Who / What is a Panjumbie?

 

If you are not from the Caribbean you probably wondering who or what a panjumbie is.  The term has two parts:  Pan and Jumbie.

Pan refers to the musical instrument, the pan or steelpan.  In many parts of the world, particularly in the United States, a steelpan is often called a steel drum.  Steel drums are one of the most recent acoustic musical instrument inventions.  The instruments were invented in Trinidad, an island in the Caribbean, in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  Much of the early development of the instrument was done by what some might refer to as disadvantaged young people who wanted to make music but could not afford to purchase "professional" instruments.  Nowadays, quality pans are made by highly skilled and trained "pan tuners" and cost as much as or more than many other instruments.

Pan has spread all over the world, both with the migration of "pan players," and with the interest of people who traveled to Trinidad (and later anywhere pan was played) and brought back the desire to enjoy the instrument when they returned home.  Watch this site for more on the instrument and its history, soon to come.

The word "Jumbie" is of African derivation.  In Trinidad, it has historically referred to a spirit, sometimes malevolent in nature.   When someone becomes deeply involved in a particular activity, Trinidadians will say "Ay, the jumbie bit you," meaning you are "hooked" on that activity.  Thus a person deeply involved in steelpan is often referred to as a "panjumbie."  There are many of us.

Most pannists have traditionally been taught the music they play by rote.  The leader or arranger dictates the notes or demonstrates them on a pan, and the pannists play them, over and over, until they have learned the whole song. 

I do not play the pan.  I can't keep a beat and consider myself "rhythmically challenged."  At my age, by the time the arranger has given out the fifth note, I've forgotten the first note.   I know where the notes are on a frontline pan and can play the scales. Just don't ask me to play a melody! 

I've been involved with pan in many other ways.  Ever since the jumbie bit me, I have enjoyed listening to pan music, particularly when performed live.  There is something about the energy, the vibes, the spirit of a live pan performance that catches me. And I'm not talking just about a solo musician.  Steelpan comprises a whole family of instruments playing  melody, harmony and bass line.  A steel orchestra may comprise of a few to more than 100 musicians playing together.  Whenever pannists have a concert that I can attend, I do.

I am also involved in pan "behind the scenes,"  I have worked with a number of steel orchestras, transporting musicians to rehearsals and gigs, organizing the "panyard" (rehearsal space), assembling and dismantling the racks that hold the instruments. You name it, I've done it, as long as it doesn't involve playing a pan!  I leave that to my very talented musician friends. 

Most recently many of these efforts have been with the Adlib Steel Orchestra, from Uniondale, Long Island, NY, whose panyard is a few miles from where I live.  The photograph at the top of this page is of Adlib performing at the 2014 Brooklyn Panorama competition.


 

My interest in steelpan has taken me to Trinidad Carnival annually for almost 25 years, to Brooklyn for the Labor Day weekend Caribbean Carnival events for over 20 years, to Notting Hill Carnival in London, as well as local Caribbean carnivals held here on Long Island.  Most Caribbean styled carnivals involve a major steelband competition often called a "panorama."  In Trinidad, many of the steel orchestras that compete each have as many as 120 musicians.  In Brooklyn, competition regulations limit each orchestra to a maximum 0f 100 musicians.  If you have not heard or seen a steelband of that size, you are missing something special. 

Another aspect of Steelpan involves the occasional Steelband Music Festivals which usually take place in Trinidad.  Here, the emphasis is often on classical music or original compositions in the classical or jazz style, as opposed to calypso or soca.  Hearing a steel orchestra play such music is a phenomenal experience.

When I get the opportunity, I make audio recordings of steel orchestras, as well as other mostly acoustic instrumental and choral music.  I have been involved in the audio/video business for over a half century, beginning when I was in the junior high school A/V club.  Most of my professional career, I have spent designing, installing, repairing, and using professional audio and video equipment.  Audio has been my specialty.  Much of that time I have had to teach others how to use the equipment and, in order to do that, I had to be able to do it myself.  I also had to develop critical listening skills, in order to troubleshoot audio problems, particularly subtle ones.  For many years, as a part of my involvement with radio stations, my work entailed recording and editing audio. 

Over a period of time I purchased some professional equipment and started doing my own recordings.  When I got involved with steelpan, I immediately wanted to record the instrument, and my equipment and technique has evolved over the years.  I have recorded many hours of pan music, some of which has been commercially released.

Not being satisfied with listening to and making my own recordings of live performances, I collect recordings (CD's, DVD's, records and tapes) not only of steelpan, but also of calypso and soca.  I can listen to pan day and night if I wish.  The quality of the recordings varies greatly: Some are excellent, some mediocre, others awful.  They are, all too often, technically deficient recordings of excellent performances.