Zakiya Mckenzie
, March 3rd, 2021 10:13
In this week s Baker s Dozen, Zakiya Mckenzie speaks to steel pan legend Fimber Bravo about his favourite music, from Aretha Franklin to Stormzy and Johnny Cash; Sun-Ra, Hot Chip and Miles Davis
Fimber Bravo’s musical prowess was first seen in the late 1960s when he began playing classical European compositions with the Pan Am North Stars, a steel band based in Trinidad. Growing up among the genesis of steel pan music, Fimber Bravo was able to hone his skillset as a pan man across genres. The 1970s Black Power ideology of African-American musicians was to also have a lasting effect on him, teaching him the responsibility of speaking for and to the masses. Through this Bravo channels a uniquely Caribbean outlook on topics from decolonisation in decades past to the Black Lives Matter movement of our present moment. His ability to play confidently across kaiso, funk, jazz, hilife and calypso has made Bravo a pioneer of shifting steel pan awa