Categories
Calypso Music

The Legacy of Calypso Great: Cecil Hume, Maestro

The Trinidad and Tobago Folk Arts Institute in conjunction with the School of Professional and Community Development of Medgar Evers College, CUNY, hosts a panel discussion on the life, work, and legacy of Cecil Hume, the Maestro.  2013 marks the 35th anniversary of his tragic death, and calypso aficionados remain awed by the undeniable genius of this tremendously gifted composer and performer of the art form.

Panel Discussion: Reviewing the Legacy of Calypso Great – MAESTRO

Date: Thursday, February 28, 2013. 7:00 – 10:00pm

Venue: Medgar Evers College, Mary Pinkett Lecture Hall,                                                       1637 Bedford Ave , Brooklyn – Room S122 (bet. Carroll and Crown Streets)

Panelists: Rawlston Charles, calypso-soca music producer/distributor

Frankie McIntosh, acclaimed musical arranger

Kenrick Mead, former producer of calypso music

Admission: Free

Categories
History Music Steel Pan

New York steel band pioneers to be honored

The following article was taken from Caribbean Life, May 16th, 2012.


Rudy King

Two surviving members from a three-piece steel band which appeared in the 1954 Broadway musical House of Flowers will be among the special lineup of individuals being honored at a Tribute to New York Steel Band Pioneers organized by the Trinidad & Tobago Folk Arts Institute, Sunday evening May 20. The gala event will be held at Tropical Paradise Ballroom, Brooklyn from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Michael Alexander and Alfonso Marshall (whose name, after he subsequently became an actor, was changed to Austin Stoker) are the two surviving steelpan players from the 1954 production, which starred Pearl Bailey and was written by Truman Capote. The members of the history-making steel band unit were recruited from Trinidad by the noted Trinidad-born choreographer-director Geoffrey Holder, who was also in the House of Flowers cast.

The other honorees are Caldera Caraballo, Milton Gabriel, Edward George, Lennox Leverock, Roy Sangster and Kim Wong. Two well-known names associated with steel band activity in its early days here, Rudolph King and Conrad Mauge, will be honored posthumously. Among them, the steel band stalwarts selected for this recognition aggregated countless hours as leaders and players in the formative period of New York’s steel band culture, as they endeavored to introduce the new musical sound to American audiences. Their experiences ran the gamut from Caldera Caraballo’s touring with Harry Belafonte to Kim Wong’s collaborative projects with folk music icon Pete Seeger to Rudolph King’s sharing nightclub billing with calypso singer Mighty Charmer, prior to the latter becoming a household name in a different sphere as Louis Farrakan.

For original posting: Awards for New York steel band pioneers • Caribbean Life.