Global A Go-Go presents:
Ellie Mannette (pictured above), the father of the modern steel drum, died last week at age 90. More than anyone else in the world, Mannette made the steel pan, the national instrument of his native Trinidad & Tobago, into a serious musical instrument.
He was the first to fabricate a drum out of Trinidad’s ubiquitous 55-gallon oil barrels, he was the first to make the drum surface concave, and he built the first pan with all the notes in the chromatic scale so it could play any melody in any key.
Mannette spent most of his career in the USA: he helped develop the US Navy Steel Band in the 1960s, he began teaching steel pan tuning at West Virginia University in 1991, and his foundry in Morgantown produces most of America’s steel drums.
In honor of Ellie Mannette, this week on Global A Go-Go you’ll hear a few of my steel pan favorite, and some calypsonians singing in praise of the pan. Also this week: Turkish pop, folk and rock; Cuba from tumbao to timba; and some Balkan beats to get you moving.
Podcast: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/99142
All the podcasts: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Global+A+Go-Go
Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez, “Tumbao No. 5 (Para Charlie Mingus)”
from Cachaito
World Circuit - 2001
Cuba
Diamond Steel Orchestra, “Guantanamera”
from Caribbean Steel Drum Vibrations
Bellaphon - 1995
St. Lucia
Andy Narell & Relator, “Steel Band Music”
Heads Up - 2009
USA-Trinidad & Tobago
Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, “Devil In The Business Class”
from Unza Unza Time
Barclay - 2000
Serbia
Black Masala, “Trains And Moonlight Destinies”
from Trains And Moonlight Destinies
self-released - 2018
DC USA
Shtetl Superstars, “Schengen Visa Wedding”
from A Day In The Life
Skycap - 2013
England UK-Germany-Italy-Ukraine-Israel
Bill Lupoletti Global A Go-Go September 5th, 2018
Posted In: Music Shows