Pan entrepreneurs needed

2026-02-15 - 02:00

That bp Renegades and Massy All Stars having respectively returned to Sparrow of 69, and Scrunter 82, are indications (and not for the first time) of a recognition by the arrangers, leaders and panmen and women, of a golden age of music left for them to expand, and rearrange in “modern stylings”. I described on another platform that the “Lizard” of today is bolder, not slinking around looking for hiding space, but upfront with wonderful inside melodies, and a few dazzling runs which have become intrinsic to steelband arrangements. In the instance of the 2026 “Will” of All Stars, the greater skills of the modern pan players, revelling in Scrunter’s assurance “that when them panman and dem start to run they tune on yuh pan boy, plenty woman go lose dey husband in town boy,” are evident. Similarly, an impresario, and again not for the first time, with an understanding not only of the calypsos of the Golden Age, but the need to pay homage to those bards who greatly enhanced our worth as a people and left behind a golden legacy, created a platform over the last couple weeks in which calypsonians of the period were interpreting and performing the music of the likes of the Grand Master Kitchener, of De Blackman Stalin, Ras Shorty I, Maestro and others. The nostalgic experience allowed us to re-engage with the creations of our past, which is really our future. This return, depicted and illustrated a coming to an understanding of, and a deep appreciation for, the value of our heritage. It’s a revaluation of the calypso artform from being a kind of discarded/throw-away commodity used for a season, to one which has long-term value. That return is one of importance being displayed in the Carnival – the one we inherited from our great ancestors who fought against the colonists to hold on to our creations. Another element of placing value on our musical innovation and tradition, that of panmen composing and arranging music for bands, is continued this year by “Boogsie” Sharpe with his “Trouble”. It’s being performed by the Freetown Collective, a group that is also engaged in creating anew from the past. It’s a tradition of panmen composing for their bands, which, according to Ray Holman—Hon PhD Litt—UTT, was started by “Birdie” Mannette of Invaders, and a tradition that Ray himself followed, composing and arranging panorama-winning pieces for Starlift. A word must also be said on yet another occasion, about the manner in which the Generation Z (12 to 28) pan stars are revelling in their ability to play the instrument. It may seem to the outsider as “showing off”, but it’s not. It’s taking hold of their inheritance and bringing their personalities to what their grandfathers and grandmothers left for them. Water must come to our experienced eyes when we see and hear the youth of today (Generation Z), playing the pans of their foreparents with zest, style and fully making the instrument and the culture of the panyard their own. In reality, they are saying thanks to Spree, Jules, Mannette, Williams, and so too de Bad Johns who were the generals of the steelband; it fell to them to protect the instrument, even from their own, those trapped by fear and uncertainty. Yes, society paid a short-term price for the societal violence of the period, but as it is well-established across many areas of great achievement, that progress often comes at great expense and sacrifice. All of the above included, is not in empty adoration, but recognition of the pan inventors and introducing a perspective to what we enjoy in the moment. The questions we now face in the generation/s of today include: What are we doing to advance the pan, the players, arrangers, composers, the festival of Panorama itself, should it remain as the major steelband festival of the year? What of the steelband yard, that cornerstone of creativity and instructional guidance for young men and women, how is it to be upgraded and to be taken into the future to meet needs, musical, emotional and physical? How do we use the space, vibrations and cultural creativity for the continuing acculturation of the young pannists in the steelband so that from them will come the aspirations and directions for the future? That is a future which cannot be that of waiting next year and ritualistically going forward slightly advanced from the previous dispensation. We have to up the tempo, upgrade the instruments, continue the spreading of the pan to the world; refashion and upgrade the Panorama; end the dependence on government for handouts; insist on investment to silence the ignorant with their insulting comments designed to deprave the inheritors of the steelpan and the steelband. Confidently, we must discard fear of losing hold of our creation; take it to the world while holding to the “Secret of making pan” (Black Stalin) and push for a new generation of entrepreneurs who must arise from within the pan movement to lead the thrust forward. Tony Rakhal-Fraser – freelance journalist, former reporter/current affairs programme host and News Director at TTT, programme producer/current affairs director at Radio Trinidad, correspondent for the BBC Caribbean Service and the Associated Press, graduate of UWI, CARIMAC, Mona and St Augustine – Institute of International Relations.