NIHERST: Caribbean Icons in STI

Mr Elliot Mannette (popularly called Ellie) holds the distinction of being the living individual immediately associated with the early development of the steel band and its emergence as a legitimate musical instrument and art form. More than 60 years after he became involved in the steelpan's early development, he continues his unparalleled odyssey as the premier master craftsman of the steel ensemble's instrumental components.

Ellie Mannette was born in Sans Souci in 1927 and grew up in Woodbrook, Trinidad. Beating on “anything he could lay his hands on”, his lifelong journey with the steelpan began at the tender age of 11 when he became involved in the rudimentary beginnings of the use of pans to create music.

As early as 1940 he helped organise a group called the Oval Boys to play in the annual carnival celebrations. Oval Boys evolved into the Invaders Steel Orchestra, a group that he led for almost three decades. He tuned pans for several bands and assisted their development in the early 1950s.

His scientific approach to instrument making refined the hit-or-miss tinkering, which initially was the common approach, into an orderly process that became the accepted standard. He was the first to use a concave surface for making the notes and the first to use 45 (imperial) gallon oil drums to make the pan, the same size of drum that is used today.

In 1950, Mannette was offered a scholarship to study music at the Birmingham School of Music. He turned it down to stay in Trinidad and continue his experimentation with pan, much to the chagrin of his family and benefactors. In 1951 he was the main builder/tuner for the historic tour of Britain and parts of Europe by the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra, which introduced orchestrated steelband music to the world.

He was invited to the USA in 1963 to build instruments and train players to develop the US Navy Steelband. Mannette relocated there in 1967 and began making a major contribution to broadening the vista of pan music. He has since introduced steelband culture to scores of schools, colleges, community programmes and private organisations throughout the USA.

Mannette has received many accolades and was presented with the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts 1999 National Heritage Fellowship Award by former US President Bill Clinton. In 2000, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad.

Elliot Mannette is currently Artist-in-Residence at West Virginia University. He continues to work with leading acoustics physicists and metallurgists on the science of the steelpan.

Mr. Elliot Mannette