‘I want my Daddy back’

WITH TEARS flowing down her cheeks and her eyes gazing towards the heavens, Zo-Marie Tanker-Isava remembered one of her father’s, Andre Tanker’s, classic songs and wished with all her heart that she could have him back home again.

Tanker, 61, died last Friday after suffering a heart attack. Speaking at his funeral service at the Church of the Assumption in Maraval yesterday, Zo-Marie reflected upon several intimate moments that she spent with her father over the last 25 years. “When I was a baby, he laid me down on my bed and Daddy played the flute for me. He was such a magnificent person. I just loved to be next to him. He had the greatest spirit,” she said. Zo-Marie recalled that as a little girl, she often went with Tanker when he performed and kept time with his music on a pair of small drums he had given her. She also remembered him as a family man who set the right example for her in all aspects of her life and said she passed on the same values to her son, Jacob Andre Isava.

Zo-Marie said her parents (Tanker and his wife Christine) were “married for 34 years and were together for 38.” Jacob and Tanker, Zo-Marie continued, had a close bond and Jacob often referred to him as “Andad, a mixture of Andre and Grandad”. “Daddy was thrilled with Jacob’s grasp of music,” she added. Zo-Marie became emotional as she described his music as “the heartbeat of Trinidad and the world”. “Most of all I miss my Daddy. I’ll miss just talking to him. Dad, you inspired so many people. I just wish to have you back. Your legacy will live on forever. I love you,” she sobbed. Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott said he was in St Lucia when he heard about Tanker’s death.  “I have never worked with anyone with such modesty and gaiety. He had a gaiety of life which is irrepressible and its irrepressibility is immortal,” he stated.

Walcott said Tanker’s music “came from the earth” and he had gone back to it. Anthony Chow Lin On (Chinese Laundry) said Tanker was a cultural visionary whose songs touched on relevant social themes from the 1960’s to the present. He said this was evident in Tanker and 3 Canal’s 2002 hit “Ben Lion” and his 2003 composition “Food Fight” which highlighted the threat of war in Iraq. “Thanks for your love, your guidance and thanks for your music,” Chow Lin On said. Manager of Imij and Company, George Ng Wai reminisced on the 35 years he knew Tanker, both as a musician and as a man. Pointing towards Tanker’s casket, Ng Wai sobbed: “He was my friend. He was my brother.”  He said one of the last shows which Tanker did was for the children of the Princess Elizabeth Home. Prior to the service, several artistes paid a musical tribute to Tanker.

Among those paying tribute were 3 Canal, Maximus Dan, Ataklan, Mungal Patassar, Gail and Mavis John together with musical back-up from Tanker’s band, Contraband.  Gail John and Ataklan were moved to tears as they performed. There was also a special musical tribute to Tanker from the children of the Princess Elizabeth Home. As the service concluded, Tanker’s coffin was carried out of the church to the strains of his classic song “Sayamanda” and a crescendo of African drumming.