad's Carnival, the steelpan, and the Steelband Movement (Besson 2001; Cowley
1996; Dudley 2004, 2008; Elder 1972; Gibbons 1994; Guilbault 2007; Hill 1993; James
1963; Liverpool 1990; Rohlehr 1990; Steumpfle 1995). These all served to inform the perspective of my study. I did not encounter any examples where the musical arrangement created for and performed by the steelband was analyzed as a cultural and/or 3 historical document. The concept, however, of music functioning as a means of documenting social identity and experience has directed much ethnomusicological study and resulted in several approaches to musical analysis so that, although it's an old article,
I was able to use the perspective presented in 1981 by Ruth and Verlon Stone, "Event,
Feedback, and Analysis: Research Media in the Study of Music Events" to guide my study. The article offers a framework that may be used to connect the act of creating and performing music with the intention of retaining cultural memory, and defining individual and communal identity (Stone 1981, 216-218). I followed its direction in choosing the background information I would use to frame my study, and in determining the method and manner of my analysis and presentation.
The ideas presented by the Stones that may be most pertinent to interpreting how performance practices are related to the expression of present social dynamics and past cultural history suggest that meaning in a music event is created with reference to the immediate event situation, past personal and cultural experience, and current relevance, and that past experience shapes interpretation and, therefore, meaning (Stone 1981, 216).
This concept that the nature of music is dictated by its immediate social function and informed by its social and cultural history prompted me to consider aspects of
Trinidadian history that may have informed the performance practices associated with
Trinidad's Carnival, the development of the steelpan as an instrument and of the steelband as a community organization, and the nature of the Panorama competition and, more specifically, Desperadoes' preparation for it.
4 While social, cultural, and historical background information may illuminate why and how Trinidadians use Carnival performance practices to retain their cultural heritage and, consequently, inform their identity, and the study of the evolution of the steelpan and steelband in Laventille can lead to several suppositions around the role of
Desperadoes in recording experiences and establishing identity for the people of
Laventille, it is also necessary to consider Clive Bradley. He planned and created the arrangement of the calypso for Desperadoes. It is, therefore, his experience and his perception of relationships within the band that are embedded in his arrangements for
Desperadoes. Stone supports this claim that music is planned and created by the performer (for my intents and purposes this includes the arranger) and reminds us that this perception is then interpreted by the event participant within the context of their experience and understanding (Stone 1981, 216-217). In addition to Bradley's intent and its effect on the style and content of his arrangement of the calypso "In My House," we are also persuaded to investigate how the other participants (the listeners, the community) attach meaning to the arrangement thereby recording their own experiences.
Stone supports this perspective that the participants attach their own meaning to
Bradley's arrangement and reminds us that, "The construction of meaning in music events involves an interpretive process whereby participants relate the potential information in a music event to a dynamic, updatable cognitive map and their own purposeful state" (Stone 1981, 216-217). It also reminds us that Bradley's meaning is not obscured since, as an artist who is trying to communicate a message, he uses familiar signs, sounds, and techniques where "music is interpreted at a subconscious level where 5 its communication is routine, and the meanings are typified or taken for granted" (Stone
1981, 217). These familiar signs and sounds are interpreted on a conscious level as well:
"Music is interpreted at a conscious level where it is not routine and requires active interpretation"(Stone 1981, 217).
Before examining Bradley's arrangement of the calypso "In My House" I present relevant historical information on Trinidad, Trinidad's Carnival, Steelband, Steelpan,
Laventille, Desperadoes, and Clive Bradley. This information is pertinent in ascertaining why it is probable that the arrangement may be a musical record of Bradley's experiences in Laventille, extends to serve as a means of accessing memories for all of the participants in this performance experience, and is part of a performance practice that retains cultural history and informs individual and communal identity. In addition to the literature cited I also use information gleaned from interviews with significant, longstanding members of the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra (listed in Appendix A) and from my fifteen-year tenure in the band and lifelong involvement in Steelband and
Carnival. I use this to supplement information about the history of Desperadoes,
Bradley's history in Desperadoes, and the events that occurred during the creation of a few arrangements (but more specifically during the creation of his arrangement of "In My
House"). I also use the statements made in the interviews to look at the way the arrangements are used to record individual and communal experiences, and the way an association with the band has engendered a sense of organization, control, and connection in Desperadoes and in the Laventille community.
6 I have included the lyrics to the calypso (Appendix B), an audio recording of the calypso "In My House" and the live performance of Bradley's arrangement of it performed by Desperadoes at the finals of the Panorama competition in 1999 (Audio CD with track listing in Appendix C), a list of the steelpans used in Desperadoes, their range, and their musical function in Bradley's arrangements (Appendix D), and an analysis chart that details the form of the arrangement, the orchestration used, the treatement of motivic material, and the intent and effect of each section of Bradley's arrangement of "In My
House" (Appendix E) to guide the reader through my musical analysis and support some of my claims.
The thesis is divided into the following chapters.
WHO IS YOU?
In this chapter I give a brief overview of the historical circumstances that affected the nature and composition of Trinidad's population, and the cultural practices that they retained and/or developed. The title, "Who is you?" is a play on local dialect where the question would infer, who are you and where do you come from? I centre the discussion around the habitation of the island by the Europeans from the late 15th century since this eventually led to the institution of an agriculture-based plantation economy whose labour requirements shaped the social and economic structure of the island. The decimation of the aboriginal people and their culture, imposition of lifelong involuntary servitude
(slavery) on Africans brought to work in Trinidad, and the introduction of East Indian indentured (and later African, Middle Eastern, Chinese, and Southern European 7 indentured labour), were all results of the ensuing labour policy. None of these practices encouraged the recognition of the large working populace's humanity nor did they acknowledge the significance of their culture. I share details about the economic system, the resulting class structure, and the resulting mistreatment of the people who were relegated to the working class.
I consider Trinidad's Carnival to be one way in which the working class regained a sense of connection, community, and identity, and retained much of its cultural heritage. Carnival became a staple of Trinidadian culture when there was a mass immigration of French planters, free coloureds (people of mixed European and African heritage), and enslaved Africans from the French Caribbean (Haiti, Martinique,
Guadeloupe) as a result of the planters being granted land in Trinidad by the Spanish government in 1783. Consisting of fetes and performances, the festival's timetable is dictated by the Christian Calendar. Festivities begin after Epiphany, January 6th, and end on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the first day of the sombre, prayerful and meditative period of Lent. Though introduced by the French, the Afro-French music, dance and mask are the strongest elements of the festival particularly since the ritual procession created by the Africans to celebrate emancipation (the end of slavery in
Trinidad) was moved to Carnival when the independent celebration of it on August 1st was banned. Since my study concentrates on the way cultural practice was used by
Laventille, a community of people of African heritage, to record their experiences and inform their identity, I centre my discussion of Carnival around this African ritual procession known as the Cannes Bruiees. This procession celebrates the abolition of 8 slavery and the emancipation of slaves through the re-enactment of the (final) cane
harvest. It not only records what may be considered the most significant event for
Africans in the Americas, but it also demonstrates the use of the practice to perpetuate
cultural heritage and exercise control over one's own space, a control that was not
permitted within the confines of either slavery or colonialism.
I close this chapter by noting that the steelpan was created for Carnival and
suggest that it is an extension of the celebration of the Cannes Brulees. Like the Cannes
Brulees, its antecedents are recorded as being from the poor, urban, working class,
African heritage, communities in Port-of-Spain Trinidad. Like the Cannes Brulees, the
control exercised by this group in the organization of the steelband opposes their
perceived powerlessness in the wider society, and, like the Cannes Brulees the creation of
music in the steelband allows for the retention of cultural practice and heritage.
Panorama, the most significant steelband competition in Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival,
was established after the country's independence in August 1962. It was first held during
the Carnival of 1963. Originally, each participating steelband was required to prepare a
ten-minute arrangement of a calypso that was composed for the Carnival season of the
same year. Since 2000 this has been altered slightly; bands are allowed to arrange a
calypso from the previous year and the arrangements need only be eight minutes long.
The calypso and the manner in which the arrangement is developed is dictated by the band and the arranger. The arrangement is dependent on the artistic style of the arranger,
and the cultural environment of the band, but characteristically consists of an
introduction, a presentation of the verse and chorus, a variation on the verse and chorus, 9 several constructed solos by various sections of the steelband, a jam, a minor section, a recapitulation, and an ending. At one time, 1968-1972, there were bands with as many as
200 players. This was regularized by the end of the seventies, so that now each band performs with between 100 and 120 players. This is the context within which Clive
Bradley created his arrangement of the calypso "In My House" for the Desperadoes Steel
Orchestra for the Panorama competition held during the carnival season in 1999.
LAVENTILLE, DESPERADOES, AND CLIVE BRADLEY
In the first chapter I consider how the history of Trinidad, its Carnival, and its
Steelbands, may lead one to propose that it is likely that this performance art is used as a reference for and record of community life, experiences and identity. In Chapter two I carry this a bit further and discuss how this may be applied specifically to my case study.
I first introduce the community. Laventille is situated in the hills just east of Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port-of-Spain. It is often referred to as a ghetto and is often cast as an area where violence is prominent and violent criminals are resident. This is not surprising given the level of poverty that exists in Laventille. I describe this poverty and discuss how, despite it, the residents are able to reclaim their humanity by forming
Desperadoes.
The first amalgamation of Desperadoes was formed in the late 1940s. The band's present site, however, was established in the mid 1960s when three steelbands in the community joined (this is discussed in detail in Chapter four). This act of unification was intentional, for the community meant to create a musical institution that showed the true 10 power and potential of its people. In describing Desperadoes in this chapter I therefore focus on the connection between the band and the community and the expectation that whatever it produced be of their best. I also look at the way the process of preparing the band for Panorama demonstrated the capability of the community to govern and organize itself well. This is a direct contrast to the oppressive image of instability, ineptitude, and disorganization that is imposed on, and sometimes internalized by, the Laventille community.
Clive Bradley is the last subject discussed in this chapter. Bradley is not a member of Desperadoes nor is he from Laventille. He grew up in Green Hill Village
Diego Martin. Diego Martin was originally an agricultural area just west of Port-of-
Spain that in no way experienced the poverty that was apparent in Laventille. Bradley was also a light skinned college boy who attended a prestigious high school, attended and taught at the Teacher's Training College (math and science not music), and later arranged and co-produced albums for some of the most well known calypsonians of his time. I spend this section examining whether he was cognizant of the healing power of this performance process for Laventille and what he perceived his role to be.
DEVELOPING AN ARRANGEMENT FOR PANORAMA
During the first two decades of the panorama competition the arrangements of the calypsos evolved from an interpretation of the verse, the chorus, and the band chorus, to an extended arrangement. Today almost all arrangements will include an introduction, the verse, the chorus, a variation in the same key, a variation in another major key if the 11 song is in major or another minor key if the song is in a minor key, a variation in the parallel or relative minor, a jam section (or two, or three), a recapitulation, and an ending.
The arranger has the liberty to include any or all of these sections in his/her arrangement and even develop other sections along completely different lines. In this chapter I look at the form of Bradley's arrangement of "In My House" and pay particular attention to the song material (rhythmic and melodic) that he uses to develop each section, the orchestration of each section, the tonality of each section, and the way he connects the sections. I have included several transcriptions. These transcriptions were done by me.
I found it necessary to include some additional material to substantiate my claims and clarify my analysis. The most important of these is, perhaps, the audio material. I have included a CD the contents of which are listed in Appendix C. This audio recording includes two tracks; a recording of the calypso "In My House" as sung by the composer
Emmanuel 'Oba' Synnette, and Desperadoes' Panorama final performance of Bradley's arrangement of this calypso. Analysis of the orchestration may be aided by the information provided in Appendix D. Here I list the steelpans used by Desperadoes in this performance, their range, and their traditional orchestral function in Desperadoes.
The analysis chart found in Appendix E gives the counter/time marker and a general description of each section. It also details the main motivic material in each section and describes how it was used to develop each section. The composer's intent and the observed effect is also included here.
The analysis is prefaced by a description of Panorama and Desperadoes' final night performance of "In My House" in Panormama 1999. The performance may be 12 viewed on Youtube.1 This may help in understanding my position with respect to the arranger's intent and the observed effect. It will also give a visual perspective of the size and magnitude of the steel orchestra in this Panorama performance.
CHRONICLING THE CARNIVAL STORY IN SONG
The main claim of this thesis is that the music created in and performed by
Desperadoes is one way in which a sense of community, connection, and continuity is retained in Laventille. The musical example used to demonstrate this process is Clive
Bradley's arrangement of "In My House." This example allowed me to consider the specific role of the Laventille community, the players in Desperadoes, and the arranger
Clive Bradley in producing a musical work that chronicles the existence, experiences, and connection between these three entities. I start the chapter by providing more information about the formation of Desperadoes. Unlike chapter two, where I focus on the way the band is organized, here I focus on the way the band was formed. I highlight that the band was formed as part of the community's effort to maintain spiritual and cultural tradition and practice. I also point out that it was a universal effort in the community that brought three steelbands together under one united community band,
Desperadoes.
I then look at how the community effects a sense of continuity by marking historical time with the music. I note that throughout my interviews Panorama
1 Despers-In My House. http://www.voutube.com/watch?v=CeuTZmFGhAA&feature=PlavList&p=58B2FEB6A E54881 C&plavnext= 1 &plavnext from=PL&index=l0 (accessed February 23rd, 2010). 13 arrangements, not only by Bradley but in general, are used by individuals to chronicle their experiences and that the progress of the band is aligned with its participation, struggles, and successes in Panorama. Events, for example, are often marked by the
Panorama arrangement of the year rather than the year itself. Since we tend to relate to verbal signs and lyrics more than instrumental signs I also consider the lyrics of the calypsos chosen by Bradley, as well as some of the factors that affected his choice, for his landmark arrangements for Desperadoes and look at the way the lyrics coincide with his experiences in the band. This section also considers how Bradley's arrangement chronicles not only physical time but also human connection. I suggest that the lyrics of the calypsos arranged by Bradley verbalize the nature of his relationship with
Desperadoes and examine why.
This chapter ends with a consideration of how the lyrics of "In My House" and the concept of the family and connection are significant to Bradley when arranging for
Desperadoes in 1999. Using interview material, I look at the interconnection of Bradley and Desperadoes in particular, and of Bradley Desperadoes and Laventille in general. I focus on how the imagery of the house and the lyrics of the calypso "In My House" are applicable to the Bradley-Desperadoes-Laventille relationship and identity, and consider how Bradley used the listener's familiarity with the lyrics to craft an arrangement that chronicled and described this relationship.
The African experience in the Americas is recorded through music. In Trinidad the music of Carnival serves this function. The process of creating music for the
Panorama steelband competition in Carnival brings communities in Trinidad together and 14 allows for the perpetuation of cultural practice. Each piece is a record of a thought, event, emotion, and/or experience. In my thesis I look at the way this is modeled in the urban community of Laventille and their steelband Desperadoes and investigate the extent to which Clive Bradley's arrangements chronicle his experience in Desperadoes and their connection to Carnival. I propose that the process not only tells a Trinidadian
Laventillian story but, in so doing, counters the hurt of colonialism and serves as a reference for the true identity and power of Desperadoes and the Laventille community.
15 Chapter 1
Who is you? A consideration of the social, historical, and cultural circumstances that cultivated Trinidadian society, Carnival, and the community organization called the Steelband
This chapter considers the historical circumstances that shaped Trinidad's social structure and cultural heritage, particularly as it relates to the creation of the steelpan and the development of steelbands. Today Trinidad is part of the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago that is recorded to have a population of just over 1.2 million people, 40% of which is of East Indian decent, 37.5% of African descent, 20.5% of mixed descent, 1.2% of other ethnicities, and a remaining unspecified group of 0.8%.2 The two islands were brought under one administration by the British in 1899 to offset Tobago's declining agricultural industry. The creation of the steelband is seen to be more a part of Trinidad's history than Tobago's. Thus, we will focus on Trinidadian history.
Trinidad is the most southerly isle in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeast coast of Venezuela. Columbus landed on the island in 1498 but Spain had little interest in developing this settlement so that the island was at first only populated by native
Indians (Amerindians) and Spaniards. This would, of course, change because of the economic systems instituted on the island which first took the form of a plantation system supported by Amerindian labour and then took the form of a plantation system supported by the forced servitude of West Africans. With the abolition of slavery in 1838,
2 C.I.A. Fact book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/td.html (accessed April 22nd, 2009). 16 indentured labour was then used to support the plantation system, and in the twentieth century the discovery of oil and natural gas influenced migration patterns to and from the island. Thus Trinidad became home to people of Amerindian, African, East Indian,
Chinese, Syrian Lebanese, Portugese, Spanish, French, and British (English, Scottish, and
Irish) heritage.3
ECONOMICS, IMMIGRATION, CLASS, AND CULTURE
Columbus' arrival in Trinidad in 1498 heralded the arrival of the Europeans to the
Americas. The ensuing labour practices resulted in a social system plagued by the classism, racism, and marginalization that is found in any society where the vast wealth of a few is created by an abused and overworked majority.
It has been said of the Spanish conquistadors that first they fell on their knees, and then they fell on the aborigines. They brought to the New World an economic and social heritage in which slavery and serfdom were constituent elements. (Williams 1970, 30)
This was first apparent with the Amerindians as they were made to suffer as Columbus followed his mandate to increase the economic wealth of Spain through the acquisition of land, the mining of mineral resource, the growth of agricultural produce and the forced servitude and trade of human beings (Williams 1970, 31). Records show that he saw the hospitality and cultural diffidence of the Amerindians to be an asset in the exercise of enslaving them. He identified them not only as an easily manipulated workforce that
3 The Angostura Historical Digest details this history. Besson, Gerard, and Angostura Bitters Limited. 2001. The angostura historical digest of Trinidad and Tobago. Cascade, Trinidad and Tobago: Paria Pub: Angostura. 17 could be used in the exercise of developing mining and agriculture but also as a group that could be enslaved and exported to Spain, "On his third voyage in 1498, he shipped six hundred Indians back to Spain. The slave trade in the Caribbean thus began as outward and not inward cargoes, taking the form of Indians transported from the West
Indies to Spain rather than of Negroes transported from West Africa to the Caribbean"
(Williams 1970, 31-32). This first institution of capitalism on the island at once fostered the marginalization of the people, the larger group at the time, who lived there. They were enslaved, mistreated and even killed.
The Amerindians resisted. "By 1495 the Spaniards were engaged in open warfare with the Indians. Naked, armed only with bows and arrows, the Indians were no match for the Spanish crossbows, knives, artillery, cavalry, and the dogs trained by the
Spaniards to hunt them down" (Williams 1970, 32). The Indians rebellion resulted in their annihilation and near extinction. Williams cites Hipanola as an example,
"population in 1492 at between 200,000 and 300,000. By 1508 the number was reduced to 60,000; in 1510, it was 46,000; in 1512, 20,000; in 1514, 14,000. In 1548 Oviedo doubted whether five hundred Indians of pure stock remained" (Williams 1970, 33).
Elder cites Harry Dow in his description of the decrease of the Amerindian population in
Trinidad, "By 1783, the Indian population numbered only 2,000, while in 1797 it had declined by half; today, there cannot be more than a handful" (Elder 1972, 3). Dow's account does not include figures from the sixteenth century, nor does it consider the very real phenomenon of mixed ethnicity. For although there may be a handful of native
Indians left many people in Trinidad, and the Caribbean, are able to claim some native 18 Indian ancestry. So that even though the music of the Caribbean does not seem to have any direct link to the original inhabitants, it is conceivable that it also represents the
"dignity and fortitude" of these first "rebels against imperialism" (Williams 1970, 33).
After the decimation of the Indians and the failure to cultivate a dependable workforce through white European immigrant labour, the Spanish turned to the Negro slave trade (Williams 1970, 38-41). This act added to the growing section of the populace that was being mistreated and marginalized. The Africans endured even worse treatment than the Amerindians as CLR James describes.
The slaves were collected in the interior, fastened one to the other in columns, loaded with heavy stones of 40 or 50 pounds in weight to prevent attempts at escape, and then marched the long journey to the sea, sometimes hundreds of miles.. .On the ships the slaves were packed in the hold on galleries one above the other. Each was given only four or five feet in length and two or three feet in height, so that they could neither lie at full length nor sit upright.. .All America and the West Indies took slaves.. .Worked like animals, the slaves were housed like animals, in huts built around a square planted with provisions and fruits. These huts were about 20 to 25 feet long divided by partitions into two or three rooms.. .Defenseless against their masters, they struggled with overwork and its usual complement—underfeeding. (James 1963, 7-11)
With the abolition of slavery in 1838, the British, on the advice of William
Burnley, an influential planter in Trinidad, considered the importation of free-workers from India rather than that of European indentured labour (Williams 1970, 347).
Between 1838 and 1917 145,000 East Indians were brought to Trinidad. Indentured labourers did not come from India alone but also from Portugal and China (Williams
1970, 348-349).
An official picture of Trinidad in 1937 described every adult over twenty years of age as affected by deficiency disease, and the working life of the population 19 reduced by at least one-half.. .They described the dwellings in Trinidad as 'indescribable in their lack of elementary needs of decency'; one such barracks had three water-closets 150 yards from the furthest dwelling to serve forty-eight rooms with an estimated population of 226. 'It is hardly too much to say,' they continued, 'that on some of the sugar estates the accommodation provided is in a state of extreme disrepair and thoroughly unhygienic. (Williams 1970, 451-453)
The abusive labour practices did not end with the plantation system, nor did they end with indentured labour. In the 1930s Trinidad developed an oil based economy. Many people from the nearby English-speaking Caribbean, like Grenada, St. Vincent,
Barbados, made their way to Trinidad in search of work. Their working conditions only improved after a massive Labour movement headed by Uriah Buzz Butler agitated for better working conditions and wages. Thus the oppression of slavery, indentureship, and industrial labour shaped the class structure of Trinidadian society into one that clearly consisted of a lower/working class and an owning/upper class. The middle class, which would grow in size from the late nineteenth century well into the late twentieth century emerged from the working/lower class. The early colonial model of a professional middle class grew as more people, particularly Africans and East Indians, gained access to education and had the opportunity to become teachers, nurses, administrative clerks, lawyers, doctors, scholars etc. Forays into trade, particularly by Syrian/Lebanese,
Chinese, and Portugese indentured labourers also contributed to a growing middle class
(Williams 1964).
The middle class sometimes worked to further the efforts of the working class, which continually fought for survival to retain their sense of self, culture, and hope through words and music. For the largest marginalized group, which at the time was the people of Aftrican heritage, resistance was vented through the performance practices associated with Carnival and its antecedent, the Cannes Brulees.
Carnival and Cannes Brulees both had an Afro-French Caribbean bias since the
French who celebrated Carnival and the ex-slaves who celebrated their freedom with the
Cannes Brulees ritual in Carnival did not come directly from France of Africa but from the French Caribbean (Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe). This French presence can be largely attributed to the Cedula issued by Charles III in 1776 which invited French planters to settle in Trinidad with their slaves by offering them grants of land. The
Cedula was extended in 1783 to include any white person in the Catholic faith (Cowley
1996, 9-10). The Cedula coincided with a few other events that led to the migration of tens of thousands of people to Trinidad; the Haitian Revolution and Haiti's subsequent independence, the Napoleonic wars, and the British Abolition Act. This resulted in a large French and Afro-French-Caribbean influence on the language, culture, and music of
Trinidad (Cowley 1996, 10) that was also apparent in both verbal and non-verbal forms of protest and the resulting performance practices exercised during Carnival. This did not change significantly even after the British took control of the island in 1797.
Though the Afro-French influence was strongest, the folklore and folksongs of the various groups influenced "calypso and its cultural associates" (Elder 1972). Elder produces a list of some of the dominant folk forms in his 1972 publication from Congo
Drum to Steelband (Elder 1972, 8-10). He lists the influences, the instrumentation, and the function of each form. What follows is a general consideration of the ways in which
21 the various groups may have influenced Trinidadian music, particularly folk music, which is the basis for the celebration of Carnival.
The culture of Trinidad was developed and influenced by the immigration of several groups to the island particularly the Spanish from 1498, African from 1501,
French from 1783, British from 1797, and East Indian from 1845. The French influence included a very strong input from the Afro-French Caribbean dance and music that had taken shape in Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Grenada, and had now been transported to Trinidad. Cowley notes that these waves of immigration and resulting cultural interaction produced the main characteristics of Trinidadian culture, particularly music, by the late nineteenth century.
This pattern confirms the view that by the 1860s folk culture in Trinidad comprised four main strands. First were ex-slaves and their children (sub-divided into French and English plantation traditions). Second were descendants of non- slaves of African and mixed ancestry. The third group was of free Africans. The final group comprised Spanish-speaking persons, usually of Native American and African genealogy. The principal language of all four was French Creole. Less ready to merge were migrants from China, Portugal and the Indian sub-continent. Separation of the latter resulted from coercion. (Cowley 1996, 134-135)
The influence of Amerindian music on Trinidadian folk music is seen as minimal, if at all existent. Elder explains this by noting that, ".. .all students of the Spanish Conquest of the New World know that even in Mexico where there were efforts by the priests to preserve as much as they could of native music, the very nature of 'reduction' as defined by the designers of New World colonization made any survival of native Indian music or culture, especially in Trinidad, something short of the miraculous" (Elder 1972, 3).
22 The British influence is cited as being more of a political and economic one than cultural. Hispanic culture exists as a result of Venezuelan rather than Spanish influence and seems to have occurred because of two major migrational waves, one of Negroes migrating to South American and the other of peons, sailors and other traders voyaging to
Trinidad in the early nineteenth century. Elder lists the Venezuelan folksong contributions as being the Veiquoix, Fandang, and Parang. The French influence was more of a French Caribbean influence that was African centred. The French settlers from
Marthinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada increased the late eighteenth century white population by 1, 532 persons and the African population by
33, 322. The freedom of cultural expression of this group was also significant since many people of colour and their African counterparts were not slaves. Elder lists the bele, the kalinda, and the quesh as being the most noted genres that may be traced to this
Afro-French Caribbean influence (Elder 1972, 8-10).
The African and Afro-Caribbean folk forms seem to have played the largest role in the development of Trinidadian music from the late nineteenth century onwards. This may be in line with the use of music and culture as a means of maintaining a sense of community among the disenfranchised for, "The plantation system did not die immediately after Abolition, but it underwent subtle modifications and retained for well into the 20th century much of its disabilities. Against these, the Negro in Trinidad has spent much of his life fighting" (Elder 1972, 5). Carnival and calypso have been integral to this fight and the steelpan is an extension of this artistic process of self -validation
23 since it was created to function like the African drum, as an instrument that helped in the process of retaining tradition and building community (Elder 1972).
CARNIVAL AND CANNES BRULEES
Carnival is not, however, a church-sanctioned institution. Indeed, in Europe it is said to have functioned as an outlet for pagan fertility celebrations that the catholic church relegated to the pre-Lenten period. Similarly, in the Spanish, Portuguese, and French colonies of the Americas, carnival was a time when special license was granted for African and indigenous peoples to express their traditions of music, dance, and masquerade—and to invent new ones. (Dudley 2006,5-6)
This tradition of pre-lenten celebrations was made popular in Trinidad by the
French. Cowley writes that the French Creoles Carnival celebrations consisted of music and masques and the occasional parade, on a float of course, through the streets that ended on the eve of Ash Wednesday. For the African ex-slaves it was indeed a time to express their tradition of music and dance. This became even more significant after
Emancipation. Without the restrictions of slavery, black people began to fashion their own carnival celebrations. For them Carnival was a space in which they could re-enact history thereby maintaining a sense of identity, continuity, culture, and tradition. The ritual they used to do this was the Cannes Brulees, perhaps, the most significant historical event for the African in the New World since it preserved the memory of the abolition of slavery. In this ritual the harvesting of cane, which necessitates the burning of it (hence the name Canne Brulees), is re-enacted. It is the last act of the harvest, the last act of slavery. In this act the participants would be found marching in organized bands in the
24 streets and singing Kalinda songs (more detail on pg 26). The act of singing one's own songs under an organizational structure that was set up by your community was empowering especially since one was not allowed to do this as a slave. The Cannes
Brulees procession was the ultimate show of resistance. It combated the oppressive messages of invalidation that were part of the mandate of slavery.
The white reaction to the August celebration of Emancipation was to attack the legality of the celebrations' activities. The "Negro" response was to move it into the
Carnival. "The Negroes argued that since Mardi Gras (Carnival Tuesday, the day before
Ash Wednesday) was a public holiday, Cannes Brulees could take place without offence"
(Elder 1972, 11). It is this tradition that informs the use of carnival and steelpan as a means of establishing identity, retaining cultural memory and reinforcing a sense of community (Dudley 2006,4). Therefore, in descriptions of the Cannes Brulees one can identify some of the precepts that have shaped relationship, organization, and presentation in steelbands such as Desperadoes.
J.D. Elder gives a description of the Cannes Brulees ritual,
The Negroes called their pageant Cannes Brulees (in memory of the slavery days cane fires). They dressed up like "garden Negroes" of past times and came to be called Negres Jardins by the French-speaking element. The celebrating "bands" were each headed by a mock King and Queen, several Princesses and royal imitators. There was a strong bodyguard of armed batonniers each carrying a lighted flambeaux and lethal-looking, hard-wood, three-foot battling stick—two significant symbols for the newly freed slave. The champion of each band walked ahead singing boastful kalinda songs about himself and the victories and conquests of his followers. The bands were organised on parochial lines and very often clashes occurred between rival bands which refused to recognise each other's supremacy. Often, however, there was no band-wide free-for-all; the two leaders would close in to do battle with each other. In the circle would sit the drummers beating out drum-language to direct the fighters. The supporting 25 Chorus chanted the refrain to the Kalinda songs led by the chantrelles called the "shantwell" by French Creole speakers. The singing gave the warriors courage and the audience saw to it that the crude rules of the game were observed. No fighter, so long as he fell to the ground, was to be struck by his opponent. Once a challenger had blood drawn from his head by a blow, he was expected to retire from the fight, drain the blood from his head into the blood-hole dug in the middle of the circle and then shake hands with the victor. The two supporting bands could then move away peacefully to find new adventures during the day. (Elder 1972,11)
This ritual contains several elements that continue in the organizational structure and musical practice of the steelband, both of which are used to perpetuate and preserve cultural practice. They are, therefore, useful to consider when assessing how the performance practice of Panorama is used by Bradley, Desperadoes and Laventille to build and chronicle community experiences and connections through the same cultural practice. Some of the characteristics of the Cannes Brulees that have been transferred to the steelband are its function as an act of empowerment, the role and importance of competition, the tendency for bands to be set up around geographic areas or communities, music as the main form of communication in enacting the ritual, the use of call and response in the form of the music, and the use of devices that allow for participants to respond and be active throughout the event.
The Cannes Brulees ritual is an act of empowerment. The organization of the band, leaders, court, defense all demonstrate and represent the participant's capacity to govern their own space. This was significant for the Africans after emancipation and is significant for the poor urban neighbourhoods that gave birth to the steelpan. Here, unlike society where class, and race relegate them to an assumed position of
26 powerlessness, they are able to realize and recognize that they have the power to organize and govern their own space and operate within their own structure. Elder's description also brings to the fore that competition is an important part of this process of identity and validation. The competition of the Cannes Brulees is mirrored in the steelband Panorama competition. Just as the songs and chants are used to spur on the fighter's dance so that the best one wins, the musical arrangement that is created for the Panorama is meant to bring out the best of the band so that they can win. Both competitions have parameters and rules that dictate form and allow all the participants to easily decipher meaning.
Community for both the stick fighting band and the steelband are built along
"parochial lines." Both bands were born out of neighbourhoods. The clashes between these groups were not only present in the Cannes Brulees but also in the early days of the
Steelbands (Goddard 1991). I liken these clashes to being a physical manifestation of the
"fight" for survival that was and is part of the working class struggle in the face of slavery, colonialism and capitalism, rather than the fight for "turf in the dispensation of illegal substances that seems to define confrontation in today's poor urban neighbourhoods. Both possibilities merit consideration given the economic hardship and criminal elements that are present in most of the communities that formed leading steelbands in Port-of-Spain. In either case I view the common motivation for the creation of the steelband and the Cannes Brulees band to be the formation of a medium for collective, creation, organization and demonstration.
Music is the prime means of communication for both the Cannes Brulees and the
Steelband. The Cannes Brulees is enacted to songs that describe what is happening and 27 urge the fighters on using call and response chants accompanied by traditional drums in a style and rhythm known as kalinda. The steelband's musical arrangement for Panorama also describes present events. As I will demonstrate later, each song has specific meaning for the participants. The steelband arrangement is also crafted to effect as great a response as possible from the participants and so, call and response is almost always included as a musical device in arrangements.
STEELPAN, MUSIC FOR CARNIVAL
Music, therefore, is a manifestation of Trinidadians' fight for themselves and their identity for, through verbal and non-verbal song, they have confronted estate owners, colonialism, imperialism, and oppressive government action. This was first enacted through the Cannes Brulees, transferred to Carnival, and extended and mirrored in the
Steelband.
The early steelband was modelled on a number of different musical ensembles in Trinidad. Most important was the tamboo bamboo band.. .Big Mack Sandiford notes that each of the basic steelband instruments was a substitute for a tamboo bamboo instrument: the cuff boom for the boom, the little for the foule, the dud- up for the cutter, and the iron for the bottle and spoon. Musicologist Anthony Prospect points out that, in addition to these instrument substitutions, kalinda and Orisha (Shango) drum rhythms were reproduced by the tamboo bamboo band and that these same rhythms were in turn transferred to the early steelband. (Stuempfle 1995, 39)
The steelband, both as a community group and an artistic practice, became the main stage for this fight in the twentieth century.
The steelband developed in Trinidad in the late 1930s and 1940s as a new way of making music.. .Trinidad was undergoing fundamental change during this period 28 with increasing political consciousness among the grass-roots class, wide spread labour uprisings, and a massive American military presence during the war years. In the midst of these changes pan was a focal point of youth expression and became symbolic both of social disorder and of grass-roots aspirations. (Stuempfle 1995, 32)
Today's steel orchestra consists of several different types of steel pans, the highest pitched pan being the tenor pan. The other pans, listed from highest to lowest, are: the double tenor, the double second, the cello, the four-pan, the tenor bass, the bass.
The low basses are made in sets of six, nine, and twelve. In addition to these instruments the quadraphonic and the six pan, both invented by the Desperadoes leader and innovator
Rudolph Charles, are used for melodic lines across a wide register (Dudley 2008, 280-
285).
Just as the instrument associated with carnival changed, from the African Drum to the tamboo bamboo to the steelband, so too did the role of the instrument and the form of the music. Whereas the African drum accompanied the lyrics and songs carried by voices, the steelband played instrumental music. The steelpan became another form of the people's voice. In the 1950s this voice became part of the national identity. This new level of social acceptance allowed the middle class to take a more active role in the development of the steelband, especially in terms of performance. With open middle class involvement in the development of the steelpan and the steelband there was a movement to make the steelpan a legitimate instrument, to show that it was equal to other western instruments. In this effort to legitimize the instrument and the institution, bands began to include other types of music, particularly European classical music, in their repertoire. "At the time of Trinidad's independence from from England (1962) the most popular and hotly contested carnival performance venue for steelbands was the 'Bomb' in which steelbands played arrangements of foreign repertoires performed in calypso style"
(Dudley 2008, 109-118). The revelry continued after the competition with the calypsos of the day.
The Panorama competition was established from the first carnival after independence, the carnival of 1963. Its purpose was to establish a national identity so that the 1950s attempt to play other music to legitimize the music changed. Bands would be expected to prepare calypsos, music that was created by the people of Trinidad and
Tobago. Also, unlike the steelband competitions that preceded it, the Panorama competitions were not in the streets but rather on the stage, as Dudley writes,
It was intended, that is, to restrict the range of meanings that could be communicated and experienced in festive steelband performances, particularly through its requirements that steelbands play calypso music instead of classics and that they perform on the Queen's Park Savannah stage instead of the street. Though its rules stressed the national symbolism of musical forms (calypso versus classics), they disregarded the processes that produced these forms (street participation versus staged presentation). (2008, 134-135)
The use of Panorama in the branding of Trinidad and Tobago's national identity led to the competition taking precedence of the street parade. Now bands would compete on a stage and instead of the varied repertoire of the bomb competition they would play a calypso of the current year to emphasize nationalism.
This new structure changed the role of steelband in Carnival celebrations. The lure of prize money, corporate sponsorship, and government grants created a situation
30 where steelbands concentrated solely on the Panorama competition and steered away from other carnival activities like playing in fetes and producing costumed bands (Dudley
2006, 79). The shift from steelband music being prepared predominantly for all Carnival activities to it being confined mostly to the Panorama competition did not affect the function of steelband music as a musical narrative of the Trinidadian story. The nature of the performance practice, and the resulting music that was produced for Panorama was skilfully manipulated by the arrangers, the players, and the audience to represent identity and community in much the same way that the Cannes Brulees and the kalinda songs did.
The performance practice of Panorama continues the Canne Brulees tradition of creating a sense of belonging and connection within Trinidadian communities. The music arranged for the Panorama competition is, therefore, constructed to reflect the cultural history, present experiences and relationships of the members of the community.
It is also constructed so that this representation is easily identified by the players and the members of the community (Dudley 2008, 173-175; 2006, 82-83).
31 Chapter 2
Laventille, Desperadoes, and Clive Bradley
In this chapter I will look at the importance of the role of the steelband in the poor working class urban communities of Port-of-Spain as it relates to Desperadoes and
Laventille. This will include an examination of the membership of Desperadoes, the characteristics of the membership, the relationship between the function of the band and the retention of cultural practice, and the role of the band in establishing and strengthening community. I will close by looking at the ways in which these factors influenced the band's choice of Clive Bradley as an arranger, particularly in 1999, and by considering various statements by him and others that may clarify his relationship with the band and his understanding of his role in Desperadoes and Laventille.
LAVENTILLE
Much of the development of the steelband occurred in Laventille, so that it is not surprising that the creation of the instrument and the nature of the organization are reflective of their history and culture. Ancil Anthony Neil, a Desperado who grew up in
Laventille, notes in his study, Voices from the Hills, Despers and Laventille, that,
The steelband was born out of the pent up energies of the Laventille youth, crying for a place in the sun, in a community teeming with talent. The people, the sons and daughters of former slaves, said to be free, yet caught up in a vicious fight for freedom and survival. A people living in poverty, frustration and oppression. The history of the 'steelband' as it is officially known, and the 'pan' as it is more familiarly called, is to a point parallel to the history of social struggle of the people of the Laventille... (Neil 1987, 30)
32 He describes the poverty and desperation he witnessed growing up in the late 1940s and early 1950s:
Most people lived in over crowded homes due to the large size of their families. I know from personal knowledge and reported incidents, may children slept on the floor. Unemployment, illiteracy and lack of leadership had become an accepted cultural pattern.. .Violence was so predominant and lawlessness prevailed to such an extent that the community had become a haven for social disturbance. Thus creating a social stigma.. .Laventille, as a community, was viewed as the worst of all depressed areas in the entire country of Trinidad. (Neil 1987, 11)
He also notes the change that occurred when the community was able to create an instrument, orchestrate music, and structure an organization around the steelpan and the steelband,
In the mid-1950s, I observed that the steelband in the Laventille area was generating community and national interest. The entire community, young and old, were captivated by the music and started developing a positive attitude towards the steelband members, and steelband as an indigenous art form. Unemployment [should read employment], which once was impossible in certain professional areas for members of this community, was becoming more flexible. (Neil 1987, 11)
Most importantly he points out that the change that 'pan' was a source of hope and, therefore, a necessary part of the entire community's existence.
.. .steelband players were usually from a socially deprived area, like Laventille The majority of the population in Trinidad spoke of them as contemptible and evil. As a result, in the very beginning, the fight for recognition by the steelband players met with innumerable obstacles. They were ostracized and maligned.. .It was in this quest to escape their depressing and oppressive surroundings, music was their refuge.. .The steelband was the instrument for relieving the frustration and depression of the people in Laventille... (Neil 1987, 32)
The steelband was a space in which the Laventille Community was able to affirm their own value and project their heritage and identity. This was projected to the society 33 through their band, Desperadoes. Desperadoes, therefore, may be seen as an artistic representation of the community's triumph over the oppression of slavery, classism, racism, colonialism, and imperialism that was faced, even after independence from
Britain. This representation by Desperadoes is particular to Laventille because the membership of the band is drawn almost totally from that community. This is not solely the result of the poverty and resulting criminal activity, it is also a result of its geographic location. Laventille is on a hill, the road is narrow, the houses closely nit, the tracks connecting the houses and the streets are intricate and not necessarily well-known. Both the location and the social stigma make it less accessible to steelpan players who are not from the area. Thus Desperadoes has traditionally been a band that draws its membership from the Laventille community and so the band may be considered a microcosm of it.
DESPERADOES
Desperadoes is the largest steelband in Laventille. Many smaller traditional and conventional bands exist in the community but Desperadoes is recognized locally, nationally, regionally, and internationally to be 'the' steelband of Laventille. It is almost impossible to separate the band from the community, as Desperadoes member and trustee
Nigel Flemming notes,
.. .you see I'm living so close to the band, number one, every time a pan pong you hearing it, all hours of the night any time of the day. You come out to play, the yard what you playing in is the pan yard. Where you playing sports, you playing everything, you go to dance, other activities is the pan yard, everything is the pan
34 yard, so automatically, the pan come like your soul, your heart and soul." (Nigel Flemming)4
Thus the term Desperado is used to describe not only the players but the supporters and members of the community as well. People who simply live in the area but do not play sometimes describe themselves as being members of the band and share a vested interest in the performance and survival of the band. Identifying with a steelband for many
Trinidadians is akin to recognizing and celebrating the community's creativity, resilience, and worth (Dudley 2008,4-5; Stuempfle 1995, 235; Riggio 2004, 1997). The membership of Desperadoes consists of the people of Laventille, the musicians/players who are from the Laventille community, the musicians and players from outside of the community, and the musicians, supporters and music lovers who love the sound of the band (musical arrangements, tone of pans) and identify with the social challenges faced by the Laventille community.
For all of these people it is of paramount importance that the institution of
Desperadoes be identified with quality performance and leadership. As Roy Corrigan, a player with Desperadoes since 1946, puts it, "We figured that the only thing that could give Laventille a face lift was music.. .pan, so we were always determined and prepared to make a lot of sacrifices because we wanted to reach the top."5 As such, particular attention is paid to who constitutes the player and supporting membership of the band,
4 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 5 This excerpt is taken from a transcription of an interview with Roy Corrigan posted on the site Trinbagopan.com on December 4th 2005 in their section on steelpan pioneers under the title A bit of Despers History from Roy Corrigan. http://www.trinbagopan.com/steelpan/Rov-Corrigan.htm (accessed October 22nd, 2009).
35 the preservation of the organizational structure of the band, performance preparation, and to noticing and nurturing the role of the band in the community.
The people of Laventille consider Desperadoes to be their pride and joy.
Members of the community only begin playing with the band when it is thought that they are able to play well and have had some experience performing with Desperadoes or other steelbands, as Desperadoes member and past captain Curtis Edwards notes,
...I started to actually play, playing around the band in '71,'72 and '75 was the first time I actually touched a pan. I was born to win, Jimmy Cliff and Andre Tanker I went away and I come back home ... it was so tight knitted that Ursula husband at the time, Lloyd, could have make me out and say, "you's a Crabbe" (that he is related to one of the founding members of the band).. .He start to teach me tunes introduced me to other members of the band like Hip city, he (Hip City) took me and carry me to a little band he had formed called Ireie Public because he saw the potential.. ..by 1976, Pan in Harmony, I didn't play on stage but I was on the road.. .The first time I played for Panorama was in 1979. (Curtis Edwards)6
This does not exist for players only. Robert Greenidge, a steelpan player, musician, arranger and composer who has recorded with Grammy award-winning artists Earth
Wind and Fire, Grover Washington and Ralph McDonald, was invited to play with
Desperadoes because he had connected with a talented pan tuner, James "bassman"
Jackman, and, therefore, had access to well tuned instruments, had played with a couple well known steelbands, was related to a former leader of Desperadoes (his Uncle Carl
Greenidge), and was an excellent player. Even after he had been playing and arranging with the band from 1965 he did his first panorama arrangement in 1980.7
6 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 7 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 36 For outsiders, that is people who are not from Laventille, a similar situation exists.
Anthony McQuilkin, a member of the band since 1965 and manager of the band during the Panorama competition in 1999, notes that, ".. .so he (Bradley) had to pass the test first because that is how the people of Laventille, that's how they are. You come up to do something they will look at you and check you out.. .once they knew then, that he knew what he was doing, you know, they accepted him, that's how they accept you."8
I joined Desperadoes in 1994 at the age of nineteen. At the time, about 20 percent of the Carnival band, one hundred and twenty people, were female, and even a smaller percentage of the band was from outside of Laventille and Eastern Port-of-Spain. I believe that my request to play in the band was granted by the captain, Curtis Edwards, and the band because I was recognized as a promising musician and had won the steelband solo category in the World Steelband Music Festival a couple years before. I was allowed to join because I could contribute positively to the performance. The precept for anyone who joins the band, especially if they are not from the community, is that they are able to perform well.
Particular attention is also paid to the sound of the band. The production and tuning of steelpans is an area that is constantly evolving and the band chooses the tuners that can best contribute to the clear, resonant tone that has become the trademark of the band. This choice is usually the responsibility of the leadership.
.. .when I became the captain I realize how much I know about the band.. .1 start to understand everything about harmonics, Bertie (one of Desperadoes' most influential pan tuners) teach me about harmonics, how Desperadoes pans is tuned,
8 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 37 Lincoln (another significant tuner responsible for Desperadoes sound) telling me the same thing. As a matter of fact when we brought in Rope (a new tuner in Desperadoes) to tune, I pull him up straight because I doh tune but they can't fool me. (Curtis Edwards)9
Curtis was in fact preserving a tradition that had begun several decades before. Robert
Greenidge notes that his uncle, Carl Greenidge, tuned for Desperadoes, passed on the information he had about tuning to Bertie Marshall (the tuner referred to in the passage above). He also notes that there are two things which drew Rudolph Charles to invite him to join Desperadoes, his playing skill and the instrument he was playing.
going to Desperadoes was like moving up. The band was a new experience for me because it is a new area and.. .at our age we anxious to do anything to make progress. The music was sounding really good We liked it, we liked what we was hearing. I liked what I was hearing. And my friends, whch was Mike Gould, Malik decide to say up there. And Rudolph, well, he heard us play and he like what I was playing and different things and he asked me to stay in the band too. So I say alright, well fine, no problem. Just bring the pans, our pans, and we'll make it happen. (Robert Greenidge)10
Robert refers to Desperadoes as, "moving up," while McQuilkin when talking about first joining the band says, "I was kind of in awe, you know, because coming from a band like Sputniks which wasn't a, a what you might say, great steelband, you know, playing music at the calibre of a Deperadoes then.. .Quite in awe.. ."n For members of the community joining the band is in keeping with maintaining a very important part of their being. To almost everyone who enters the band it feels as though Desperadoes is a significant community, cultural, and national institution. Thus their commitment to the
9 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 10 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 11 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 38 band is lifelong. This does not necessarily translate into every member being present for every performance. Arranger, composer ex-manager and player Robert Greenidge notes that he joined the band in 1965 but was away from the band from 1971 to 1976, while ex- captain Curtis Edwards joined the band in 1975 but was not active from 1980- 1981. I joined the band in 1994 but was absent for a couple of periods. Reasons for our absence vary from minor disputes within the band, to personal projects abroad, but always there is an allegiance, if not an outright return, to the band. For some, the daily management and organization of Desperadoes are seen as integral to the well being of the community, and so they claim this task as their vocation. When commenting about his work in
Desperadoes, trustee Nigel Flemming states:
.. .the role of the trustee in Desperadoes is the work horse.. .work horse, everything, from managing right back down, secretarial work, treasury work.. .everything, everything,.. .For once in a long time now I holding down a job for about three years. Which it didn't happen in the past cause I used to put Desperadoes first. I work in companies, I work in different places but from the time is Deperadoes time, I forget work is Desperadoes. (Nigel Flemming)12
Why is there such a commitment? It is so because there is an inherent understanding that the band is central to maintaining a sense of community and identity and is a means of retaining cultural memory and practice. This is done through performance practice. The common interest shared by the members of the band is the production of music, so much so that there are actually branches of Desperadoes as
Robert Greenidge reminded me:
Well we had, you know the guys, Denzil Botas used to help, Knolly Nicholas used to help. They had a fella in the early days named Edward Towine,.. .well
12 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 39 these guys just went to New York and reside in New York.. .everybody stayed up there and arrange for other bands in New York like the Despers group, Despers U.S.A., anything, you know, anything for Despers we there no matter what. You could be in another part of the world and you have some Despers players you could get together and play Despers music. So that's what we did. I had a band in L.A. named L.A. Despers too. You knew about it you was around too.. .we keep Despers name alive. (Robert Greenidge)13
This practice of finding meaning and self through performance practice is passed on orally. This is a method that in itself is part of the cultural practice of people of African heritage in the Caribbean, the telling of stories predominates, as opposed to the written word. The music is taught by rote, although to say that the repeated phrases are learnt without attention being paid to their function is in some ways incorrect. In describing the process used by Clive Bradley to teach music, McQuilkin states,
I remember him coming, sometimes he would bring up his keyboard. You know, and he would do his music from there, you know. He would, as usual, one man would go in with a tenor, play his lines and thing, then the person play, come out, double seconds go in.. .he normally, most of the time he would start with the guitar pans, start doing his music with the guitar pans, laying a foundation there with the guitars, then bass and then move on to the treble pans after. (McQuilkin)14
Even the system used to operate within the performance practice was passed on orally. Curtis Edwards notes that, after joining the band in 1975, becoming part of the road side in 1976, becoming a member of the stage side in 1980, becoming a section leader in 1982 and vice captain in 1987 it was when he was appointed captain that he came to a sudden realization:
13 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 14 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 40 ...it only hit me when I became the captain I realize how much I know about the band, I mean I was doing things and didn't realize the kind of things I understand,.! went into it like how Rudolph Charles did... (Edwards)15
PREPARING FOR PANORAMA
The Desperadoes' preparation for Panorama usually begins after Epiphany,
January 6th.16 Members of the community, friends, brothers, sisters, neighbours, gather in the panyard to start organizing the band and practising the music (Stuempfle 1995, 184-
185).
The administration of the band is responsible for its physical preparation which would include purchasing and tuning the instruments, welding the racks on which the instruments are carried, ordering uniforms and t-shirts, organizing transport, preparing press releases and ensuring the procurement of the necessary funds to complete these tasks (Stuempfle 1995, 185). Desperadoes has a reputation for, arguably, having the best tonal quality among Trinidadian steelbands. This tradition was established by the band's prolific one-time captain and leader Rudolph Charles who became captain of
Desperadoes in 1964, and served from 1965 until his death in 1985. Charles ignored the practice of using tuners from the community and simply sought out the best (Dudley
2008, 73). The responsibility of purchasing and tuning the instruments remains in the hands of the captain, as does the solicitation, usually from within the band, of labour for
15 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 16 Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is tied to the Roman Catholic religious calendar. As such preparation for carnival begins at the end of the Christmas season, which is marked by the feast of Epiphany on January 6th, and carnival begins on the Monday before the commencement of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
41 welding and painting stands. The captain is also responsible for arranging for the transport of the instruments, ordering clothing, and generally looking after the day-to-day operations of the band with the assistance of the band's trustees (the term trustees is used to describe members of the band who assist with the physical management of the band).17
Desperadoes is sponsored by the West Indian Tobacco Company. This means that the company has agreed to be a part of the mandate set by the government that corporate citizens play an active role in the development of local culture (Dudley 2008,
147-150). The manager interacts with the sponsor's representative, to whom he communicates the financial and social needs of the band and negotiates the extent and the areas in which the sponsor assists the band. He is also the contact person for any other official business including performance bookings, recordings, and photo opportunities.
The treasurer functions in the traditional sense in that he manages the accounts of the band.18 The act of taking on leadership and organization of their own community-based institution allows the urban working class members of the Laventille community to challenge the colonial race-based and class-based oppression that has been used to invalidate their potential and worth, and justify their mistreatment. The arranger is required to further challenge and even dismiss this invalidation by preparing a strong arrangement that can lead to them being judged Panorama champions, by engaging them
17 These details are based on my own observations as a member of Desperadoes since 1994 and as a member of several other steelbands, including Fertrin Pandemonium, Exodus, Birdsong, and Tropical Angel Harps. 18 This interaction between Desperadoes and WITCO is based on my membership in the band since 1994 and participation in band/company meetings in which the nature of the relationship of the two parties was discussed.
42 in the musical work so that attention is diverted from the harsh realities of daily life, and by making it clear that the arrangement is representative of the people of Laventille.
Thus the process of learning, presenting, competing, and even listening to his musical work is an exercise that reminds the band and community of the value of their culture, their relationships, and their community.
The rehearsal process also enhances the sense of belonging and connection in
Desperadoes that is already engendered by its location and the band's connection to the
Laventille community. I have experienced the performance process with three of
Desperadoes' arrangers, Beverly Griffith, Robert Greenidge and Clive Bradley. The process for disseminating the music in all three cases has been the same. The arranger teaches the arrangement to a small group that consists of one person from each section of the band, these members would then teach it to the other members at each other's homes or in the pan yard. The band would then come together and practice it at night. The night rehearsal in the pan yard includes vendors and a sizeable local audience. The employment pattern of some of the members allows this to be possible. This is their job during the day for the carnival season. The music is not written so it is passed on orally.
These factors contribute to a sense of value and ownership of the process as well as a sense of connection within the band.
So it is this framework of a structured and significant community institution into which Clive Bradley first entered in 1968. He subsequently left after the Carnival and
Panorama competition of 1984, having only missed arranging for Carnival in 1981, and returned in 1999. As McQuilkin puts it. 43 Well he came and he met a champion band 'cause in 1966 we had won everything, you know, Panorama, Bomb competition, best beating band on the road, you know. So he had to past the test first because that is how the people of Laventille, that's how they are. (McQuilkin)19
BRADLEY
Clive Bradley was born in 1936. He grew up in Diego Martin, a small town west of Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port-of-Spain. He attended Fatima College, a prestigious boys' high school where he excelled in math and science. His first career choice was teaching and he excelled at the Teacher's Training College where he eventually became a lecturer. Throughout his academic life his love for music was also apparent. As a young person he made instruments (string and pans/milk tins), sang in choirs, and played the guitar. Later as a young professional he taught himself to read music, became proficient on the guitar and piano, formed an instrumental combo20 called
Esquires, and began performing regularly at local night clubs like the famed "Penthouse" in downtown Port-of-Spain. This, and his experience arranging for large instrumental ensembles in the calypso tent, influenced his approach to arranging for the steelband.
One of his colleagues from the night club circuit, Roy Cape, introduced him to the leader of Desperadoes in 1968.21 He was invited to arrange music for the band. Despite his
19 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009 20 A small ensemble that resembled jazz quintets and sextets in terms of instrumentation (two or three horns, piano, bass, drums) and repertoire. Occassional R&B, pop, and calypso hits would also be included in the repertoire. 21 Various interviews with Clive Bradley, 1999-2003 in collaboration with transcribed interviews on
The test that Bradley had to pass may be seen as having two parts: his understanding of what the Laventille community and Desperadoes expected to "get" out of this arrangement and his ability to create an arrangement that suited and showcased the band's sound and instrumentation. The former informs the latter. The process of putting together this champion performance is meant to bring the players and supporters together, retain the practice of orally transferring information that supports cultural learning and produce a high standard of performance that empowers the individual players, the band, and the community. Bradley had to show that he was cognizant of this and capable of creating an arrangement that highlighted the tone of Desperadoes' pans and the musicality of their players, thereby producing a winning combination for any competition, particularly Panorama.
By his own admission Bradley clearly discerns his first responsibility to sustain community and effect a delight in one's own identity.
I like to go to Panorama with something that belongs to the calypsonians because that is carnival.. .The whole thing—everybody. It should be a golden link going through everybody for the carnival, you know. Let we just live so, even if it's just for two days because the rest of the year we only eating up one another and bad- talking one another. (Dudley 2008, 223)
45 Others in the community also noticed that he understood this role. Caribbean writer Earl
Lovelace recognizes Bradley's objective in an article he wrote at the time of Bradley's death.22
His greatness lay in narrowing the distances our organising has created between the instrument and the Movement pan, in reaching out to the ordinary man and woman with a music to hold them up, to give them heart, to show us love and to give us back ourselves, a little more beautiful and cool and relaxed: a little more loving and hopeful and honest and unhurried and slow than we are.. .the message of Bradley's music, after all, is to remind us as a nation that as we develop and go forward we should be careful not to leave ourselves behind. (Lovelace 2005)
This act of showing true selves and bringing the players together was done by manipulating the music so that both the players and the listeners participated in the event.
Sometimes, you know, he will tell you what he going to do before he do it. He will watch the audience and watch the crowd and tell you, 'look, I going and make all of them laugh, I going and make all of them wine," and bang he put in two notes in the tune, something you was playing all the time you know, for weeks, and he just come in and just change it, two notes, and all them people and them who was finding a fault about the music all the time in a matter of time they start to dance.. .sometimes he just change one phrase... He used to say he could manipulate people with his music and I thought it was true. (Nigel Flemming)23
This manipulation was all part of his role of constructing the oration, the story that carries memories for the community and the players. He is not solely responsible for telling the story since the players produce the sound and pass the arrangement onto other players during the panorama and afterwards. His construction is not done without
22 Earl Lovelace is a Trinidadian writer who often uses the imagery and sound of the steelband in his narrative. This quotation is taken from an article he wrote in the Trinidad Express after Clive Bradley's funeral. The article, The ghost of panoramas past, was published on Sunday, December 18th 2005. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_archive?id= 123231519 (accessed March 2nd, 2008). 23 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009 46 guidance from or contemplation of the needs of the community. Both Robert Greenidge and Anthnony McQuilkin note all of the arrangers for Desperadoes are reminded, at first by the now deceased leader Rudolph Charles, now by experienced players, that the arrangement should have a certain form and should contain certain devices to ensure that it is accepted and understood and allows for the participation of the community.
Greenidge also notes that Bradley quickly caught on and did not need to be reminded very often if at all.
'cause you know sometimes the new guys come to arrange for your band as great musicians but when they get to the pan yard it's a different story so we, in turn, kind of, help him along. Even though he was the musical arranger we advise certain things how a panorama tune supposed to be,.. .and then when Clive came in and he started and he realize what was going on and we didn't have to tell him much because he is a great musician and he really had an idea. At first when he started we say well yeah, basically the same way, this is what we like, he just take it and he went ahead and went to work. (Robert Greenidge)24
He also understood that, as the griot25, part of his responsibility was also to pass on information,
We know that Bradley know what he was doing at the time so we were anxious to learn and he would come in the yard.. .he have a special dance he does do all the time,.. .but musically he was really out there. He would come and put down the parts, we would say, "Bradley, what is that?" He would change it around and put something else. It was a good experience learning a lot of stuff cause he open our minds a little more especially in the arranging avenue 'cause we say, "how he come up with those things? (Robert Greenidge)26
24 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 25 Griot may be considered the ancestor of the modern day calypsonian. He carried the west African oral tradition of chronicling events and experiences through the construction and performance of stories. This tradition is found in the art of the chantuelle, chantwell, and its modern-day persona, the calypsonian. 26 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 47 Bradley, therefore, had no trouble accomplishing the result desired by Desperadoes and
Laventille, a high standard of performance. As Greenidge again notes,
He know what to do as an arranger, and when he got the formula for arranging Panorama tunes they couldn't stop him. Every year, to us, was a winner even though we didn't win. As a matter of fact '76 and '77 was back to back Panorama victories for him and that was great. (Robert Greenidge)27
He also won Panorama in 1970, 1983, 1998 (with NuTones), 1999, and 2000.
Bradley was able to fulfil his role as orator and teacher and through the process of the performance practice.
He did a lot of things for the people of Laventille and he was so bright (intelligent). People looked up to him. When Clive was around the youths and they came around to try to learn what they could from him.28 (Bertram Glasgow)
His manipulation of musical elements to create a steelband arrangement that communicated the story of his relationship with Desperadoes and Laventille was understood by most and is even noted here by U.S. steelpan player Andy Narrell,
I've always felt uncomfortable with the word 'arranger' as it applied to guys like Bradley. A guy who can take a verse and chorus and spin out a ten-minute piece of theme and variation that hangs together and tells a story is more a composer than arranger. And Bradley epitomised that. His music was informed by knowledge of melody, harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, and structure, which were all there, but never for their own sake. He knew how to use thematic material, and he wasn't afraid to take a side road to another place, or take his cue from the
27 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 28 Bertram Glasgow has been a member of Desperadoes for four decades. This excerpt is taken from a transcription of a statement he made in tribute to Clive Bradley in the pan yard on November 27th 2005, the day after Bradley's death. The statement was posted on Trinbagopan.com under the heading Tribute to the legend Clive Bradley. http://www.trinbagopan.com/Clive-Bradley/Tribute-27-11 -05.html (accessed April 22nd, 2009) 48 words. Ultimately it was the story that mattered, and I loved his stories. (Andy Narrell)29
29 Andy Narrell is a North American musician who plays the steelpans and plays jazz. He has worked with the Caribbean Jazz Project with Paquito D'Riviera, Dave Samuels, and the French Caribbean group Sakesho. He has also arranged for the steelband Skiffle Bunch for Trinidad and Tobago's Panorama competition. This quotation is taken from an article he wrote for the Trinidad and Tobago Express newspaper published on January 1st 2006 under the heading Bradley the magician. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_archive?id=125679854 (accessed March 2,2008)
49 Chapter 3
Developing an arrangement for Panorama: Musical Analysis of Clive Bradley's arrangement of the calypso, "In My House," for the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra
The standard requirement for the Panorama competition is that the bands perform
30 an arrangement of one of the calypsos composed for Carnival. Bradley saw his arrangement as an extension of the calypso and the events of Carnival. He, therefore, chose calypsos that were relevant to the carnival story, and more particularly, to the carnival story he wanted to tell. As he says, calypso is "the golden link" that runs through the festival connecting the listeners, the pan players, the arrangers and everyone else involved in the process of carnival (Dudley 2008, 223). The calypso that Bradley chose to arrange for Desperadoes in 1999 is Emmanuel "Oba" Synette's "In My House."
The lyrics describe one aspect of this golden link since they remind the pan players of the pride, joy, and love that they share in the process of creating and performing together in steelbands during Carnival. In the verse the singer appeals to the pan men (in verse 1), and the pan women (in verse 2) to play well and enjoy their performance (see lyrics in
Appendix A). He requests that the performance be taken seriously and that the pans be well tuned. He also mentions the dedication of the players to the work, the importance of the pan in carnival, and the need for the players to perform "with joy and pride" (Chorus).
The importance of dance and participation is also stated in the song. The song demonstrates what our previous notes on Desperadoes have suggested, that it is important 30 Arrangers may now work with calypsos from the current or previous years. In 1999 the arranger was expected to choose a calypso that was composed for the current Carnival season. 50 for Desperadoes to represent excellence in the competition with good tone and performance, and that the band represents a source of pride, joy, and connection for the
Laventille community.
In this chapter I will look at the aesthetics of the performance and the instrumentation and orchestration of the band. My focus, however, will be on Bradley's manipulation of song and motivic material. I will consider how these factors keep the participants interested and involved in the progress and performance of the music since it is this interest and involvement that ensures that the participants are reminded of the theme of the song, are able to follow its development in the arrangement, and are able to, consciously or unconsciously, notice the underlying message of connection, belonging, and community that Bradley finds duty-bound to communicate.
THE PERFORMANCE
The Panorama performance engages the listener and the performer through sound and movement. This is evident in Desperadoes' final night Panorama performance of
Bradley's arrangement of "In My House."31 The oft-repeated observation that when
Despers (another name used to refer to Desperadoes) comes to play in Panorama "the whole hill does come down" seems apparent on Panorama final night in 1999. Besides
31 Youtube Despers- In My House http .//www, voutube. com/watch? v=CeuTZmFGhAA&feature=PlavList&p=5 8B2FEB6A E54881 C&plavnext= 1 &plavnext from=PL&index= 10 (accessed February 23rd, 2010)
51 the six thousand plus Panorama audience in the Grand Stand and North Stand,32
Desperadoes was accompanied by a throng of its own. They filled the pits between the stage and the stand and crowded the wings (Dudley 2008,174-175). The supporters cheered and danced throughout the performance while the flag bearers danced joyfully, bearing the large banners announcing the name of the band, their arranger, their song, their leaders, their tuners and their community. Over one hundred men and women played on the racks decorated with curtains while Clive Bradley danced, conducted, and smiled in front of the band. Bradley's conducting is not constant nor is the band's performance reliant on it, since many of the players cannot even see him. Despite this, every phrase is executed precisely. Bradley is not conducting the band; rather, he is guiding the audience through the work.
Most of the listeners were already familiar with the song and the lyrics. It would have been played during the two-month period leading up to Carnival and most
Desperadoes' supporters would have heard the band perform during their nightly rehearsals in Laventille. They would, therefore, already have been very familiar with the catch phrases "In My House," "ping bebeling," and the opening lines of the verses
(Audio recording l).33 Bradley just cues them in. The band does not need to be prepped in the same manner. Two months of nightly rehearsal have made them connect in a way that leads them to perform phrases, articulation and expression marks together and with
32 The two major seating areas in the Queens Park Savannah, the main venue for Carnival events in Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port-of-Spain. 33 Oba's calypso In My House (see Appendix E for audio recording guide and Appendix B for lyrics) 52 great alacrity. The involvement of the participants is evident. How then does Bradley maintain the participants' interest? He does this by using his understanding of the range and function of the steelpans to create an arrangement that skillfully uses the song material, rhythms, and forms that his listeners and the players can relate to.
INSTRUMENTATION AND ORCHESTRATION
As mentioned in the section on the steelband, (pg 27-28) the modern steelband may consist of tenors, double tenors, double seconds, guitar pans, three cellos, four cellos, quadraphonic pans, six pans, tenor basses, six basses, nine basses, and twelve basses. The Panorama ensemble also includes several percussive instruments. The estimated numbers for the sections during Desperadoes' 1999 Panorama performance are twenty-six tenors, ten double tenors, twelve double seconds, fourteen guitar pans, four quadraphonic pans, three six pans, sixteen tenor basses, four six basses, eight nine basses, and one twelve bass.
The steelpans in this one hundred plus orchestra may be grouped in three categories: the frontline pans, the middle pans and the background pans (see Appendix D for instrument range). The percussive instruments, also referred to as the rhythm section, which consisted of percussive instruments including the drum set, traditional skin drums, scratcher (similar to the Cuban guiro), cowbell, congas, and, most importantly, iron
(brake drums played with heavy iron sticks), completed the band's Panorama steelband ensemble. The African drums were particularly important since they help to establish several Afro-Trinidadian patterns used in traditional and religious music that form part of 53 the cultural fabric of Laventille. The patterns played by the traditional bass drum, middle drum, and cutter34 also mirror the frontline phrasing, middle pan strumming and bass pan patterns; familiar signs that may have helped to maintain a connection with the listeners and players.
Tenor pans, double tenor pans, and double second pans are referred to as frontline pans. The pan with the highest register is the tenor pan. The double tenor has the next highest range. The double second has a similar range to the double second their difference lies in the tone of the pan. The double tenor has a brighter sound (Dudley
2008, 282). Bradley allows the tenor to carry the melody when it is first presented. The double second pan doubles plays the melody an octave lower. With this practice he ensures that the melody is not lost behind the more powerful middle and bass pans. He lets the double tenor section play harmonizing lines but not all the time. He lets them add
'weight' to the line at varying junctures to add to the phrasing and articulation of a line.
When he shifts the melody or thematic line to the bass or middle pans, the double tenor and tenor pans play descant lines or responding phrases while the double second pans strum35 maintaining the harmony.
Bradley reportedly liked working with middle pans. For the most part, this is the section that establishes the chord quality with their strumming, a tool Bradley frequently
34 the highest pitched drum that solos and cuts on the consistent rhythm played by the middle drum and bass drum. 35 This strum, not unlike that of the guitar, is the chord being played in a set rhythmic pattern that mirrors the rhythmic patterns usually kept by traditional drums and percussion instruments. 54 used to make his arrangements stand out.36 He frequently lamented the fact that
Desperadoes had ceased to use the cello since the use of the guitar on its own restricted one to the use of the 3rd and 7th and did not allow for additional colour ( 9ths, 1 lths and
13ths).37 In 1999 he requested that the band re-introduce the use of the cello in the form of the four pan and four cello. Strangely enough he used the pan more for the reinforcement of melodic and thematic material, which added to the body of the arrangement, rather than for strumming. This may be because of the importance of the melodic and thematic lines. He may not have wanted them to be lost amongst the constant strumming. As a result, the quadraphonic pans and the sixpans, the remaining instruments in the middle pan section were also used to double significant bass, middle pan, and frontline parts, a feat the middle pans are able to accomplish because of their range (see Appendix D).
The bass section has two layers in Desperadoes; the top layer of tenor basses and a lower layer of low basses (six, nine and twelve basses). With very few exceptions,
Bradley assigns both bass sections the same lines. There is almost no difference between
36 In his interview with me (June 2009) Anthony McQuilkin notes that Bradley would start working on his arrangement with the middle pans not the basses, as became the norm in Desperadoes. He enjoyed experimenting with the sound of chord extensions and their tonal quality on the pans. I noticed this also when I played for him in the small steel ensemble Lincoln Enterprises. 37 Chords are stacked in intervals of thirds (1,3,5,7,9,11,13). The first note is the root, which gives the chord its name. The third (3) determines whether the chord is minor or major and the seventh (7) determines if it is a min 7th, dominant 7th, maj 7th. The kind of seventh chord is determined by the third and the seventh. The 3rd and 7th are, therefore necessary for establishing the basic tonal quality and colour. The tonic is usually played by the bass, the fifth is not necessary since it is heard as an overtone of the root, and the 9th, 11th, and 13th provide more colour or texture. 55 the lines played by the tenor bass and the lines played by the six, nine, and twelve bass.
The main difference lies in the style of playing. While the low basses simply drop on the note, the tenor basses strum, which is almost exclusive to Desperadoes. This strum is created by an anticipated bounce before each scored bass drop. For example the bass line in the first eight bars of the verse, which begins at counter mark 0:51 on the recording of the arrangement, would be written as:
Fig la. Bass line Section B (0:51-1:50) bars 1-8 as played by low basses r r i "r r r r ii
The low basses play the line above as written the "strum" effect is created by the tenor bass' bounce on each note. A written example of the tenor bass interpretation of the same line would best be represented with the following notation.
Fig lb. Bass line Section B (0:51-1:50) bars 1-8 as played by tenor basses
i J. ju. JiJ- J*J. pir- rr'T'T rr"F •wf pr pir pr J pir pr J"
56 THE ARRANGEMENT
For the Panorama competition each band is required to perform an arrangement of a calypso composed for the Carnival celebrations of that year. In 1999 Bradley chose
Emmanuel "Oba" Synette's calypso "In My House." The sung melody of Oba's calypso consists of three sections, the verse (bars 1-24), the chorus (bars 25-41), and the tag to the chorus (bars 42-64) (Supplemental material: Recording of the calypso, Audio CD TK 1;
Fig 2, scored melody of the calypso). In this section I will examine how Bradley manipulated the musical and structural elements of the calypso to create an arrangement that kept the participants engaged in the performance.
Fig 2. Melody for the Verse and Chorus of "In My House "as sung by Emmanuel 'Oba'
Synnette (over leaf)
57 IN MY HOUSE Verse Ak Ab/c D'maj £>1 A^raaj
1 iJPlU A r m i" i '
1st e ndiij g 2nd endi ng Al»7/C I i^maj | eI>- r min • 1> - »
6
Fr nin C min Cmin F min F min
jj>rf
11
Cr nin C min F min min Cir in
f- • . rtW 7 «
16
Cnni n B >min ( min Dl > D dim £> 7 EW
1 1 •f if i — c ft^ 1— 1' J J] I' 21
Ai> A* Et 7/Bl> Et 7/Bl» Af >
*=F=t=±t
A Eh mb A*> At nHir-
u= 31
e'»7/b'» ;I>7/BS> L^maj7/ c B7 B^m in7 IlU » * - 1 K 1 D ' —® •J—
58 Tag Eh aI> Ai> EW/BI> eI»7/BI>
At eI>7/bI' a!>
E^/BI" EW/BI" A" A!> m, r £
eI»7/bI> E^/BI- Al> Ab E^/B^
E^/B^ Aknaj 7/c B7 Bl>min7 Eb eM>= a
59 He uses the main motif from the verse, the chorus and the tag (three motives) to build his arrangement. Motif 1 consists of the first three bars of the verse (bars 1-3).
Motif 2 is the hook-line of the chorus, "In My House," which is found in bars 25-26, 29-
30, 33-34, and 37-38. The calypsonian/singer uses melodic paraphrasing to add interest to the line so it is not sung exactly the same way in each instance. Bradley uses the
"straightest form" of it, which is found in bars 29-30, 37-38, and, though the first two notes are sung an octave higher, in bars 33-34. Motif 3 consists of the hook-line, "pin bebeling," which is first played in bar 42 and repeated throughout the tag.
Fig 3. The three motifs
Motif 1 9 • 1 l>l l> ,1 > •• . . 1 a j 7 * I* i* TO " » <1 I
Motif 2
s > \ li—* 7 TO '' <1 —3 j j • i
Motif 3 — •— -m- * l" i ]
Bradley begins his arrangement in the same key as the original song, Ab major, and the same time as the original song. He then creates several variations using the motives, changing the key and even the tonality, (major versus minor). Follow the analysis chart,
60 Appendix E, closely as we discuss this. His arrangement is not crafted using the predominant jazz improvisational practice of following song form38.
The introduction to the arrangement, Section A (0:00 - 0:51), starts with a sixteen-bar passage that can be broken down into two eight-bar phrases. The melody of the first eight-bar phrase is Motif 1 inverted and the rhythm of Motif 2 is used to create the second eight-bar phrase. In this passage the melody is played and harmonized by the frontline pans, the quadraphonic pans and the six pans, while the guitar pans strum and the basses play a half-note walking bass, establishing the harmony. This sixteen-bar passage is repeated and then followed by an ascending chromatic line played in unison over a dominant bass pedal. The chromatic line starts soft and builds to very loud. The participants (players and the audience) are immediately presented with song material they are familiar with in the original key and they are drawn into the arrangement by the climatic chromatic line, as is evidenced by the cheers from the audience.
The melody, harmony, and bass parts in the verse, Section B (0:51-1:50), are assigned to the same steelpans they were assigned to in the introduction. The melody of the verse is presented in much the same way: it is sung on the original recording.
Bradley, however, adds his own twist to the harmony. The four-bar chord progression played in the first sixteen bars of the verse on the original recording is:
38 When an arrangement follows the song form the sections of the song form dictate the structure of the arrangement, e.g where the song form may be Verse, Chorus, Bridge, the arrangement may have the following form: verse, chorus, bridge, verse variation, chorus variation, bridge variation (change of tonality), verse variation 2, chorus variation 2, etc. 61 Ab maj | Ab7/C | Db maj |Eb7 |
Thus, the four-bar harmonic phrase is played four times at the beginning of the verse. In his arrangement, however, Bradley extends this harmony to eight bars so that it, like the melody in the opening of the verse, is played twice. Bradley's re-harmonized opening of the verse is:
Ab maj | Ab7 | Db maj | E° | Abmaj/Eb | F7| Bb-7 | Eb7|
Unlike the original recording, Bradley repeats the verse. This is yet another example of his persistence at ensuring that the participants are constantly aware of and able to follow his arrangement. He is introduces slightly altered harmony so he repeats it in order that the players and performers can notice and appreciate the change. It also reflects his role in the band of the orator since it is an example of him manipulating the style of this musical communication.
This role of orator is also evident in the chorus that follows, Section C (1:51 -
2:36); Bradley does not deviate from the melody or harmony presented in the original recording but he does add and alter a couple of things. Each time the main motif of the chorus, Motif 2, is played by the tenors he adds a fill/response in the double second part and he also styles the bass line. The arpeggiated and syncopated bass line encourages those familiar with the performance practice to dance, a necessary act for the community, the band, and especially Bradley when engaging in this performance practice (see video). 62 In the next verse, Section D (2:36 - 3:07), the middle pans are assigned the melody. They begin this verse solo accompanied by the bass pans and the rhythm section. After the first eight bars, the frontline pans enter with a descant line that is based on Motif 3.
Fig 4. Frontline pans descant line in Section D
Section D descant line
TO 9 » -1 LJ— 1—1— LJ—I LJ_
0 mm =J= •T
In the sixteen bars that follow this descant line the frontline pans play hits that accentuate the bass line. The bass line and harmony of the arrangement do not follow the chord progression offered in the original Oba recording of the song. In fact, Bradley does not return to the original melodic and rhythmic content of the sung version again. From this point on he relies on the familiarity of the motives and the use of traditional folk and calypso rhythmic and strumming patterns.
After this first variation on the verse, one would expect to move to some sort of variation on the chorus. Bradley does not do this. Instead he slips in an interlude based on the motivic material found in the chorus. This interlude, Section E (3:07 - 3:30), is constructed using both Motif 2 and Motif 3. The lower-ranged frontline pans play a line based on Motif 3 for the first eight bars and join the rest of the frontline with a phrase based on Motif 2 for the rest of the interlude. It is all played over a dominant (Eb) bass 63 pedal. This dominant section then resolves into a repeat of the chorus. Bradley then plays the chorus. Why does he insert an interlude here? One can only assume that it is strategically placed so that the listener is jerked out of the complacency and, sometimes, loss of interest that often follows when one does not deviate from form. He does, however, go to the chorus after the interlude Section F (3:30 - 4:14). This alludes to some sense of balance, especially since he repeated the verse at the beginning of the arrangement. This would, therefore, serve as his repeat of the chorus since it is played in exactly the same way (1:51-2:36).
Having presented the song in the original key Bradley then sets us up for a presentation of the song material in another key. Section G (4:14 - 4:24) is used as a transition to D major. As a natural lead into D major the basses play an 'A' pedal (the dominant of D major) for the entire section. The rest of the band plays a chromatic line that is based on Motif 3 in unison. The 'A' pedal resolves on 'D', thereby establishing the new key. Bradley's constant use of the dominant chord to enter each new key is usually expected in Western music while the use of the chromatic to build anticipation is usually expected in Panorama arrangements. They both add to the participants' understanding and appreciation of the arrangement.
The D major presentation of the verse, Section H (4:24 - 4:39), is based on the first sixteen bars of the original verse and is meant to build up to Section I (4:40-5:48).
The anticipation is created by the descant line played by the frontline pans. The middle pans continue to play the melody. The arrangement then slides into the relative minor (B minor, as relative to D major it requires no key signature change). 64 Bradley's move from D major to B minor eliminates the need for a transitional passage. Again this ensures the participants' interest since he does not use the predictable tool of the pedal or chromatically based interlude. This minor section,
Section I, consists of a series of eight-bar phrases based on a minor version of Motif 1.
The motif is played in the first six bars, the band cuts off, and the frontline pans and selected middle pans play a fill. This is done six times.
Fig 5. Minor melodic phrase (based on Motif 1) for the stops in Section I
Minor Melody based on Motif 1 - *r pir is'tfr ir p'rJ1 ' 1 P - ^r piJ [rcJjcu t ofirf poin t an1d spac e- for melodi ic fil l ' ii
In this minor section the frontline pans play the melody and harmony for the melodic line, the guitar pans 'strum' chords, the quadraphonic and six pans double up on the melody, and the basses play a line that mimics the rhythmic pattern they were assigned in
Section C. This section ends on a B7, which resolves to E major, the tonic of the following interlude, Section J, and verse variation, Section K.
In the eight-bar Section J (5:48 - 5:58) the basses drop on the new tonic of E major on the tonic every four bars while the middle pans strum a cliche line. Bradley is purposefully infusing the listener with the new tonic before entering section K (5:58-
65 6:27), another tactic intrinsic to ensuring that even the layman is able to connect with and follow the arrangement.
Section K is a variation of the verse but Bradley very skillfully uses motivic material from the verse and the chorus to develop it. We know it's the verse because he uses Motif 1 to form what one will tend to identify as the main melody. This is played by the middle pans. The basses respond with a line that is based on the rhythmic pattern of
Motif 1. The tenors and double tenors accompany this melody with a descant line that is constructed using the rhythm of Motif 2. It is held together by the double seconds' strum.
Fig 6. Section K bars 1-8
Section K bars 1-8 Descant line tenors and d. tenors 3EEE jUg w Meloc y played by middle pans
Bass re sponse to middle pan melody 7 mis »
OJ- u& ly Ji r M r pir ff
-
66 Many band members refer to this section as beautiful (Interviews June 2009, responses during performance 1999). Beyond this it is a prime example of Bradley's use of the motives to develop an arrangement in which the participants can easily identify and follow the material.
The Ab7 phrase at the end of this section resolves to Db minor, the tonic for sections L and M. Section L (6:28 - 6:34) is eight bars long and, like Section J, is played by the middle pans and basses. So that just as the Section J prepared our ear for Section
K, Section L prepares our ear for Section M. This may be considered to be more than a coincidence given that Bradley used the technique twice. This follows his usual pattern of repeating his musical statements in order that they may be easily identified and understood.
Section M (6:34 - 7:19) is, as mentioned above, a variation on the chorus in Db minor. One of the most significant things about this section is the bass line. It follows a rhythmic pattern that many Trinidadians identify as being significant to the Orisha faith.
This is a musical representation of the spiritual and historical connection of Desperadoes to its African antecedents, a connection that will be discussed more in Chapter 4. This bass line is joined by the strum of the middle pans and a melodic line based on Motif 2 that then expands to an improvised melody that is played by the frontline pans.
At this point Bradley then begins to prepare us for the end of the piece. His first step is to bring us back to the original key. The passage that does this is Section N (7:20
- 7:27). The eight-bar progression of this interlude leads us back to the key of Ab. 67 Dbmin | Dbmin | D maj | D maj | Eb maj |Eb maj | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Like the eight-bar introductory interludes before it (Section J and Section L) no frontline pans play. This use of the bass drops and guitar strumming is not dramatic but by now it is understood by the listener to be a signal for a new section, and for those who are more technically versed, a new key.
Once we return to the original key Bradley ends the arrangement with sections that are variations on, or at least reminiscent of, the verse, Section O (7:27 - 8:00), and the chorus, Section P (8:00 - 9:07). This time around Bradley uses the entire verse as the basis for the variation at O. The melody in the first sixteen bars of this last verse is played by the frontline pans and the melody for the second part of this verse is played by the bass and the middle pans. The section ends with a phrase that is based on Motif 3.
The end of the arrangement, Section P, is built on Motif 2, the motif from which the piece gains its name, for this is the melodic material for the lyric, "In My House." The participants can relate to this ending since it refers to the one phrase that, by now, everyone is more than familiar with. The section is constructed using a lot of major seventh harmony. This, and the swells in the melodic line, could initiate a sense of sadness or melancholy based on our western association of musical devices and tonality with emotion, leading to a satisfactory end to the piece for Bradley, Desperadoes, and
Laventille.
68 Throughout his development of the arrangement, Bradley demonstrates his intimacy with the players, his awareness of their ability, his knowledge about the instruments, and his familiarity with the nuances of calypso music and traditional folk forms. He joins this with is ability to use motives, articulation, interludes, and rhythmic patterns, to create an arrangement that is understood and appreciated by everyone involved in the performance practice. This leads us to the challenge of discerning what this arrangement then comes to represent for him, for Desperados, and for Laventille, and how this leads to a realization of self for all of them.
69 Chapter 4
Chronicling the Carnival Story in song: Bradley's representation of community, connection, and relationships in his Panorama arrangements for Desperadoes
Galeano states that the memory of the people of Latin America has been usurped and that his writing is an attempt to counter this, Raussert sees jazz and blues as one of the ways in which the African American experience has been recorded, protected and restated, and Hill suggests that the experience and identity of the Black French Caribbean is best viewed through its soundscape. Throughout this thesis I have proposed that the
Panorama arrangements created for steelbands during Carnival are part of this tradition of preserving memory in and through art. The music of Carnival, both the calypsos and the panorama arrangements of them, are used to tell the stories that are most important to the various Trinidadian constituencies and communities that the calypsonians and steelbands represent. For most steelbands the panorama arrangement is significant in recording communal history because it is used to define historical time and chronicle events. These events are significant to communal memory and are communicated well by the bands since the bands are community groups and the music that is produced is part of the community's cultural heritage.
My study considers how this concept is applicable in the musical work prepared by arranger Clive Bradley for the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra in Laventille. This chapter will, therefore, not only focus on the ways in which the members of Desperadoes used the arrangements to chronicle personal and community events but will also look at the way in which Bradley articulates the Carnival story of himself and Desperadoes 70 through his choice of calypsos and his arrangement of them. I'll begin this chapter by looking at the Laventille community's establishment of Desperadoes. The circumstances and possible reasons for the formation of the band will support my claim that the band and the music that is learnt and passed down by its members are meant to preserve communal and individual memory, engender a sense of belonging, and serve as a source that informs group and individual identity.
LAVENTILLE FOSTERS COMMUNITY THROUGH DESPERADOES
The first economic system instituted in Trinidad (capitalism in the form of the plantation system supported first by slave and then by indentured labour) relegated most people, the noted exception being owning-class whites, to a position of subservience that was maintained by harsh laws that often prohibited the practice of any cultural expression.39 The British Colonial Government feared that cultural activity gave the
African population an opportunity to connect, organize themselves, and, eventually, revolt. They thought that this was particularly applicable to any music, dance, and song that involved or was based on the use of the African drum. As J.D. Elder informs us in his monograph From Congo Drum to Steelband (Elder 1972), the ban on cultural practices that depended on the drum drove the ex-slave to invent other instruments: first
39 After Emancipation in 1838 there were constant attempts to restrict the traditional rituals, festivals, and celebrations of African heritage people. They were prosecuted for enacting the Cannes Brulees festival during Carnival (this was best exemplified by the riots in 1881 and 1884), there were laws against the playing of the African drum, the same ordinance was used to prohibit the use of the tamboo bamboo in producing traditional music. This prohibition extended to the dance, lyrical exposition of the songs and fighting that the instruments accompanied. (Elder 1969) 71 the tamboo bamboo, then the steeldrum. Thus the function of connection, community, organization, and resistance that the British feared in the drum materialized in the performance practice surrounding the steelpan. Dudley refers to this connection between music and social circumstance and resistance by citing Gibbons and Stuempfle.
Many narratives of the steelband portray the panmen's defiant persistence as an analogue to Trinidad and Tobago's struggle for independence (Stuempfle 1995:235), and Gibbons suggests that this persistence has taken spiritual sustenance from the Orisha religion. He notes that 'the [Orisha] yards were a resource for the emerging steelband which shared their spirit of defiance'.. .The analogy between spirit manifestation and resistance points to the deep connection between music and politics in Trinidad. Whether in relation to slavery, colonial domination, nationalism, or class and ethnic tensions, the tendency to reflect, resist, or transcend political circumstances is fundamental to the spirit of carnival music in general and pan in particular. (Dudley 2008, 15)
A similar association of the formation of Desperadoes with the African based
Orisha practice is alluded to in the narrative of the beginnings of Desperadoes. The band's ritual of practice was first exercised in an Orisha yard as arranger and player for
Desperadoes Robert Greenidge notes,
my uncle used to tune for Desperadoes before Rudolph Charles was captain. He used to captain the band before. They were not in the area they're in now, they were lower down.. .mother somebody yard.. .1 think is mother Dubs yard. (Robert Greenidge)40
Although Mother Dubbs41 was a spiritual leader, we may not be able to say with certainty that this was an orisha yard (place of worship), but the structures of home, connection, and community are there. Greenidge also mentions that the band eventually moved. This
40 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, 2009. 41 The term "mother" is used as a mark of respect in addressing senior female members of the Orisha congregation. 72 too signifies a move towards the fortification of the community. The band moved up the
Hill42, deeper into the community in terms of the geographic location, so that the new
Desperadoes' practice site would be accessible to all the agencies that helped to form it.
I think was two bands get together. I think was either Lloyd Maloney had a band, I think was Serenaders up the street and then the Despers was down the road but there was, I forget.. .Dead End Kids. (Robert Greenidge)43
Ancil Neil confirms that Dead End Kids was in fact led by Rudolph Charles (Neil 1987,
43-44) while my interaction with Desperadoes members and past members of Serenaders confirms that their members did indeed join up with Desperadoes. All of this points to a band that was community centred and geared towards uplifting themselves and their community through music.
The new and present site of Desperadoes became the site for the band to create instruments and make music, but it also became the site for community meetings, football matches, dance and drumology lessons and performances, and a host of other community events. Many members of the community attach their memory of these events and the people involved in them to songs and, more specifically, the band's musical arrangement of the songs. This use of the songs to mark and identify historical time is perhaps the strongest point when considering the argument that the musical arrangements are a non- verbal form of documenting history. This is not unique to Desperadoes but common in most longstanding community steelbands. In many instances events are marked by songs rather than by the date. For example, when I asked my friend, fellow Desperadoes
42 "The Hill" is a colloquial name for Laventille. 43 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 73 member Stacy Rose when she started to play with the band her response was "My first year was "Somebody." Somebody was the calypso arranged by Robert Greenidge for the band in 1989. She knows that I know that and we are able to use the song as a reference as are many other members of the band and community. Similarly, past captain Curtis
Edwards notes that he first played for carnival with "Pan in Harmony," 1976, while band trustee Nigel Fleming notes that Bradley left, "in '79, no '80 cause he did "No Pan." The result, which I will demonstrate throughout this chapter, is that the music is used to chart the history of the individual's association with the band as well as the band's history.
When past captain Anthony McQuilkin was questioned about Bradley's first years in
Desperadoes, he used songs to help chronicle this.
It was 1968. The first tune he did was "Mr. Walker." Because am, Beverly left in '66. Cipio Sergeant did the music in '67 "Governor's Ball," so, I think Cipio Sergeant left also for New York in '67. So in '68 Clive came you know, to do "Mr. Walker." (Anthony McQuilkin)44
Arrangements also serve as an historical record because they not only define the time, and are associated with time-related records and statistics, but are also associated with events. McQuilkin remembers the song that heralded his decision to join
Desperadoes,
The Carnival Tuesday night after playing with Sputniks, I was living on Nelson Street at the time, and am, going home, on my way home, came across Duke Street, and reach at the corner of Duke and Nelson Street and heard iron, 'cause that's the first thing you hear in a band.. .so I stood up there to see what band it was coming round Piccadilly street playing, I thing it was "Pizzicato Polka" at the
44 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 74 time and it was the best thing I had heard in a steelband, you know, so I say I have to play with that band. That was in 1962. (Anthony McQuilkin)45
Curtis Edwards remembers Bradley's response to doing an arrangement in memory of a deceased Desperado.
He say, what you want me to do? And I tell him, I say, I want you to do a tune for Buggie for me. He say, "Argentina," I say yeah. He say, alright. (Curtis Edwards)46
Edwards also remembers that Bradley inserted a piece of a well-known calypso by one of the most revered calypsonians of the twentieth century, Lord Kitchener, in Desperadoes'
Panorama arrangement for 2000 in honour of that calypsonian's death. "In My House" marks the year 1999; it marks the return of Clive Bradley to Desperadoes; it is the last
Panorama win of the twentieth century; it leads Desperadoes to have more Panorama championship wins than any other steelband; and it heralds Clive Bradley as being the first arranger to win Panorama with two different bands.
Hearing a performance of the musical arrangement also aids in preserving personal and collective memory and effects a sense of community and belonging among band members. When I played the recording of "In My House," my friend Stacy Rose47 noticed the strength of the bass section and then said, "Hear the bass. Remember we always used to be singing bass parts.. .imagine Crawl gone eh girl.. .Crawl,
45 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 46 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 47 Interview, Rose, Trinidad, June 2009. 75 Michael.. .what's his name, who used to play tenor.. .Boogie."48 This memory of connection extends to members of the band and community who died, but also reminds players of the connection that exists between the living.
Up to Dane from All Stars, was asking me that up to the other day. He say, "how all you does do that?" I say, "what?" He say, "in parts, in all all you panorama tune I notice that that does be going on. All you, frontline especially does be playing and all you does cut off all you rolls exact"... and them feel we does practice that, we doh rehearse them things.. .That's a natural, that's a natural. Cause you see, one thing, in Desperadoes, my experience in Desperadoes and playing in other bands, players does play off the feelings of each other. We does play with the feelings of each other. So you understand me, it's a unit, is a unison. (Nigel Flemming)49
This sense of connection on hearing panorama arrangements and in performing them is constantly in practice for Desperadoes. The arrangements are played by the band for all performances, community events and rituals, particularly funerals. They are also passed on from one generation of players to another. A younger player who may have joined the band in 2004 could be seen at a band performance of Panorama arrangements like "In My
House" (1999), "Jammer" (1984), "Musical Volcano" (1991), and "Party" (1982) that were created before he/she joined the band - and in some cases before they were born.
The process of playing, hearing and learning these arrangements provides a space for the participants to be consciously aware that they are a significant part of a band and community, that this band and community have a history, and most importantly, that they are part of it. This exercise does not situate African Heritage people as being of a lower
48 Reference to several members who died since the performance of this arrangement in 1999. 49 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 76 class nor does it relegate them to being second class citizens, rather it allows them to notice that they are part of a rich heritage that they are constantly helping to develop and recreate, shaping and defining their identity.
BRADLEY TELLS HIS STORY
The process of learning and playing Bradley's arrangements provided
Desperadoes and Laventille with access to a musical vessel in which they could place memories and meaning. It served this function for Bradley as well. Carnival and the performance practice surrounding the preparation of a Panorama tune was the circumstance that brought him into Desperadoes. His recollection of his experiences with
Desperadoes, his relationship with the band, and his perception of the way Carnival brought them all together were, in turn, conveyed through the music he prepared. His class background was different from most of the players and the community members so that much of his focus was on the way that Carnival brought the community together despite class differences, and helped to heal everyone from the hurts of colonialism. He also shared and vented some of his own individual and artistic struggles through the songs and music that he chose to arrange for the band.
Divisions and attitudes around class in Trinidadian society were reflected in
Bradley's interaction with Desperadoes. Laventille is a poor, working class, urban community. Bradley was also working class and his community in Green Hill Village in
Diego Martin would not be considered rich. Still, his experience was quite different from the average young person's experience in Laventille. As a "red" (lighter skinned), 77 Catholic, who attended one of the top boys' high schools, Fatima, and became a trained
Math teacher his occupation and salary and musical interests and even the instruments he played (he did not play the steelpan) were quite different from his contemporaries in
Laventille (chpt 2 pg44). From his first appearance on "the Hill" in 1968 this difference was apparent. Nigel Fleming recalls,
I remember when he first came to Desperadoes because I was a, I was small.. .the times he come there, you know that was Mr. Bradley in them time. That was Professor Bradley. He was in UWI (University of the West Indies). I remember, as a little guy, as a small kid when he coming up there he used to come up in a convertible, first time I saw a convertible. He used to come up with this cowboy hat, boots on his feet, his guitar on his shoulder, or sometimes round his back, you understand me. He coming out with the pack of cigarettes in his hand, the lighter, is Bradley. From the time he pull up everybody around him. The whole community had people coming out. They bringing lunch for him, breakfast, dinner, you understand me. That's Bradley. Anything, he could'a go in anybody house at any time, get anything, do as he please, Laventille was his own. (Nigel Flemming)50
Fleming's description indicates that Bradley had access to more resources than the average Laventillian. He was also educated, he owned a car that no one on the hill owned, and his clothing was stylish and expensive. Fleming's account is not completely accurate in that Bradley was a lecturer at the Teacher's Training College not a Professor at U.W.I., but it is accurate in aligning Bradley with the middle class. His knowledge and otherness facilitated a warm welcome for him into Laventille. Bradley felt honoured by this welcome and returned it by approaching his work for the band in a very committed manner.
50 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 78 Bradley was not the first middle-class gigging musician to arrange on "the Hill."
Beverly Griffith had been there before him and had won Panorama. Others, though, as
Robert Greenidge recalls, "they come up there and just couldn't make." This may have been a result of their inability to transfer their musical expertise to producing arrangements suitable for the steelpan. But, as we noted in Chapter 2 from Robert
Greenidge's statements, Bradley did not dismiss the knowledge and information that the band offered to him. Instead he coupled it with his own and produced a laudable result.
It was not a one-way street, for he did share some of his knowledge with the band as
Anthony McQuilkin notes,
He was he.. .1 think really he was teaching while he was doing his music, you know. Because he always used to tell us and thing then that these tunes that are played on the radio anybody could do that you know, you could just listen to it and do it you know. He used to encourage, you know, people in the band and thing, with any kind of musical idea and thing, you know, to do some music with the band (arrange or compose songs for the band).. .So he really used to teach, you know, like when he go by the guitar pan and he giving them the chords he would tell them what chord, why he's doing that, you know, all that sort of thing, you know.
There was equal exchange and Bradley used this interaction to tell his story. After all,
Panorama is the story of Carnival and his Carnival story was, largely, centred around
Desperadoes. The songs he chose to arrange for Panorama, therefore, reflected the cultural significance of Carnival and its impact on his relationship with Desperadoes.
The first calypso Bradley worked on was "Sa Sa Yea," a calypso sung by renowned calypsonian The Mighty Sparrow. It was not his choice. It was chosen by
Beverly Griffith who started to arrange the song with some of the members in New York.
79 When they returned to Trinidad for Carnival, Bradley completed the arrangement. And, as we noted earlier, there was a marked difference: Bradley's work seemed, according to
Robert Greenidge, to "be more progressive." I would like to suggest that it had to be, for, as McQuilkin pointed out, he was "meeting a champion band" and had to put his best foot forward in order to be accepted by them. After this performance in 1968 Bradley continued to arrange for the band and grow closer to the community. His first Panorama win came in 1970 with "Margie" by the Lord Kitchener. The lyrics for this calypso seemed to define what Bradley identified as the function of carnival and what he perceived his role in this practice of cultural heritage to be.
Margie, girl you always making row You could vex, you could please, you must listen now You always wanted me To make you so happy Well darling a find the solution To your desire and ambition
Come leh we lime, as the people say Now is the time on Carnival Day I want you to come in town Don't you let me down Juts throw on your morning duster and pick me up by Green Corner .. .We go make bacchanal for this carnival
For this first Panorama win he arranged a song that declared Carnival to be the unifying factor, "the solution," in the community, Laventille, and he also noticed that his role was to help to make that happen ("you always wanted me, to make you happy"). It seems like a stretch to attach all this meaning to his choice of this song until we remind ourselves of his statement, cited in Chapter 2, "I like to go to Panorama with something that belongs
80 to the calypsonians because that is carnival.. .the whole thing—everybody." It is then easier to accept that this is the case throughout his association with Desperadoes. During the seventies and eighties other significant Panorama arrangements would be kept in the band's repertoire, not necessarily because they led to a Panorama win, but more so because they marked a significant turning point in the relationship between Bradley and the band. These arrangements are "Pan in Harmony" 1976 (Panorama win), "Party"
1982 (competition result was contested in court, first song composed by Bradley),
"Rebecca" 1983 (mirrored personal struggles of Bradley), and "Jammer" 1984 (last
Panorama arrangement before Bradley's return in 1999).
The '70s brought two back-to-back wins for Clive Bradley and Desperadoes. In
1976 he won with an arrangement of Lord Kitchener's "Pan in Harmony" and in 1977 he won with an arrangement of "Crawford," also one of Kitchener's songs. Both celebrate
Trinidadian culture and identity. "Crawford" was penned after the islands' first gold medal Olympic athlete, Hasely Crawford, who won the 100m dash and "Pan in
Harmony" was a song about Panorama. It is "Pan in Harmony" that won a favoured place in the band's repertoire. The lyrics describe the joy felt and expressed by
Trinidadians when participating in Panorama. Bradley constantly noticed this joy and he celebrated it and reminded Trinidadians of it through his arrangements, as noted in
Chapter 2. He seemed to understand that "pan" (the instrument, the organization, and the music) was a source of healing for him, the band, and the community. The lyrics of "Pan in Harmony" mirror this understanding.
The brass bands will be wailing on the big day 81 While the steelband harmonizing in their own way As they play loud syncopating And the large crowd celebrating Bawling mas' This is pan of class
When the steelband play On carnival Day Hear the rhythm, lovely rhythm, make you feel to jump up So you start to sway Then you break away It's a feeling, So exciting, when you start you can't stop .. .We raise our hearts and we jump with glee Singing merrily Pan in Harmony
Whereas the 70s spoke to healing, as suggested in the above text, the 80s seemed to speak to liberation. In the pan world the pan men51 had to fight some of their own battles. The rise of DJ music had reduced the number of gigs they received playing for fetes (parties held during Carnival) and the government did not seem to be willing to observe the high cost of "bringing a band to Panorama" and refused to increase the appearance fee to match some of these costs. Their "fight" reached its height with a strike. In 1979 there was no Panorama competition (Goddard 1991, 223-237). This change and liberation was also manifested in the music. For Bradley it was first manifested, as usual, in his choice of calypso. From the beginning he had always followed Desperadoes' mandate to arrange a tune by Lord Kitchener. Lord Kitchener was a traditional calypsonian who always had a sound melody, easily reharmonized
51 Colloquial reference for all pan players, male and female. 82 chord progressions and traditional form. After fourteen years of "Kitch," Bradley wanted to do something else.
We used to make him stick with Kitchener because we like, we always like Kitchener style, he liked it too, but every now and then he wants to go and do something else. Like he did a song called Party, "Party Tonight." (Robert Greenidge)52
He wanted to arrange simple songs with long jams so that he could really explore his options as an arranger. Bradley's first attempt at doing this is one of the band's folk tales.53
In 1980 he indicated to the bandleader, the indomitable Rudolph Charles, that he wanted to arrange "Woman on the Bass." This calypso was sung by Scrunter. Scrunter was a younger calypsonian who sang in Kitchener's tent.54 Bradley arranged the calypso as well as several others including Kitchener's "No Pan." No Pan was chosen above
"Woman on the Bass" because Charles thought the Kitchener choice was more sound; all their previous wins were with Kitchener tunes and out of the eight Panorama competitions staged between 1971 and 1978 seven of the wins were with Kitchener tunes.
Bradley's arrangement of "Woman on the Bass" was rejected by band leader Rudolph
Charles in favour of the safer choice, a Kitchener calypso. All Stars, another prominent
52 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 53 During my tenure in Desperadoes I noticed that there are several histories that have become stories. They are accounts of incidents in and around the band. This 'story' was first shared with me by long-time band member Gerald Bryce. 54 The calypso tent is the reference to a group of calypsonians who present their songs together. It can refer to the building or fixed location of the performances but since most tents perform throughout Trinidad and Tobago during the Carnival season the term is not restricted to the location but, rather, more applicable as a collective term for the cast. 83 steelband from east Port-of-Spain, went to Panorama with Scrunter's song arranged by
Leon 'Smooth' Edwards and won. The memory of most players is that when the two bands performed their versions of the Scrunter song on the drag55 Bradley's arrangement was a clear favourite. The following year Bradley did not arrange for Desperadoes. It seemed as though he lost the fight to arrange songs of his choosing. His return in 1982, however, proved that he had not, since in this year and in subsequent years he chose the calypso he wanted to arrange and his choice was never questioned again.
The three arrangements he did in the period 1982-1984 are often referred to as three of the best Panorama arrangements recorded in the history of the competition. The
1982 arrangement, "Party," did not win. It came on the heals of an injunction
Desperadoes filed against the administrative body PanTrinbago for the band to be included in the finals of the competition because of an inconsistency with the judging.
Many feel that the band was not given first place because of this. It was the first calypso that Bradley arranged for Panorama that was not a Kitchener song. In fact, he composed and arranged the calypso with Lord Nelson56. This song broke away from the tradition and allowed Bradley to mirror in song what the pan fraternity had emulated in its strike action: the decision to operate on one's own terms. As the song states, "I goin' and party tonight."
55 The rehearsal area in the Savanah (the venue for the Panorama competition) where players and supporters gather to hear the band play. 56 Up to this point most arrangers did not compose the calypsos they arranged. The exceptions at this point were Ray Holman and Len 'Boogsie' Sharpe. Bradley arranged and produced several albums for Lord Nelson. 84 Bradley's association and relationship with Desperadoes had changed. He was now a successful musical griot.57 He was an outsider who now had a significant place in the band. He used this creative and social space to face some of his own personal issues.
Bradley's use of alcohol and tobacco had extended into the use of illicit drugs, a transition that many people connect to a tragic personal loss, and he was able to confront, or maybe just notice, this aspect of his life in the music he chose to arrange for
Desperadoes. An example of this is the song that he chose to arrange for Panorama in
1983, "Rebecca" penned by Blue Boy.
While jumping up in a band I end up in confusion The band was at Green Corner Man I jumping with Rebecca I eh sure if is really so the thing happen (Oh no) Because my head was so bad .. .But Rebecca burst away And she start to wine like she mad
With this Hey Hey, Falling down Hey Hey, On the ground Hey Hey, Jumping up Hey Hey, Stop And she was dancing around in a circle (Oh Lord) Rebecca drink she thing, Rebecca smoke she thing, Rebecca sniff the thing Rebecca High She was dancing around in a circle She was high, high, high
Arranging for steel bands, particularly Desperadoes, was probably a lifeline for him through his struggles with addiction and his personal grief. The second verse hints at failed attempts to break away from addiction.
57 Term described in footnote no. 24. 85 I know Rebecca from small She have no behaviour at all She dancing and pelting thing Like the girl possess with music Carnival Tuesday soca jamming I wining but decently Trying me best to avoid people watching (oh boy) But Rebecca hold on to me.
His failed attempts to control his substance abuse led to a rocky Panorama season in
1984. Where, as Curtis Edwards puts it, "'84 Bradley came and was doing "Jammer" and, he was in a real bad mood, I telling you, that year. He was.. .gone."58
Though it was a trying time, "Jammer" is also a classic arrangement. Bradley's lack of attention translated into his use of motivic material to construct a series of "jams" that were strung together to create this arrangement. He used the resource of the soloists in the band to build the lead lines which were played over the bass line. In response to my question about whether Bradley was receptive to suggestions, Robert Greenidge indicates,
Yes, he was [receptive to suggestions], as far as I'm concerned, because a lot of some of the songs that we do for Panorama what he would do is when it reach to, he would be putting it down real nice and all that and then we reach to a jam section, now we are soloists now so he would say. 'play something on top of that', and if he like it he say, 'ok, give the band that.' There are a couple of songs well, you know that he did that way, you know. The same Jammer song he did that er, Rebecca we did some of that too... (Robert Greenidge)59
58 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 59 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009 86 The connection was short-lived though. Rudolph Charles did not invite Bradley to arrange for the following year. He did not return to work with Desperadoes until 1999 when he arranged Oba Synette's calypso "In My House."
THE STORY OF IN MY HOUSE
Laventille cradled Bradley and Desperadoes. The band was born out of the community and Bradley had been the longest serving arranger for the band up to 1984.
The three were completely interconnected and even after his departure from the band in
1984 this connection did not disappear, as McQuilkin notes, "I know over the years when he wasn't there, there were always these reports coming back to us, you know, that he was missing the band then, as the people say in Trinidad, like he had a Tabanca (he was love sick) for Desperadoes." He came back to the band in 1998. Curtis Edwards recalls,
1998 I carried him on the hill. I was doing classes in south East and walked out South East and saw Bradley coming down Nelson Street, like talking to heself. "Clive what happen?" He say, "boy, I have a tune to win Panorama. All you pay me after I done win." Anytime Clive tell you that.. .Clive tell us in 1982 he will win Panorama in 1983 and he didn't hear the tune yet. So anytime he make them kind of statements he know what he talking bout. From the time he say that I say, "jump in the car," and I carry him up on the hill. (Curtis Edwards)60
Robert Greenidge's recollection is a little different.
I was doing (arranging) a song called "Decibels" and he came in and he said, he want to work. He brought a priest with him. He and his priest partner came up. So I give him a CD, a tape of the Decibels. I trying to remember why we didn't work together cause I was ready to give up the reigns. Yeah man, hey, Clive is back. Let's do this. I don't think we came up to standard with him money wise or whatever it was so he decide to go by a band called NuTones and play a song
60 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 87 called "High Mas" by David Rudder, as I tell you, he came with a priest, that was the year he played High Mas' and he beat everybody including Despers. (Robert Greenidge)
The accounts may not gel completely but they are both clear about one thing:
Bradley decided to return to Desperadoes and he went prepared to do an arrangement of
"High Mas" a song based entirely on the Lord's Prayer. This is prayer that asks for forgiveness and offers to forgive, and also where sustenance is asked for. Based on
Bradley's previous arrangements, this could be seen as his continued use of the performance medium to stress the inter-connectedness between him and
Desperadoes/Laventille and their common need for the performance practice of
Panorama to achieve this sense of collective and individual renewal. Bradley was entering the final stages of his life (he died six years later); perhaps he sensed this, and, perhaps, like the arrangements before, he wanted to express it in sound and with the band that he had been most connected with. He did not get the chance then; however, as
Robert notes above, he arranged the same calypso, "High Mas," for NuTones in that year,
1998, and NuTones won Panorama, making Bradley the first and only arranger to have won the large conventional band category in Panorama with two different bands.
In the Desperadoes election of 1998 Curtis Edwards became captain. He successfully negotiated Bradley's return for the Carnival season of 1999. Re-instating
Bradley as the house arranger for Carnival was not easy. Robert Grennidge had been arranging Desperadoes' Panorama tunes for fourteen consecutive years and had won
61 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 88 three Panoramas (one jointly with Beverly Griffith). Many members of the band and the community felt that it would be disrespectful to choose Bradley over Robert.
When it bus' that Bradley would be arranging for Panorama it was madness, it was chaos, I mean men strike on we and thing eh, players, I talking about senior men strike. I deal with it logical and just keep going and by the time the tune really hit people, by the time it hit them, and I mean, people was dancing in the rain up there you know, rain was falling and people was dancing, first time in a long time people bring coolers and rest it down. After, I can't remember what night it was and the crowd gone up, see men start to walk down by the pan and telling the men who was playing in front, "I does play there eh." (laughs) All the players start to watch back at me so. I say yeah. Men just start to unhang they pan the same time and carry it in they original position. I say let we doh make no noise, we can't foul up this win. Let them play. Boy, and it was just, magical. (Curtis Edwards)62
As the description above indicates, good music triumphed. The players and the community were enthralled by the music he arranged for them to play while the community and the supporters enjoyed listening to it. Thus Bradley was able to mark his return to Desperadoes with his arrangement of "In My House."
When Bradley re-entered Desperadoes as the arranger for Carnival 1999 the difference in his connection to the band was immediately apparent. His absence from the band perhaps made him more aware of the interdependence between him and the band and the community,
When he came back now, he came back a different Bradley. Cause what we was accustomed, the Bradley we was accustomed to, in the late '70s early '80s and stuff, was a total different era again. When he came now the music was...different. It was way above where he left. The whole experience was different. You know, he was a different person too. He was a different person too, he was more, how I could put it, he was more players oriented, when I say so, he was more with the players then, at that time. He used to want to see how the
62 Interview, Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009. 89 players feel. He ask you if you like this part if you eh like that part. Bradley before wasn't like that. The Bradley before, he come, he do a piece of music, he do a piece of music. You like it, you eh like it, shit that, I's Bradley I put down a piece of music. But, the Bradley then, in 1999, you know, he feel, he associate with the players, he feel how the players was feeling, he hang out with us, he lime, was a whole different experience, a whole different era of music too... (Nigel Fleming)63
His realization of his connection to the band members was, as Flemming alludes to, also reflected in the music. I would like to suggest that this is first evident, as with previous arrangements, in his choice of calypso. He chose "In My House," a calypso that refers to the connection between the arranger, the players, and the supporters, and emphasizes this by illustrating it in the context of a home, a house (see Appendix B for the lyrics). As
Flemming also recalls, Bradley shared his intention to use the imagery and sound of family relationships to develop his arrangement.
I don't know if you remember when he told us that the husband and wife going and quarrel. You remember that? (Sings along with the recording).. .husband and wife quarrelling, but is after, long after the Panorama tune eh, I sit back and I listen to it home, and I going down with the tune, and I say yeah boy you hear it. You know, you hearing the male voice which is the basses, and you hearing the woman voice and the woman trying to dominate the male voice, yeah, it was you know... and he tell you when the children step in, everything, everything. (Nigel Flemming)64
Three elements of family and community life are represented and clearly identified in
Bradley's arrangement of "In My House." Bradley told the players about two of them, a third is evident in Bradley's manipulation of the musical elements, and the fourth may be
63 Interview, Hemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 64 Interview, Flemming, Trinidad, June 2009. 90 gauged from the player's reaction to the recording of the performance of the piece. He uses the house to represent the family/community.
The initiation or entrance into the family is the first process that Bradley represents in his arrangement of "In My House." Both Curtis Edwards and and Anthony
McQuilkin recall that Bradley's imagery for the introduction (Section A 000 - 0:51 also see analysis chart Appendix E) was that of an individual walking up to the house, up the steps, ringing the doorbell, the door being opened and the person being let in.65 This acceptance and inclusion is not unlike the process described previously where Bradley and other members of the band were first accepted and then included in the Desperadoes family. The second element Bradley represents is the disagreement that occurs between the members of the house. He informed the players that he would represent this in the arrangement. When I played the recording back for the players I interviewed, everyone would recall that Bradley identified Section I, 4:40-5:58 (see analysis chart Appendix E) as the section where "Everybody arguing and fighting and thing in the house..." The argument is not represented by counterpoint but rather through the tension he creates through his manipulation of the melodic minor scale.
The family and community also serve to perpetuate and preserve traditional cultural practice. Bradley, therefore, inserts a reference to the Orisha Baptist faith to highlight this third element. The African-based Orisha Baptist66 faith is part of the
65 Interviews; Edwards, Trinidad, June 2009; McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009. 66 Religious group that centres worship around deities that are identified as being African in origin like Chango, Yemanja, Ogun. The same deities are recognized in Cuban Santeria. 91 cultural heritage of Laventille and its band Desperadoes. Bradley acknowledges this foundation in his development of sections L and M, which are built using a rhythmic pattern, stressed by the basses, that is associated and used in the Orisha religious practice in Trinidad. The feeling of inclusion, belonging, and ownership engendered by Bradley's representation generates an appreciation of self and community that was expressed by some of the members when they listened to Section P (8:00 - 9:07). Robert Greenidge notices the unity and the strengths of the band,
Nice and clean, second pan, tenors, everybody, double tenors, everybody phrasing together. He not trying to put four five different sections mixing up. Clarity. Good tuners. You had Bertie Marshall, you had, I can't remember all the tuners then you know.. .we had Butch Kellman, and somebody tune the guitars.. .it was Roland or Lincoln... (Robert Greenidge)67
Nigel Fleming just says, "Bradley boy..." Curtis Edwards says, "That's it. This was my part, this was my part," and Stacy Rose says, "Sounding like an old, old tune.. .like "My
Pan" or one of them." These three attach a feeling of love, an understanding of history, and a pride in creativity to the final bars of this piece. Anthony McQuilkin's comment indicates a similar sentiment,
Lovely eh? Never moving from the theme of the song. I was looking at a video and thing and there was a girl [Roses Hezikiah] who was just doing that (motions a bow with hands in prayer position). Like she was saying, you know, heavenly music. (Anthony McQuilkin)68
It is "heavenly" for it brings the band and community together and they are able to experience their interconnectedness without uttering a word.
67 Interview, Greenidge, Trinidad, June 2009. 68 Interview, McQuilkin, Trinidad, June 2009 92 Conclusion
Galeano says that he wishes to rescue the kidnapped memory of the Americas through his writing. In this thesis I proposed that the poor urban community of Laventille on the outskirts of the capital of Trinidad and Tobago engaged in the same act, not by writing but through the retention of cultural practice. They were able to recall some aspects of their African spiritual and musical heritage and, because of their awareness of the importance of the retention of this memory to their survival, incorporated this memory into the cultural practices they created in the Americas. One way in which this is evident is in the community's establishment of their steelband, the Desperadoes Steel
Orchestra, and their investment in the resource of musical arrangers like Clive Bradley.
The music the arrangers created for Desperadoes has ensured that this new cultural order is retained through performance practice while the community's participation in the performance ties the music to the events, lives, and relationships of the members of the community. I further suggest that, as a major part of their social environment, this cultural practice also informs individual and communal identity for people in Laventille.
In order to consider the validity of this claim I began by presenting historical information about the effects of slavery on the African community in the Caribbean: the invalidation, the physical torture, emotional strain, and cultural loss. I then presented my perspective on how the African community used the celebration of Carnival to reclaim their power, their humanity, their culture, and their connection. They did this through the
Cannes Brulees procession, which was the ritual that celebrated Emancipation, the end of slavery in Trinidad. It was banned from being celebrated on August 1st so that the 93 community moved the celebration of this ritual to Carnival where it could be exercised legally. I discussed how the precepts of this procession — organization of bands, music that comments on the events in society, dance, combat, and the drum — were carried over into the organization and performance of the tamboo bamboo bands and, later, the steelbands. Finally, I considered how these precepts were modeled in Desperadoes by examining the history of the band, its role and connection to Laventille, and the work and motivation of Clive Bradley. The musical work that was analyzed and used to aid this study was Clive Bradley's arrangement of the calypso, "In My House" for Desperadoes.
It is clear, then, that I see Panorama as a present cultural practice built on past tradition that is used to record and replay individual and communal experiences.
This concept that music defines time and space because it is a creation that draws, consciously or unconsciously, from the past in its construction of a work that represents the present, is not a new one. Lipsitz (citing Reddiker and Linebaugh) describes the importance and acute interconnection between present music and its past as the "long fetch"—the distance between a wave's point of origin and its point of arrival. Waves appear abruptly and immediately, but they have a long hidden history before the human eye notices them." (Lipsitz 2007, vii) The understanding here is that even the representation of history through music is temporal since the sound itself moves through time (the long fetch) and is constantly recreated through performance. It is used to define the experiences of the creators and performers and allows us to listen to and observe music from the perspective of it being a cultural practice that gives the participants a sense of connection, belonging, and significance. Lipsitz goes on to say "Popular music 94 is not history, but it can be read historically, dialogically, and symptomatically to produce valuable evidence about change over time. Popular music can mark the present as history, helping us understand where we have been and where we are going." (Lipsitz
2007. viii) The case of Bradley's arrangement for Desperadoes provides one such example.
Bradley's arrangement of "In My House" is informed by the history of the
Caribbean, Trinidad, Laventille and the cultural practice and function of Carnival and the steelband. Here, Laventille is understood to be the community, Desperadoes a community organization, and Bradley an agent of the cultural practice. The purpose of all these members of the household is to maintain a practice, which documents the experiences of Trinidadians, specifically those in Desperadoes and Laventille, from their own perspective. Having the ability and power to voice this perspective is extremely significant for it contributes to the shape of documented history and memory. It is unlikely that the pain, suffering, and social displacement experienced by, or the creativity, intelligence, and inventiveness, of several generations of African heritage people could ever be acutely documented by anyone but the Afro-Trinidadians themselves. It expresses the social experience of African heritage people in a way that, perhaps, words cannot.
In addition to being a creative form of living history, the music, and the process of creating it, is one way in which the members of the African Community in Trinidad are able to recover from the inhumanity of slavery, indentureship, and other present forms of oppression. The vestiges of slavery and indentureship are abhorrent for all the 95 constituencies involved. The separation and isolation, hardships and social displacement, have an impact on present relationships, communities, and decisions. The process of performing music that is part of the continuum of musical traditions that document the
African experience in the Americas is a form of acknowledging the hurt and enabling a process of healing.
The soundscape serves as an imaginative site of cultural (re)membership for the black francophone Atlantic, staging a longstanding negotiation of loss and recovery that points up histories of displacement and discontinuity all the while stubbornly enabling the transfigurative processes (also known as healing) that make speaking pain to power—or to pleasure—possible. (Hill 2007, 204)
It is a form of healing that we instinctively cling too and so it is apparent in musical forms throughout the Americas, as Raussert describes for Jazz (2000) and Hill describes for the music of the Francophone Atlantic (2007).
Rawle Gibbons, in his account of the life and work of the calypsonian the
Growling Tiger, notes that this exercise is also pertinent to Trinidadian music since the significance of the practice is often unnoticed.
After thirty-four years in semi-retirement, he [the Growling Tiger] was able to record in 1979 a long-playing album that earned a place on the U.S. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences "Grammy" awards list the following year in the category 'Best Ethnic and Traditional Record of the Year'. Criteria for national recognition, however, appear to be more elusive. Another calypsonian [the Black Stalin] has said: You see the vultures wouldn't remember So is we who should get together And praise we artists of first day Who bring we culture here today This biography hopes to fill something of the void in recognition along the lines of Black Stalin's edict. It is performed in the belief that we owe the exercise to ourselves as much as to the artist. In the end, art, like all endeavour, is about identity. The process and results of one man's effort relate an account that is necessarily both personal and collective, biographical and social. (Gibbons. 1994) 96 Gibbons' principle observation is that the magnitude of the creative accomplishments of musicians, composers, arrangers, performers, and singers in the carnival arts is often taken for granted. This contributes to the amnesia referred to by Galeano, a loss of memory that diminishes our ability to construct a self that includes cultural information that demonstrates our potential. The responsibility to document accomplishments and the nature of the cultural practice, therefore, lies with the community. This act of remembrance is performed by Bradley and Desperadoes, as it is by the calypsonian the
Black Stalin and many other steel bands and calypsonians.
Neither Desperadoes nor Bradley is unique to the practice of "putting down" one's social blueprint in sound. It is apparent in every steelband in Trinidad and Tobago.
It is also different in each band since they are all formed under a unique set of circumstances. Differences in the ethnic and class identities of the community and the members, the geographic location of the band, the connection to other musical styles and musicians, the period when the band was founded, the organization of the steelband, the tuning of the pans, and the background and experience of the arranger are all evident in each Panorama arrangement. The result is that a different story is told in each band with each arrangement. With over thirty arrangements being created for Panorama for the larger conventional bands since the beginning of the competition in 1962 and the creation of a large number of arrangements outside of Panorama, it is a vast, unexplored area of
Trinidadian culture.
97 One may be tempted to conclude that since the steel bands and the Panorama arrangements offer so much specialized information about communities, ethnicities, class structure, and social life, especially for the working class, this is an area in which extensive study should be supported. While this may be so it may also be useful, given the diminishing popularity of Panorama by the populace and the government of Trinidad and Tobago, to spend time figuring out ways to rejuvenate Panorama and maintain this tradition that has proven itself to be important to the identity and growth of the country.
98 APPENDIX A
Background information on the Desperadoes members interviewed and referred to in the thesis.
Rudolph Charles
Rudolph Charles' leadership marked the musical emergence of Desperadoes.
Charles, who was born in Laventille began playing pan in the late 1950s. He joined with other young people to form the Spike Jones steelband. Spike Jones joined Desperadoes in the carnival season of 1959-1960.
Charles was elected leader of the band in 1964 and assumed the post from 1965 until the time of his death, March 29th, 1985. He led the band to several Panorama wins with arrangers Beverly Griffith and Clive Bradley and several other noted performances including Royal Albert Hall in 1972 and a performance with the London Symphony
Orchestra in 1981. His focus, though, was on the development of the instrument. He is credited, most notably, with the invention of the quadraphonic pan, the six pan, the nine bass, and the twelve bass.
Much of the development of the music, the players, and the community is indelibly tied to Rudolph Charles.
99 Robert Greenidge
Robert Greenidge was born in Success Village Laventille. He joined Desperadoes at the end of 1964. His first Carnival season with Desperadoes was in 1965. He was fifteen years old.
As a member of Desperadoes he has served as a player, an arranger, and a manager. As a player he has performed on all of the band's major recordings and festival performances, including the band's performance at Carnegie Hall in 1988 and the albums
Steel Band Fiesta, Classic, Live, Pan in Honey, Best of Despers. As an arranger he consistently arranged popular songs and his compositions for Desperadoes and served as their Panorama arranger from 1985 - 1998 and 2006 to the present. His arrangements for the band earned them first place in Panorama in 1985, 1991, and 1994. Robert served as manager of Desperadoes from 1985-1990 during the band's transition after Rudolph
Charles' death.
Greenidge is a steelpan player and arranger. His recordings include several movie soundtracks including Clara's Heart, Commando, Working Girl, Hard to Kill, 48 Hours,
Cool Runnings, The Distinguished Gentleman. He has also recorded with several grammy award winning artists including John Lennon (Double Fantasy), Ringo Starr
(Rotogrove), Grover Washington (Wine Light), Ralph McDonald (Counter Point,
Surprise, Reunion (Japan), Just the Two of Us, Port Pleasure), Larry Graham (One in a
Million), Barry Manilow (Clang of Yankee Reeper), Earth Wind & Fire (Power Light)
Jimmy Buffett (One Particular Harbor, Last Mango in Paris, The Blonde Stranger,
100 Floridays' 'Feeding Frenzy, Berometor Soup, Off to See the Lizard , Fruitcakes, Hot
Water, Myself), Taj Mahal (Live to Disc, Music For yuh, Evolution).
Robert performed for the inauguration of Bill Clinton. He has been recognized by the government of Trinidad and Tobago for his excellence in music and his promotion of the steelpan with the Hummingbird Medal (a national award).
Curtis Edwards
Curtis Edwards was born into Desperadoes. His uncle Leonard Edwards (Spike
Jones) was a founding member of Spike Jones steelband one of the aggregates that led to the modern era of Desperadoes. He first began playing in 1975 learning most of the band's repertoire. He first played for Panorama in 1979.
Curtis has performed with the band in most of its major performances since 1980 including their festival performances and championship wins in Trinidad and their performance in Carnegie Hall. He has performed on all major recordings since this time his first being the Christmas album recorded in 1980 and launched in England the following year.
As a member of Desperadoes he has served as the section leader for the tenor pan section (1982-1987), Vice Captain (1987-1988), Captain (first served in 1988 and has done so for several terms including the Carnival of 1999).
Edwards has shared his love and knowledge of the pan with the young people of
Laventille through his work as arranger for the Morvant Laventille Secondary School.
He leads his own steelband ensemble. 101 Nigel Fleming
Nigel Fleming was born in Laventille. His family staunchly supported the band.
He first began to play in 1976. Since then he has performed in the band's major performances including the festival championship wins in the Trinidad and Tobago
Steelpan Festival (1986, 1988, 1992), and the band's performance in Carnegie Hall.
Fleming has served as a trustee for the band since the late 1980s. The day-to-day running of the band is operated by the trustee and so he has been responsible for supervision of the band's finances, transport of the instruments, carnival infrastructure
(racks, practice facilities etc), and other procurements.
Nigel Fleming is part of the organizing team for the young Desperadoes August holiday camp as well as its other year round activities.
Stacy Rose
Stacy Rose is from Laventille. She has been a roadside member of Desperadoes since 1989. As a roadside player she has performed for Panorama and other major carnival festival events including Point Fortin Borough Day and Champs in Concert. She has played both the four pan and the guitar pan in Desperadoes.
Rose is a fire officer, aerobics instructor, and a mother of one.
Anthony McQuilkin
Anthony McQuilkin was born on Nelson Street in Port-of-Spain. He first played pan with Sputniks a band that was led by a Joe Brown a member of Desperadoes. 102 McQuilkin joined Desperadoes in 1965 at the age of twenty-three. He has been a committed member of the band since then performing at all its major performances including the ten panorama championships, the Festival performances, and several recordings.
McQuilkin first managed the band from 1990-1992 and again from 1994-2002.
He is currently the treasurer of Pan Trinbago, the national organizing body and representative of steelbands in Trinidad and Tobago.
103 APPENDIX B
"In My House " composed by Emmanuel "Oba " Synette
Lyrics
Verse 1 Tell them pan men I want them play with feel Execute my rendition on the steel I want they tonal quality sounding sweet I want to have them revelers on they feet
Chorus And I want you play, (play) Steelband music With flair and performance with it I want you jam (jam) With joy and pride So we could Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump Jump
Cause In My House I have a pan in my drawing room In My House In My House, I have a pan in my bedroom In My House
Vocal Bridge And is Ping bebeling, ping bebeling, ping bebeling, ping bebeling, ping bebeling Ping bedeling (All Day), ping bebeling (All Night), ping bedeling, pinb bedeling, ping bedeling
In My House I have a pan in my drawing room In My House
Verse 2 Pan Women I want you play with taste Execute my rendition on the bass Like you bumper I want you feel the space Jam that bassline and give the world a taste
104 Verse 3 Pan music is to play from your heart Is the only way people check the art Is we culture so we done have jump start There's no carnival without the steelpan
105 APPENDIX C
Audio Recording Guide Track 1 \ In My House by Emmanuel "Oba" Synnette Track 2: In My House arranged by Clive Bradley performed by WITCO Desperadoes
106 APPENDIX D Desperadoes Steel Orchestra: steelpans used, their range and their function.
Frontline pans
Tenor pans, double tenor pans, and double second pans are referred to as frontline pans. Tenor pans consist of a single pan, double tenors and double seconds consist of a pair of pans. They are all usually chromed instruments.
The pan with the highest register is the tenor pan. Desperadoes uses three types of tenor pans; the low C fourths and fifths tenor, the high C fourths and fifths tenor, and the thirds and fourths tenor. The combined range of these tenor pans is from middle C (or C4) to the F above the treble staff (F6). The notes above A5, however, do not sound fully or clearly so that the written range and the feasible playing range differ considerably.
Tenor pan written range £
Tenor pan suitable playing range
The tenor pan is usually used to present the melody, countermelodies, and drops/colour during solos by other instrumental sections in the band.
The double tenor has the next highest range from the F# below middle C, F#3, to the B above high C, B5. Like the tenor, a couple of the notes in the higher register do not sound well. 107 Double tenor written range $ 42.
Double tenor suitable playing range £ £
The double tenor is used to double and to harmonize the melody.
The double second has a similar range to the double second; their difference lies in the tone of the pan. The double tenor has a brighter sound (Dudley 2008. 282). The lowest note on some double second pans is the E below middle C. The lowest note on most of the pans used by the players in Desperadoes in the 1999 Panorama competition, though, was the F (F3) below middle C. The highest note would be C# above the staff, C#6.
The best quality sound is probably achieved between the lowest note and the F# above high C, F#5.
108 double second written range te
double second feasible playing range i 5 Bp
The double second pan is used to double the melody and establish the harmony, by strumming, when the melody or a variation is being played by the middle pans.
Middle pans
Desperadoes' middle pan section for their 1999 Panorama performance consisted of guitar pans, two 3/4 length skirt chromed pans, quadraphonic pans, 4 chromed short skirted pans, and the six pan, six chromed or painted short skirted pans.
The guitar pan establishes the harmony by "strumming" the chords. Its range is suited to this as it sits between the C# below middle C, C#3, and the G# above middle C,
G#4.
guitar pan written and playing range nn
109 The four cello, three cello, and guitar pans are used to strum chords. If a steelband uses both the cello section and the guitar section up to four notes of the seventh chord and its extensions (9ths, 1 lths, and 13ths) can be played. In the Desperadeoes ensemble in 1999 Bradley has to establish the chord quality with the guitar pan. This means that he uses just two notes to establish the chord quality since the player uses two sticks on this one instrument. He most often does this by assigning the 3rd and 7th of the chord for the guitar pan's strum, since these establish chord quality, and spreading the additional tension from the 9th, 11th, and 13th, in the harmony held and played by the frontline pans. For "In My House" Bradley did request the use of the four pan/cello but they did very little strumming. Instead, their role was similar to the "quadro" (or quadraphonic) and six-pan.
The quadraphonic pans and the six pans are not used, like the guitar pans, to exclusively establish the harmony. The quadro ranges from the B a 9th below middle C,
B2, to the Bb above high C, B5. As with the frontline pans, the higher register does not sound very clearly so that a feasible playing range for this instrument might extend up to high C, C5. The six pan extends this middle pan section range down to the A a 10th below middle C, A2.
110 middle pan range for the quadrophonic and six pan £
lowest note for lowest note for highest feasible highes written pitch six pan the quadro playing pitch for for the quadro the quadro
This range allows them to effectively reinforce any important lines in the arrangement.
These pans, therefore, double melodic lines, bass lines, middle pan solos, unison passages, and strum in the "jam part" if there is no outstanding line to be doubled.
The bass pans and their function in Desperadoes
The bass has two layers in Desperadoes. The top layer, which is established by the "strumming" of the tenor basses, and the bottom layer, which consists of the bass line played by the six, nine and twelve bass.
Tenor bass range J r
Six bass range •1. /i ; J 1
Additional instruments; Desperadoes Rhythm Section
111 In addition to the steelpans Desperadoes includes several instruments that form what is referred to as "the engine room" or rhythm section. The 1999 Panorama ensemble consisted of a standard drum kit, several iron men, a conga player, a timbales player, a cowbell player, and African drums. This section is responsible for establishing rhythmic patterns. The African drums are particularly important since they help to establish several Afro-Trinidadian patterns used in traditional and religious music that form part of the cultural fabric of Laventille.
112 APPENDIX E Analysis Chart
Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function of Motivic/ each Song Instrumental Section or Material Register 000- A. Frontline pans - Motif 1, The first bar of To The immediate 0:51 Introduction harmonized melodic line; Motif 2 Motif 1 is inverted immediately engagement of (Ab major) middle pans - strummed and used to present the the crowd in chords; bass pans - construct the audience with the syncopated bass line. In melodic line in the material that is performance. the last eight bars the first four bars of the intuitively (Cheers are basses pedal on the introduction.The familiar and actually heard dominant while the rhythm of Motif 2 is create at the end of frontline pans crescendo used to create the excitement the crescendo on an ascending melodic line in bars with the passage). chromatic line ending 5-8 of the chromatic with a trill. introduction. passage and dominant pedal.
113 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function Motivic/ of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 0:51 - B. Frontline pans - melody of The chord To add his own Recognition of 1:50 Verse harmonized melodic the verse progression of the flavour/character to the arranger's [played line; middle pans - as heard in original calypso the verse through re- skill by the twice] strummed chords; the is reharmonized. harmonization. The community. bass pans - bassline. original The bVI material from the Appreciation calypso diminished verse is repeated to for the work. recording. approach to the enforce the melody Enforcement of dominant makes that he uses the material he this intuitively throughout as the uses to build apparent even to main departure for the the layman. The the development of arrangement. section is the arrangement. repeated.
114 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function Motivic/Song of each Material Instrumental Section or Register 1:51-2:36 C. Frontline pans - the melody of The bass line To encourage The Chorus melody of the chorus the chorus as pattern is dancing. engagement as performed in the heard in the arpeggiated and of the crowd. original calypso with original syncopated. some additional fills; calypso middle pans - recording. chords; bass pans - bassline. 2:36- D. Middle pans - melodic The descant line To use the lyrics The 3:07 Verse melody; bass pans - paraphrasing is based on motif to create another establishment Variation syncopated bass line; of the verse, 3. There is a dimension to the of credibility 1 frontline pans - a Motif 3. unison break arrangement. The amongst the descant line that between the first lyrics for the judges begins after the first and second part second verse are without eight bars. of the verse. The "Pan women I losing the bass is not only want you play crowd. supporting the with taste, execute groove but also my rendition on playing a solo the bass." To that supports the maintain a link to middle pans' the familiar within presentation of a more complex the melody. section of the arrangement. 115 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function of Motivic/ each Song Instrumental Section or Material Register 3:07-3:30 E. Frontline pans - melody Motif 2 A twelve bar interlude To create a Keeps the Interlude based on the phrase based on motivic breathing crowd 1 motif 2; bass pans - bass material from the space and an involved. pedal; middle pans - chorus. First the lower ability to Aids in the strum chords. range frontline pans manipulate judges' (double seconds/alto motivic assessment of pans) play a line based material. the piece. on the rhythm of Motif 3 then the entire frontline plays an eight bar melodic passage based on the Motif 2.
116 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function of Motivic/ each Song Instrumental Section or Material Register 3:30-4:14 F. Frontline pans - the melody of The verse as To establish a Brings the Chorus melody of the chorus as the chorus performed in sense of crowd back in performed in the original as heard in the original balance in his after the calypso with some the original calypso was initial presentation of additional fills; middle calypso repeated. presentation a slightly more pans - chords from the recording This is his of the tune. complex middle pans; bass pans - repeat of the section. (Cheers bassline. chorus. are heard at the beginning of the section). 4:14-4:24 G. Bass pans - bass pedal; Motif 3 Bass pedal, To build To keep both Interlude 2 All other pans crescendo Ascending excitement the crowd and (modulation) on a chromatic ascending melodic line and create a the judges unison line. based on the break before engaged by Motif. the setting them up presentation for the next of new variation on the material. verse.
117 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Functio Motivic/ n of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 4:24- H. Middle range pans - melodic Presentation of the first To present The crowd 4:39 Verse melody; the lower line as eight bars of the verse as the original remains Variation 2 section of the presented sung in the original material on involved and (D major) frontline (double in the calypso with an ascending which the cogniscent seconds/alto) pans - first half descant line. next section (even if it is at strummed chords; [8 bars] of the a upper register of of the arrangement subsconcious frontline pans original is based so level) of the (soprano/tenor and calypso that the next development double tenor) - section might of the descant line. be easier arrangement. understood. 4:40- I. Front-line pans - Motif 1 Motif 1 is used as a hook To create a Maintains the 5:48 Verse melody; middle pans for a series of four bar section based engagement of Variation 3 - chords; bass pans - phrases. In each case the on the call the crowd (B minor) bassline fourth bar is different. and response through their ends on B7 The effect is that of call tradition of concious or and response except that carnival and subconsious both the call and the kalinda identification response are in the same (traditional with a line. The bass pattern here music and traditional is arpeggiated in a similar dance form). song practice. fashion to section C. Sharp break at the end. 118 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Functio Motivic/ n of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 5:48- J. Bass drops on the The bass drops on the To introduce Continued 5:58 Interlude 3 first beat of the first tonic while the middle the ear to the engagement of (E major and third bars of this pans strum on the tonic's new key and the crowd and key) four bar section; cliche line serve as a the judges. middle pans - break from chords. the intensity of the passage before.
5:58- K. Call and response Motif 1, Counterpoint created by a To perhaps Crowd 6:27 Verse between the middle Motif 2 call and response pattern represent the identification variation 4 pans and the bass established between the interconnect- of this intent Ends on pans. Descant line bass pans and the middle ivity of the because of the Ab7 in the upper frontline pans using Motif one, and community, use of motivic (tenor/soprano, a descant line played by the band, and material. double tenor) pans. the tenors based on Motif the arranger. Strumming/chords 2. held by the lower register (double seconds) of frontline pans.
119 Counte Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects r Description/Functio Motivic/ No. n of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 6:28- L. Bass pans - Bass Bass pedal is To encourage the listener The crowd's 6:34 Interlude pedal, middle pans - anticipated by a to focus on the bass. and the 4 (Db strummed chords. chromatic run on judges' minor) the 'and' of four up attention is to the drop on the drawn to the tonic on the first bass which beat of the bar. The is the main section ends on this element in chromatic the next anticipation of the section. strong-beat drop on the tonic. 6:34- M. Bass pans - Bass Motif 2 A melodic line To use motif 2 to hint at The 7:19 Chorus pedal modelled after based on Motif 2 is this section as being Laventille varia-tion one of the many played by the representative of a communtiy's 2 (Db rhythms played in frontline pans at the chorus. To represent the recognition minor) the religious practice beginning of the strength of the band since of part of of Orisha in section. The bass it precedes a section their Trinidad; middle pans maintain the based on the religious religious pans - strummed Shango/Orisha practice of the hill, the identity chords; frontline rhythm (Dudley). worship of Orishas which being pans - melodic line. is linked to the represented beginnings of steelband. in the piece.
120 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function Motivic/ of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 7:20-7:27 N. The basses play a Maintains part of To gently ease out Acknowledge Interlude 5 series of drops on the the pattern from of the spiritual ment of the (modulation: first beat of each of the previous section. No break transition Dbmin 1 D the four bars in this section while was used. Instead without being maj 1 Eb maj section. Each drop is serving as a the aspects of the jolted out of a 1 Eb 7) anticipated by a modulation Orisha rhythm were section which chromatic run that pattern to the held by the bass so may be begins on the 'and' of next section. this section could spiritually the fourth beat of the serve as a bridge significant to bar. Middle pans and modulation some strum. No melody. passage to the next members of section. the community.
121 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function Motivic/Song of each Material Instrumental Section or Register 7:27-8:00 0. Frontline pans play The verse as The first four bars of Return to the Continued Verse the first eight bars of heard on the the melody of the familiar in engagement variation the melody of the original original verse as played preparation of the 5 (Ab verse; Basses play recording of by the frontline pans is for the end. crowd. major) the second eight bars the calypso. altered only with an of the melody of the Motif 3. inversion of the melody verse. at the end of each phrase. The bass plays a melodically paraphrased version of the second eight bars of the verse.The section ends with a break based on Motif 3.
122 Counter Section General Main Treatment Intent Effects No. Description/Function Motivic/ of each Song Instrumental Section Material or Register 8:00- P. Front line pans - Motif 2, Use of Motif 2, the To perhaps An intuitive 9:07 Chorus harmonized melody Motif 3 first line of the chorus function as a recognition of his variation emphasizing the major to create an eighteen- reminder to intent by the 3 and 7th sound at the end of bar passage that is the band, the crowd and the Ending each phrase; middle reminiscent of the community, band because of pans - chords; bass original calypso's and himself of the association pans - straight, rather chorus. Harmonization their they may have than syncopated bass emphasizing the sound relationship with the chord line. of the major 7th chord. and worth and quality and the Motif 3 is sometimes a claiming of lyric, "In My used in the bass line. space through House". the focus on the phrase "In My House".
123 References
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126 Discography
Desperadoes. 1993-01-01. Ah Goin' an Party Tonight. The Jammer. The Jammer:Desperadoes Steel Orchestra Trinidad. Caribbean Carnival Series, Delos/SANCH DEL 4023
In My House. 1999. Panorama '99. SANCH CD 9903-2
The Jammer. 1993-01-01. The Jammer:Desperadoes Steel Orchestra Trinidad. Caribbean Carnival Series, Delos/SANCH DEL 4023
Margie. 2004-11-12. Desperadoes Steel Orchestra: The Best of Desperadoes, A Musical Volcano. Desperadoes.
Pan in Harmony. 2004-11-12. Desperadoes Steel Orchestra: The Best of Desperadoes, A Musical Volcanoe. Desperadoes.
Lyons, Austin (Superblue/Blue Boy). 1999. Rebecca. 20th Century Soca Gold. JW Productions. JW 183
Roberts, Alwyn (Lord Kitchener). 2000-11-21. Margie. Klassic Kitchener Vol 2. Ice IC 9190.
Pan in Harmony. 2002-01-22. Klassic Kitchener Vol 3. Ice IC 9200
Synette, Emmanuel (Oba). 2005 In My House. Soca Anthem Collection.
127