Divine Echoes is back as... ‘DE Big Band’

While Government has not yet stepped in the band has been revived and is moving forward.

Sunday Newsday chatted with former band manager and current interim band manager Tamba Gwindi about the band’s future.

“The band is back in performance mode,” he explained.

He reported the band had formed an interim executive among the members and has been re-branded from Divine Echoes to “DE Big Band”. He also reported they have been assisted by Metal Industries Company Institute of Technology with a space to rehearse in Macoya and they have been rehearsing two days per week.

“The idea is to get back into the scheme of things and perform as a band. Do concerts throughout the year. Do as much stuff as we can,” he explained.

Gwindi said the greater idea is to form an institution that teaches music and for the band to also be involved in the business of recording and dissemination of knowledge.

“A big kind of goal,” he acknowledged.

The band was first formed in 2007 by Patrick Manning in an attempt to revive the “big band era.” In 2012, under the People’s Partnership administration, the Divine Echoes contract ended and was not renewed. Since then, Gwindi recalled the musicians who comprised the band worked in other capacities.

The band fully got back together in July to perform at the funeral for Manning. The band also performed at a memorial function for Manning at the Academy for the Performing Arts in San Fernando though in a smaller configuration than they had at the funeral.

Gwindi explained that for the funeral former Divine Echoes members who had moved on to the Fire Services band were organised to rejoin them. He said, however, they are currently a 20-piece unit and not a 30-piece band as before.

“What happening now is a consolidation of the efforts of the members to bring back the big band concept,” he explained.

Since their return DE Big Band had their premiere performance on November 10 as part of the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy Competition. Gwindi said it has been “great” to have the members playing together.

“People have gained a lot more experience as performers and are sounding pretty good,” he said.

And what about Brian Manning’s appeal to the Cabinet to revive the band? Gwindi reported they have not had any contact at all from the Government and the band has not reached out to them.

Back in July following the funeral for Manning, Public Administration and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi told reporters that Brian Manning’s request to revive Divine Echoes and to establish a regional housing fund for low income housing called the “Patrick Manning Housing Development Fund”, would be considered by Cabinet.

Last week, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly informed Sunday Newsday via text that “there has been no discussion on the topic (of Divine Echoes) thus far”.

Gwindi said the door is not closed to working with the Government but they have been focused on pulling the band together and “being a functioning unit again”. Asked if he was hopeful of Government assistance, Gwindi responded they are fully aware that the status the band held in terms of how it was maintained “would not materialise in the future”.

He explained that then it was under the Office of the Prime Minister and they had the issue of the upkeep with monthly salaries.

“At this moment we are not expecting something like that with the economy as it is,” he added.

He explained Divine Echoes’ initial mission statement spoke of community work and producing musical and educational products. He further explained they were supposed to have become sustainable and eventually weaned off the support from the Office of the Prime Minister. He said these sustainable initiatives are a major part of what they are now working towards.

Gwindi recalled that previously they were not able to reach out to a whole lot of young people though they did a “little bit” and visited some schools and had them visit the band room.

“But the potential and scope we had...was not achieved. With the contract not renewed we were not allowed the opportunity to take it where it could have gone,” he explained.

Asked whether DE Big Band will be seeking to implement the original mission statement, Gwindi responded “aspects of it”.

He said to fulfill the expanse of responsibilities would have been limited under the Office of the Prime Minister and they were not aware how to run a band of that size.

“It was not designed to have a band functioning under it,” he added.

He said former Prime Minister Manning was “going out on a limb” and while under the Office of the Prime Minister they had their “ups and downs”.

He said currently the band is in discussion on issues which they could raise with Government regarding projects they want to do and would require assistance.

Gwindi pointed out that DE Big Band was in an exciting time.

“Trinidad tends not to really recognise what it has. There are young people dedicated to music like this,” he stressed.

DE Big Band will be performing at MovieTowne on December 3 at 8.30 pm.