Forty Years of Steel

The first book of its kind, this discography covers the history of steel band and pan music on recordings from their beginnings. In more than 775 entries, it comprises all known recordings on phonograph records, cassettes, and compact disks in which one or more steel pans is featured or used in an accompanying role. This includes steel bands of any size and configuration, pan soloists, and small ensembles in a variety of settings. For each entry, information is provided on the location of the recording session/studio, release date, record company catalog number, and complete contents. Indexes facilitate access to artists, arrangers/conductors/musical directors, record titles, years of release, and compositions; and appendices provide additional information on record manufacturers and distributors, calypsonians, and sources. A reference bibliography completes the work. The creation, teaching, and performance of most of othe pan music of the past belongs to an oral tradition. There is therefore little written preservation of this work and audio recordings often provide the only documentation of the art of many gifted composers, arrangers, performers, and tuners. These recordings constitute a primary source of information regarding past performance practices, evolving playing styles and techniques, and pan tuning innovations. While serving as a guide for locating these recordings, this discography also will function as a research tool to aid researchers into many other aspects of the steel pan movement. As such, it will be a valuable resource for scholars, performing artists, educators, instrument builders, composers, arrangers, and enthusiasts.

JEFFREY THOMAS is a freelance drummer/percussionist and a composer of percussion music. Trained as an ethnomusicologist, his thesis was A History of Pan and the Evolution of the Steel Band in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition he has published articles on related subjects in journals and reference books.