Walking through the atrium of Long Circular Mall last week, in the midst of the plethora of Carnival music, the most beautiful steelpan solo rendition of Johann Strauss' "Voices of Spring" wafting out of a record shop on the Mall's ground floor brought many shoppers to a standstill. So moved was an elderly man seated on a bench, that he became a conductor.
I entered the shop and enquired of the salesperson: "Who was playing that piece of music?" It was from Earl La Pierre's compact disc "Classics By The Sea." The name La Pierre immediately rang a bell, his mother had a week or so ago called telling me about his most recent award from the Caribbean Cultural Committee in Toronto. Also hadn't La Pierre sent me a C.D. in 1999 at the time that I had written a piece about Afropan, winner of the best playing steelband at Caribana in Toronto, led by the very same gentleman. Since La Pierre lived in the Cayman Islands, I had never gotten to interview him personally, and according to the lady in the shop "he is in Trinidad right now."
A call to La Pierre's No 1 fan, his mother Norma, who lives at Cotton Hill, and not only did I get to talk to him but was reminded that Classics By The Sea had been in my possession since September 1999. But I had never played it. Last week-end, I more than made up for that and found each recording more beautiful than the one before.
It was while playing at the Treasure Island Resort in Cayman, one of the many nightclubs/hotels in which La Pierre solos every night of the week, except Sundays, that South African born Hennie Bekker fell in love with La Pierre's steelpan music and decided that he had to do a recording with him. The very next summer when La Pierre made his annual six-week pilgrimage to Toronto where he readies the young Afropan players for Caribana, the disc was made with synthesizer and some strings as background. And although Classics By The Sea has sold worldwide, La Pierre is dismayed by the fact that this and his other discs are neither in the local record shops nor played nearly enough on the radio stations: "And we have sent them copies. It is tough, really tough, they are selling all over the world, Japan, Russia, the rest of the Caribbean, even out of little Nevis, there are no problems, but not in Trinidad and Tobago. It is in my own country that I have not had any luck with bringing them in, there is always some hitch as to why it cannot be imported and cleared here."
Now in Trinidad, as at every other Carnival, La Pierre plays second pan with Phase II Pan Groove. Because of his heavy Cayman workload, he is not part of the arranging scene "as to be part of that would mean more than one trip to Trinidad." He has been playing the steelband from age 14 with Invaders Steelband and arranged for the band from 1965 to 1969. His very proud mother, Norma, chuckled as she recalled "grabbing him in the yard one night when he should have been at home doing his schoolwork. His shirt stayed in my hand." Today he admits "I could not do any of it without my Mom's input, seeing about things here for me, dealing with Pan Trinbago reminding them to send me update letters, her groundwork is endless, she does a good job."
La Pierre was 24 years old when he left Trinidad "for good in 1969. I had already been to Toronto in 1967 as the leader of the Junior Chamber of Commerce Steelband, which played at the Chamber's World Congress." He started his own steelband "Impact" as soon as he got there, which was changed to "Harriet Tubman Survivors" and "Average Steelband" before becoming "Afropan." In 28 outings at Caribana, his bands have been awarded the Best Playing Steelband a total of 25 times.
Just before coming home for Carnival, this steelband pioneer was recognised "as the most successful musical arranger and steelband leader in the Caribana Festival and for your dedication and commitment in tutoring of young pannists in Toronto" received a beautiful plaque during the third annual Snowflakes on Steel Concert in Toronto.
Fifteen years ago, La Pierre went to the Cayman Islands "for just ten days to take part in the Pirates Week Festival, realised there were no steelbands, went back to Toronto just long enough to get my papers organised, returned to Cayman and set up pan workshops in different schools, just demonstrating the steelband to get them interested. The interest started growing and now most of them have their own steel drums."
La Pierre sees a business in Cayman for anyone interested in selling pans "as there are so many tourists coming in and out, always looking for a steelpan. All our pans come from either Herman Guppy in Trinidad or Earl Wong in Toronto. We also bring them up to tune twice a year as all the schools own their own steel drums. Schools should own their pans and it is time somebody in Trinidad gives them their own pans since the children are afraid a borrowed pan might fall down."
Now married to Anita, a Cayman Islander, with whom he has a seven year old daughter Aziza and an 11 year old son Olujimi, the Islands only young performer has recently released his first solo album featuring popular tunes from around the world. Three older sons are Noel, currently backing many of the calypsonians at Kaiso House on the tenor pan, Earl jr trains and manages Afropan in Toronto in his father's absence, and Adisa is a record engineer.
Life for La Pierre in Cayman is only about the steelpan. During the day he teaches at the St Ignatius Catholic High School, and Georgetown and West Bay Primary Schools, and in the afternoons at his own Cayman School For Pan. By nighttime, he can be found performing at any of the island's nightspots. And since he considers himself personally responsible for the eight steelbands which exist in Cayman, and manages his own band "Panoramers", he finds "the workload is so heavy that when people from Trinidad and Tobago come up to help it is a relief."
On his return to Cayman, preparations will start for the Festival of the Arts in May- the steelband category is dedicated to the late Exodus Steelband leader, Amin Mohammed; and also the Batabano Carnival, "a two day Festival in May which is now getting there. The Pirates Festival in October is the more traditional thing."
Life in Cayman for La Pierre, "is nice," although his only day off is on a Sunday "because Cayman law prohibits live music it is a day for family, church, relaxing and doing something constructive. Everything closes at 11.45 p.m. Saturday night because Sunday starts from 12 midnight so you cannot sell any liquor at that hour" says La Pierre.