Wright, ‘Happy,’ to team up with Wright for Carnival 2004

Internationally acclaim-ed Trinidad and Tobago musicians Orville Wright and David “Happy” Williams have teamed up with calypsonian Hollis Wright to produce a “pan kaiso” for the 2004 Carnival season. Titled “In The Savannah,” the music was composed and arranged by Orville Wright, while Happy Williams penned the lyrics and Hollis Wright supplied the vocals. The work was recorded at Pelham Goddard’s Agra 9 studio in St James and will be included on Alvin Daniell’s Major and Minor Productions soon-to-be-released 2004 compilation of compositions for the steelband. According to Hollis Wright it was an honour and privilege to work with Orville Wright.
 
“The man has substantial international respect with regard to evaluating steelband arrangements, and as a musicologist,” he said. “It was a tremendous experience exchanging ideas with him. The creative vibe in the studio was inspirational.” Hollis Wright is the talented composer of some of the popular songs played by steelbands in the annual Panorama competition in recent years. He confirmed that as a result of his association with the “In the Savannah” project he has decided not to release his own 2004 pan kaiso composition. The multi-talented Orville Wright, a former member of the TT Defence Force Band, left Trinidad in 1970 to further his musical education at Berkelee College of Music in Boston, USA. Upon graduation in May 1974, he began a teaching career at Berkelee that lasted until August 2002. During that time he served for 15 years as the Chair of the Ensemble Department, and travelled extensively teaching and performing with an aggregation called  the Berkelee All Stars. He served as Chief Adjudicator for Pan is Beautiful in 1992 and for Panorama 2001.

In 2002 and 2003 he became the musical analyst for Trinidad and Tobago Television TTT at the finals of the Panorama Competition. From 1992-2002, he served as a consultant to PanTrinbago, during which period he reviewed and rewrote the criteria for steelband competitions, which have since been adapted for most steelband competitions in North America. In 2002  he was one of the adjudicators at the European semi-finals of the World Steelband Music Festival in Sete, France. In 2003 Wright (Orville), David “Happy” William and Ron Reid collaborated on the  critically aclaimed pan-jazz album titled Reid, Wright and be Happy. Since the release, last weekend, of  “In The Savannah,” calpysonian Hollis Wright said he had received positive feedback. “It is heartening to hear the positive comments,” he said. “It is always nice to know that people appreciate what you are trying to do. Orville, Happy and I were committed to the original idea for  the piece, which was to do music for the steelband. There is a subtle but important distinction in composing music for pan and a calypso about pan.”