NEWS

Ray Holman stays on top
Hugh Masekela will be all the rage at the san Fernando Jazz Festival (November 12-14) at the majestic San Fernando Hill.
The world-acclaimed South African Musician will perform on Saturday at 4 pm at the all-inclusive Jazz At The Top concert with a crackshot lineup: Mavis John, Len Boogsie Sharpe, Elan Parle, Theron Shaw, Carlton Alexander and D Coal pot Band, featuring Siparia Deltones. Francis Prime, and Ken “Professor” Philmore.

But after Masekela has come down from the top, he would have several able pretenders to his fame climbing up the hill on Sunday to bring the curtain down on this inaugural edition of the festival.

Leading the assault is Ray Holman, critically acclaimed as the most experienced master of the jazz genre on the pan. From his track record, you could say Holman has been on top of jazz for quite sometime now-about 30 years.
And who wants to argue with that? A graduate of the University of the West Indies in Spanish and Sociology, Holman taught at Fatima College until 1998.

He gave up teaching when it came into conflict with his music. Many long nights at rehearsals and the demands of a full-time teaching career were warring with each other. Music won out.
After leaving Starlift in 1974, Holman did freelance work arrange for bands such as Exodus, Huggins, Pandemonium, Phase II Pan Groove, Tokyo and Hummingbird Pan Groove.
Since his very first recording with starlift in 1970, Holman has enjoyed a successful international career with a variety of compositions. He has composed in soca, calypso, done ballads, opera scores, jazz rhythms and lately, reggae mixed with jazz frills.

Holman’s talent as a soloist, musical director and arranger has caught the attention of people internationally. He has played alongside many groups and individuals, most notably the West German National Symphony Orchestra.

In 1994, Delo records in California released a CD titled Steel Bands of Trinidad and Tobago In Tribute To Ray Holman. A true collector’s item, it is a nostalgic retrospective of his Panorama tunes, as played by Exodus, Tokyo, Phase II Pan Groove and Hummingbird Pan Groove-bands for whom he had composed, and arranged for over the years.

During his career, Holman has proudly carved another niche-as a pan teacher. He has been a visiting musician at the University of Washington in Seattle since 1988.

From there, he traversed America teaching pan and conducting workshops in several US colleges. In may he was at the Virginia Arts Festival Pan Fest, where he conducted a clinic, adjudicated for a pan festival competition, and gave an outdoor concert performance.

At Richmond college in Dallas, Holman performed as a guest artiste and later in May, was a guest performer at UWI’s jazz On the greens.

In July, Holman was back in the states as an instructor at a workshop run by West Virginia University. He later went across to California State University in late July as a guest artiste at Fresno.

The journey with this affable and tremendously gifted artist continues. He will be in good company on Sunday, with pride-of-Barbados instrumentalist/composer Arturo Tappin, pannist extraordinaire Liam Teague, celebrated sitarist Mungal Patasar, renowned pianist Raf Robertson, T&T Police Band featuring Regeneration Now, and former world Steelband Music festival champion TCL Group Skiffle Bunch with Kenny J.