Laborie
LABORIE
‘Oui ma Chérie!’ is another album of steel band music recorded one instrument at a time. I played 25 Ellie Mannette pans, and all the iron parts. It features guest soloists Mike Stern, Etienne Charles, Relator, and Thomas Dyani. Inor Sotolongo is on congas, and Gregory Louis on drums throughout.
The WDR Big Band project was a collaboration that resulted in a 40 piece orchestra (25 piece steelband plus a full big band horn section) performing my music and classic calypsos with Relator singing. We’ve been performing the steelband arrangements of the calypsos with Relator and David Rudder at a number of schools in the USA, and the full big band project is ready to go, horn arrangements and all.
My other ongoing teaching assignments are at Calypsociation in Paris, and Laborie Steel Pan in Laborie, Saint Lucia. I make the rounds of universities and high schools in the USA every year. Recent artist in residencies include – Eastern Kentucky Univ., Southern Mississippi Univ., Univ. of Arizona, Cal St. Long Beach, Northern Illinois Univ,, Univ. of North Texas, Oakland Univ, Lone Star College, McNeese St. Univ, Ellie Mannette Festival of Steel, McCallum High School (Austin, TX).
We put a 75 piece band onstage at PASIC 2012, featuring Relator, Etienne Charles, Luis Conte, Mark Walker, the Univ of North Texas Steel Band, McCallum HS Steel Band, and the Univ of Texas Jazz Band (14 horns).
Scores and parts for my 2014 Panorama version of ‘We Kinda Music,’ as well as the music from ‘Oui ma Chérie!,’ ‘Tatoom,’ and ‘The Passage’ are available at www.ramajay.com —AN
Steelband Music Scores
Scores and parts for all of the music from ‘The Passage’ and ‘Tatoom’ are available at www.ramajay.com:
- The Passage
- Sea of Stories
- Coffee Street
- Song for Mia
- The Long Way Back
- Dee Mwa Wee
- Mabouya
- Izo’s Mood
- Tatoom
- Baby Steps
- Tabanca
- Blue Mazooka
- Appreciation
‘One More Touch,’ the piece featured in the video ‘Live at the Köln Philharmonic’ is also out now.