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Three time National Panorama Champions, Starlift celebrated 51 years as a steel orchestra this year. A feat that is worthy of mention as there are many ingredients that go into the making of a successful steel orchestra, the main one being excellent music. This is definitely showcased on Starlift’s new CD. The band can easily boast of its versatility as it displays a mastering of repertoire from seven different arrangers and composers such as Ray Holman, Michael Boothman, Eastlyn Hinds, Herschel Puckerin, Carlyle Oliver, Neville Whitlle and Barry Mannette. Starlift’s uniqueness is also evident as it merges the steelpan with the remarkable fretwork of jazz guitarist Michael Boothman. A new Starlift has emerged over the past year that has executed music from Destra Garcia to Celine Dion, from Ella Andell to Bob Marley; but he has still managed to maintain his identity with songs for which he has become famous, such as Du Du Yemi and Mr. Bojangles . Barry Mannette
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The Starlift Steel Drum Orchestra Three-time National Panorama champion Starlift celebrated 51 years as a steel drum orchestra this year. It’s a feat worth mentioning, given that many elements go into a successful steel drum orchestra, not the least of which is excellent music. The latter is clearly evident on Starlift’s new CD. The band can boast of its versatility, demonstrating its mastery of the repertoire of seven different composers and arrangers, including Ray Holman, Michael Boothman, Eastlyn Hinds, Herschel Puckerin, Carlyle Oliver, Neville Whitley, and Barry Mannette. Starlift’s uniqueness is also evident in its fusion of the steelpan with the incredible fretwork of jazz guitarist Michael Boothman. A new Starlift has emerged over the past year, a Starlift that plays music from Destra Garcia to Celine Dion, from Ella Andell to Bob Marley, yet has managed to maintain its identity with songs for which it became famous, such as Du Du Yemi and Mr. Bojangles . Barry Mannette |
| More FiremanFireman is a character in the Sailor Mas of Trinidad Carnival. Sailor first appeared in Carnival, according to Errol Hill (Trinidad Carnival: Mandate for a National Theatre, University of Texas Press, 1972), in 1908, following the visit of an American warship. Sailor bands portray the range of personnel aboard such ships including officers, the military and auxiliary medical and engineering units. Fireman or Stoker belongs to this last category.
Each mas in a Sailor band has its distinctive costume and dance and Fireman is easily identifiable in his decorated, high-collared, black merino, black bell bottoms, gloves and bearded, goggle-eyed masks, making him a rather fearsome looking character in the band. He carries a long iron rod for ‘stoking’ the fire to keep the ship’s engines running. The climax of his dance is throwing this rod ahead of him, then dancing backwards, limbo-style, to retrieve it, while miming the blasting heat of the ship’s furnace. This is one of the most testing dances in Carnival requiring agility, strength, flexibility as well as a creative imagination. Among the most renowned Firemen were dancers like ‘Stretch’ Cox and ‘Jim Bill’ Sobers, whose creativity helped fashion the dance, as we know it today. Rawle Gibbons |
More FiremanFireman (the sailor) is a character from Trinidad’s Carnival. According to Errol Hill (Trinidad Carnival: Mandate for a National Theatre, University of Texas Press, 1972), the Sailor first appeared in 1908, following the visit of an American warship. Sailor bands represent a variety of personnel aboard such vessels, including officers, military personnel, and auxiliary medical and engineering units. Fireman or Stoker belongs to the latter category.
Each character in a Sailor’s band has their own distinctive costume and dance, and Fireman can be easily identified by his decorated black merino wool with a high collar, his black combat trousers, his gloves and beard, and his goggle-eyed masks—all of which make him a rather frightening figure in the band. He carries a long iron rod to stir up the fire to keep the ship’s engines running. The highlight of his dance is throwing the bar in front of him, then dancing backward in limbo to catch it, while miming the intense heat of the ship’s furnace. This dance is one of the toughest of the carnival because it requires agility, strength, flexibility, and creative imagination. Among the most famous Firemen are dancers such as Stretch Cox and Jim Bill Sobers, whose creativity helped change the dance to the form it exists today. Rawle Gibbons |
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The Players |
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Tenors:
Double Seconds:
Double Guitars:
Triple Guitars:
Four Cello:
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Tenor Bass:
Six Bass:
Seven Bass:
Rhythm:
Soloists:
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