MUSICAL snobbery has often consigned the beauty and melodism of steel pan as a lower form of musical instrument, and pan jazz virtuoso Leon Foster-Thomas, born in San Fernando, Trinidad, the centre of the oil workers’ trade union, has faced such racist and class bigotry all his musical life.

“Steel pan had a stigma and was considered an instrument from the ghetto. People associated with pan weren’t considered model citizens and women weren’t allowed to play pan.

“I’ve never really thought about it, but if I had to put it into words, I consider steel pan a symbol of my roots, my deep, deep African roots.”

His father was Loderick “Roller” Foster, a master drummer and founder of the Arawaks Dance Troupe, and his mother, Hillouise, was a back-up singer of the Kaiser House Calypso Tent in San Fernando. His sister was a dancer, his cousins sang, his uncle gained a dance scholarship in New York.

“There was so much music everywhere,” he tells me, “and I was also deeply involved in Trinidad’s folk music.”

Introduced to steel pan at 13, he was too embarrassed to let people know he couldn’t play, so he played African drums for his school’s festival.

“When the band took breaks I’d borrow a pair of pan sticks and try my best to pick out the tunes.”

As he learned his instrument he played in some prestigious bands — Panasonic Connection Steel Orchestra, Invaders and Desperadoes Steel Orchestra.

But as he attests: “My musical journey was never centred around the steel pan, it's always been around music in general. However, pan was the only medium available which provided me with the ability to express myself musically.”

For Leon, pan became the vehicle for his artistry.

“I wanted people to respect the instrument and understand its universal capabilities,” powers which were endemic to the predominantly working-class musicians who had invented and excelled in pan’s brilliance.

It was his move to university in Miami that cemented his devotion to jazz: “Though I had early hints about jazz, I didn’t really learn much about it in Trinidad.

“Miami served me as my musical home and foundation, nurturing me into the musician I am today.”

As his thirst for playing jazz developed, he became inspired by musicians past and present.

“My favourites are Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Joshua Redman and my tutor in Miami, trumpeter Melton Mustafa.”

He played with the South African hornman Hugh Masekela and asserts: “I literally try to emulate Jarrett’s piano style on my pan.”

His new album Calasanitus is a loving tribute to his late mother, the title being her middle name.

“Each song was written with its own storyline, that all, in some way, connects to my mother.”

His steel pan integrates beautifully with Troy Roberts’ tenor and alto saxophones and John Daversa’s trumpet.
  
“I have always wanted to honour my mother and this was finally my opportunity to pay homage to her. She believed in me. As a single parent, she didn’t have much to give to my siblings and I, but she always instilled in me that I would ‘make it.’ The pan, combined with trumpet and saxophone, produces a warm and affectionate tone that lends itself beautifully towards my love for her.”

I ask him about the provocation for writing I Am an Immigrant, the album’s opener. 

“I wrote it around April 2017, stemming from the way politicians and the US media in general were portraying and treating the so-called ‘caravan’ of people coming from Central/South America to the US.

“I began to reflect on what my mother had told me when I left Trinidad: ‘When you leave here, don’t come back because there isn’t anything here for you’.”

“As a 19-year-old in a different country the struggles of being an immigrant are so real; many people are blind to what it feels like to lose the familiarity of your home in search of a better life. This song is very personal to me.”

I ask him, was it a struggle and a particular burden, playing a working-class instrument like steel pan, and demonstrating its excellence and beauty? 

“A struggle would be an understatement. It’s always a constant challenge because so many people are unaware of its capabilities. I’m constantly fighting the stereotype that this instrument is for tropical shirts, margaritas and the beach.

“But because of the composing and musicianship on this album, we’re able to express the qualities of the combination of steel pan, trumpet and sax.”

When Leon played at the Vortex in Hackney with his quartet, the largely Caribbean audience loved his intense lyricism and power.

“It was great!” he exclaims; “London has always shown me a lot of love!”

So get hold of the serene and cogent Calasanitus: a new virtuoso is born, seething with audacity, originality and sonic beauty.

For more information about Leon Foster-Thomas visit leonfosterthomas.com.