Island music warms up the library

PJ Adamson, on steel drums, lends a traditional island sound to the band's Caribbean music. Photos by Lillian R. Handleman.

In the second in a series of three 2012 Winter Pops concerts, the South Windsor Public Library played host to one of Connecticut’s premier steel drum party bands on Saturday night, Jan. 28, filling the room with the upbeat sounds of Caribbean music. The White-Eyed Lizard Band played to a full house of avid calypso fans, transporting them to a coconut tree-lined beach in Trinidad beneath the stars of Marianne Bay.

Beginning with the West Indian calypso favorite, “Marianne,” and ending with the traditional Jamaican folk song, “Day-O,” the multi-layered rhythms of steel drum, percussion drums and keyboard had the audience one toe-tap away from dancing in the aisles.

The steel drum is a chromatically-tuned, two-octave instrument that emerged from the Trinidad and Tobago Republic. It is deftly played with a set of two small drumsticks woven between the fingers of each hand, lending its signature sound to the flavor of island music.

Band members Kurt Ginter, of East Lyme - a keyboard phenom - and percussionist/drummer Luke Rodney, of Branford, have been playing together since 2003, while PJ Adamson from Randolph, Mass., is the band’s newest steel drummer. Rodney and Adamson, both Trinidad natives, together with the multi-talented Ginter, performed with the cheery optimism that makes this music genre inspirational.

Rodney acted as MC for the evening, injecting his own brand of humor and buoyancy into the introduction for each song, making for a concert that was pure positive energy. In “Three Little Birds,” the refrain, “Don’t worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright,” expresses the cultural zeitgeist of the Caribbean island community where life is seemingly calm and worry-free. In their reggae version of “What a Wonderful World,” the audience could indeed envision blue skies, white clouds, blessed days and sacred nights.

“We need a little of the sunshine and warmth tonight,” said Tolland resident, Paula LaRocco, referring to the cold temperature outdoors. While indoors, patrons could almost feel the balmy breeze blowing off the coastal waters of Tobago.

Sponsored by the library, the Friends of the SWPL, and the Cultural Arts Commission, the final Winter Pops concert on Feb. 11 will feature Tom Callahan, Connecticut’s first official State Troubadour, who will offer songs, tales and times of the Civil War. Concerts are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-644-1541 or visit www.southwindsorlibrary.org.