bertramboldon
bertramboldon
| Forum role | Member since | Last activity | Topics created | Replies created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Aug 13, 2015 (10 years) |
- | 1 | 0 |
- Forum role
- Member
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Aug 13, 2015 (10 years)
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Bio
Born in Trinidad, Bert Boldon arrived in Montreal in 1955. Best known as a steel drum master, in 1957 he was instrumental in the formation of the first steel band in Montreal. Appearing at almost every venue where this type of music was in demand, his group Panjammers later became Tropitones, which eventually became the Melotones.
After successes at the McGill Winter Carnival Dance in 1962 and the Evening in Barbados Gala for the building fund, organized by the Junior Association of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Bert was named Music Director of the Barbados Pavilion in 1968 (Expo 67).
A MAN OF SEVERAL INTERESTS
Bert quickly developed an interest and proficiency in a number of percussion instruments (drums, congas, timbales...) and soon began to study the piano (Classical and Jazz). He spent two and a half years at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied music arrangement and composition. During that period, he played regularly with some of the finest Jazz musicians living and working in the Boston and New York areas.
For a number of years, his clients included Yacht, Tennis, Golf and Curling clubs. He supplied music to television and radio stations, as well as, many night clubs and hotels in Montreal. He also played for half-time shows at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium and other sporting events, often with coast-to-coast television coverage.
MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
In July 1983, Bert appeared at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, where he performed for two nights with his group, Calypso/Latin/Jazz Ensemble. They also appeared in many local night spots (Jazz Bar, the Rising Sun, the Grand Café, Café La Voute...) featuring the use of soprano saxophone and steel pan leads - to play a fusion of Jazz with strong Classical, Latin and Calypso elements.
In June 1984, he opened the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and also participated at the International Exchange for Performers, at the Palais de Congress ,in Montreal (CINARS) as a producer and impresario. He again performed during the 1988 Montreal International Jazz Festival as a solo guest artist on steel pans and piano at Claudio’s - July 1st to July 10th. That same year he closed the festival program at “Les Joyeux Naufragés” on the 10th of July with an hour long performance with his trio. The program was taped live on Radio Centreville.
A song writer, composer and arranger, Bert plays the steel pans, piano and percussion (drums, congas, timbales); he is a retired English and Sociology teacher and a former member of the McGill Conservatory Jazz Band. He is a member of the Musicians’ Guild of Montreal and the founder of Tropical Sound Explosion, a hot group that played lighter but more entertaining party-type music. He has taught at the Berklee College of Music (the International for the Study of Modern American Music) as well as accompanied a number of famous musicians during his fifty-year career. He can be heard on Julien Clerc and Holger Lauman’s albums, Sega Revival - the Equator AG777. Vibrations (B. Boldon), Can You Handle It - Blue Ventures JMC-005.
Bert believes that the steel pan as an instrument is capable of dealing with any type of musical challenge. He has developed a lecture series on the pan; its origins, development, techniques, evolution and its emergence as a cultural art form in Trinidad with the consequent effect on the social fabric of that country.
A good number of Jazz and Pop stars (...the late Jaco Pastorius, Grover Washington, Phoebe Snow, Mercer Ellington.......today Monty Alexander, Ahmad Jamal etc.) have begun including the steel pan, in their groups. For Bert Boldon, these new developments just confirm his long-held-belief that mainstream musicologists do recognize the high versatility of this instrument. However, he thinks the revolutionary capacity of this entire art form, whether on the level of virtuosity or orchestral capacity has yet to be fully appreciated. Says Bert...”my earnest wish is to see a heightened interest by composers culminating in writers specifically devoted to the steel orchestra.”
To enhance his public image, Bert in 1991, embarked on a significant TV presence. He became the co-host and co-producer of Caribbean Sizzle, a weekly program carried by Videotron on CF- cable. He has written and been published in many of the above mentioned areas. He was an associate editor of the magazine PAN (1985 - 1988) where he contributed two important articles - The Montreal Story and Pan Standardization. This magazine had an international focus with circulation in the USA, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean.
Most recently he has been an intermittent performer at Casino de Montréal (1989 - 2001). In 2003 he performed with his group and backed up many of the artists at THE MUSICAL SPECTRUM, a fundraiser for the NCC Cultural Centre. In that same year, he provided the music and recorded a DVD at a tribute to international Jazz pianist, OLIVER JONES. Other highlights, too numerous to mention, included a San Jose concert in California for the Rotary Club and the Jamaica Independence Dinner and Ball (2001and 2002) plus several high profile events hosted by the Coloured Women’s Club of Montreal.
Highlights of the 2005 season included A TRIBUTE TO H_L_NE WAVROCH, hosted at the Omni Hotel, by the Coloured Women’s Club of Montreal. The year ended on a high note with Bert appearing on steel pans with the National Arts Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of dynamic conductor, Stéphane Laforest. The occasion was THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S NATIONAL ARTS AWARDS, held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Highlights so far this year (2006) include the opening act of the month-long MONTREAL MUSIC FESTIVAL (June 9/2006) followed by an opening act for GREGORY CHARLES (CELAFETE) on July the first.......commemorating CANADA DAY at Montreal’s old port (attendance 110,000).
Profile
Over a period of 35 years I have been a high school teacher in the Montreal area until retiring in 1998. I continued teaching privately preparing students for standardized tests at the university level after retirement. Recently I began working with a professional group that supplies teachers to organizations such as SAQ, Desjardins, Cirque du Soleil and others. As a result I am comfortable teaching at any level and tailoring class lessons depending on the needs of the organization.
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