Kaiso & Steel
CALYPSO & STEELPAN MUSIC – SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE 20S & 30S.
CMAT continues with its entertaining touring collaborations and ends its 2009/2010 season of international programmes with - ‘Kaiso & Steel’ (calypso and steel pan music).
For most people, calypsos (and steel pans) are all about parties and carnivals yet the development of these interesting musical forms owes much to slavery, oppression, and a desire to be free. In the Caribbean generally, but Trinidad & Tobago specifically, both of these musical forms came to life. Calypso was the voice of the African Caribbean people; sometimes humorous, sometimes political, often it was the calypso that started ‘the discussion’ and established the social network system and brought many major events to the attention of the public, long before the media was even aware of what was happening!
‘Kaiso & Steel’ combines the rich talent of the Trinidadian/Canadian calypsonian Drew Gonsalves with the infectious rhythms of two top local artistes, Norman Stewart (steel pan) and Silbert Morris (percussions). All three musicians have been entertaining audiences around the world with their own musical groups and now combine forces for this intimate, inter-active production.
Drew will be performing in the UK for the first time and is keen to share his musical knowledge with audiences.
Calypsos have always been about social commentary and when you take the African, the French and the Spanish influences and mix them together with the Trinidadian, you get a real explosive brand of music. We’ll be singing and playing music from the 30s to more recent times and through the songs, looking at how Trinidadians kept up-to-date with the news. There’s news about government, about the Graf Zeppelin coming to Trinidad, about Hitler and the war, about separation and divorce. Anything you wanted to know – the calypso brought it to you!
In 1914 the first calypso recording was made and since then an enormous band of singers have been spreading the word through this genre. From Trinidad & Tobago, early pioneers included The Roaring Lion, Attila The Hun, Lord Pretender and later The Mighty Sparrow, Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener (who lived in Manchester for several decades), Lord Relater, The Mighty Bomber, Lord Blakie, Calypso Rose, Singing Sandra, Superior, David Rudder and many, many others continue the tradition of using calypso as a social networking tool. Many of their songs will be heard in the production.
Following the war in the UK, Cedric Connor, Cy Grant and Harry Belafonte introduced British audiences to these early forms of the music and today the calypso and steel pan tradition is alive in schools and clubs around the UK with newer, younger audiences.
‘Kaiso & Steel’ will bring back memories of a past era, of story telling in music; of joys and sorrows and of incidents we may have forgotten. There will be old favourites like Rum & Coca Cola, Yellow Bird and Banana Boat Song, all to engage the audience in some fun, adding their own memories to these musical moments.
Kaiso & Steel will be on tour from Friday March 19 until Sunday March 28.
Further information from CMAT:
16 Grosvenor Road
Handsworth
Birmingham
B20 3NP
Tel: 0121 331 4746
