Steelpan Reimagined
Royal Festival Hall, London
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

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THE steelpan was only invented as an instrument in Trinidad in the 1940s, and was not seen in Britain until 1951, when the Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (Taspo) arrived at London’s South Bank for the Festival of Britain.

To mark that happy 75th anniversary, and with Notting Hill carnival not far off, Steelpan Reimagined brought on stage a collection of the UK’s top pannists to perform three specially commissioned works in honour of those pioneers.

Highlight of the night was Marlon Hibbert and Desmond Neysmith’s deeply moving mini-symphony – often reflective, sometimes cacophonous – with Hibbert in delightfully sensitive mode on lead pan and the ethereal singing of Jamilah Barry in glorious accompaniment. It received a rapturous standing ovation, moving Hibbert, and a few others, to tears.

The opening piece by Newcastle’s Jenny Gilberg (in tandem with Namali Kwaten and David Mrakpor), was also brilliant, demonstrating the great versatility of the pan through changes of tone and tempo, while the third composition, a collaboration between the saxophonist Soweto Kinch and pannist Delphina James, had a more jazzy, sometimes African feel and was equally touching.

In between the three new musical pieces were entertaining interludes from Kinetica Bloco, a young south London troupe of drummers, brass players, pannists and dancers, as well as contributions from two calypsonians, Alexander D Great and Tobago Crusoe, each with their own pertinent thoughts about the significance of Taspo.

The momentum was maintained with a party-time finale featuring the whole 25-piece ensemble, delivering an overall package that amounted to an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to steel pan in the very place where it first made its appearance on these shores.

Few things can beat the exhilarating sound of this wonderful instrument in a live setting, especially when so much thought has gone into the material.