The steelpan is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists.
Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe is a successful and popular composer and arranger of steelpan music.
The US Navy Steel Band was the first all-American and only military steel band. It was organized in 1957 by Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, from the band assigned to him, while he was commander of the Tenth Naval District in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The band was originally called Admiral Dan's Pandemonaics and this remained as a subname after they became the US Navy Steel Band. The band was stationed in Puerto Rico until 1973, when they moved to New Orleans, LA. From there, stationed at Naval Support Activity New Orleans in the Algiers section of the city, they increased their performance schedule. Between 1973 and 1979 alone the band traveled over a million and a half miles, and performed as many as 500 concerts a year. They were disbanded in 1999.
Andy Narell is an American jazz steel pannist, composer and producer.
Phase II Pan Groove is a steel orchestra from Trinidad and Tobago.
Liam Russell is a Canadian musician and actor. He released his self-titled album on Sony Music Canada in 2005. He released his second album Can't Let Go on Double Dorje Records and his 3rd Cicada on Nettwerk Music. He played the character Will in Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, and starred as Jones in the CBC Television drama Wild Roses.
Elliott Anthony "Ellie" Mannette[a] was a Trinidadian musical instrument maker and steel pan musician, also known as the "father of the modern steel drum".
Robert Greenidge is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated with artists such as Robert Palmer, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Taj Mahal, Ringo Starr, Earth, Wind & Fire and Carly Simon.
Raymond Anthony Holman is a musician, composer, pannist and performer from Trinidad and Tobago.
Bertram Lloyd Marshall ORTT, known as Bertie Marshall, was a pioneer, musician and music instrument maker of the steelpan.
The Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) was formed to participate in the Festival of Britain in 1951. The group was the first steelband to travel abroad from Trinidad and Tobago, presenting the newly invented steelpan to an international audience.
Panorama is an annual music competition of steelbands from Trinidad and Tobago, taking place since 1963. It is usually held around Carnival time.
Sterling Betancourt MBE, FRSA is a Trinidad-born pioneer, arranger and musician on the steelpan, a major figure in pioneering the Pan in Europe and the UK (1951).
Russell Audley Ferdinand "Russ" Henderson was a jazz musician on the piano and the steelpan. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he settled in England in the 1950s. He is most widely recognised as one of the founding figures of the Notting Hill Carnival in London, United Kingdom.
Clive Bradley was a known arranger of steelpan music.
Anthony Williams, ORTT, CM, also known as "Muffman", was an inventor, pioneer and musician of the steel pan.
The Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, also called Despers, are a steelband from Laventille in Trinidad, formed in 1945.
The UK National Panorama Competition, a Saturday evening event that immediately precedes the Notting Hill Carnival, is a major showcase for Trinidad and Tobago Steel Pan, or, music. Held at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance park in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea it typically involves approximately 1,000 performers, and attracts almost 5,000 spectators. Steel Bands from around the UK prepare a music performance, arranged to last for up to 10 minutes, and compete for the Panorama Championship.
Melodians Steel Orchestra UK is a band formed in Harrow in October 1987 by Terrance "Terry" Noel MBE, composed of orchestra members using the steelpan instrument. They have since achieved considerable success in their musical and community endeavours, being well-recognised by various UK Governmental organisations, the Diplomatic Service and NGOs such as PRS for Music. The band has since assumed a status of national importance to modern British culture and has become symbolic of the importance of the relationship between the UK and the Commonwealth, particularly Trinidad and Tobago.
Alexander's Ragtime Band was one of the first all-steel percussion bands in Trinidad and Tobago and is considered a forerunner of the steelband. The band was organised at the Big Yard in Newtown in western Port of Spain, and first emerged on Carnival Monday morning in 1939. Named for the film Alexander's Ragtime Band, the band was louder and more mobile than tamboo bamboo bands that were popular at the time, and represented a change in musicality. They inspired the rapid adoption of steel percussion by bands in Port of Spain, leading to the development of the steelpan.
