Melissa Doughty - Trinidad & Tobago Newsday
EARL BROOKS JR is the winner of the first-ever Panograma title. The online, Instagram pan competition was held over the period April 24 to May 3. The prelims were held on April 24 and 25; the semi-final on April 30 and the final on May 3.
The regional competition was the brainchild of TT pannist Nevin Roach. He came up with the idea to assist his fellow pannists during the covid19 pandemic.
Brooks Jr won the competition with a score of 107.67 points. He played Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Second and third places were also won by TT pannists Dejean Cain and Kersh Ramsey respectively. Cain played David Rudder’s The Hammer which earned him 106.00 points and Ramsey played Chick Corea’s Spain which earned him 105.33 points.
Roach said, in WhatsApp responses to Newsday, organising and hosting Panograma was no easy task. “Despite a number of hiccups tonight, I am very happy to cross the finish line with this year’s Panograma. My phone is going crazy with congratulatory messages. Panograma will be back next year, bigger and better,” he said.
A commenter on Roach’s Instagram page said, “Great initiative! Very entertaining. Congratulations to the winner and the other participants.”
Another said, “The young man that played the Hammer...pure perfection. The runs, the trills (sic), he made that tenor pan SING. Thanks for this event…”