The life and work of Lennox "Boogsie" Sharpe. Steel pan maestro, composer and arranger from Trinindad & Tobago.

1. LENNOX “BOOGSIE” SHARPE
Caribbean Performer

3. The Life of Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 Sharpe was born on 28th October, 1953 in Port-of-
Spain, Trinidad.
 He is a popular Composer, Arranger and Performer
of steel pan music.
 Boogsie, known to his close friends as “Pip” is
considered to be the Mozart of Pan. He is also an
accomplished pianist.

4. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 Sharpe was born in St. James and grew up in a home
where the premises were used as the practice arena for
the Symphonettes Steelband.
 The nick-name Boogsie was given to him by his mother.
Boogsie began playing the steel drums at the tender age
of five, encouraged by his father who would take him to
various panyards.
 At the age of nine years he began composing and had
mastered the instrument by the time he reached his
teens, reaching performance heights unequalled by any
other steelpan artist in the instrument's short history.

5. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 He began his steelband career with Starlift where he later
became an arranger and began composing music. In 1974, he
left Starlift with tuner Michael Phillips and other panmen to
form a new band, Phase II Pan Groove.
 In 1987, he composed and arranged "This Feeling Nice" for
Phase II Pan Groove and made history when he became the
first arranger to play his own composition and win the
Panorama competition.
 He repeated this feat with Phase II Pan Groove in 1988 with
his composition "Woman Is Boss.“
 He was awarded the Trinidad & Tobago Chaconia Medal
Silver for his contribution to culture in 1987.

6. Listening: Original Composition: “Woman is Boss”
sung by calypsonian Denyse Plummer, accompanied by Boogsie Sharpe
and David “Happy” Williams.

7. Listening: Woman is Boss
 Follow the links below to hear arranged versions of
Boogsie’s original composition Woman is Boss.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zT28wVT-q4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBuQiGNIyPM
 What differences have you heard between the two
arrangements? Consider which steel pans are used to
present the melody and how the other pans
accompany the melody.

8. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 Throughout his career, Sharpe has arranged for many other
steelbands in the Panorama competition, including Silver
Stars, Tropical Angel Harps, Birdsong, Jewel 22, Deltones,
Our Boys (Tobago), Skiffle Bunch, Scherzando, and Potential
Symphony.
 He has also arranged for the Pan Rebels Steelband of New
York, USA.
 An outstanding soloist, Sharpe has performed at various
nightclubs and has accompanied calypsonians, such as the
Mighty Sparrow and David Rudder, and jazz musicians, such
as Wynton Marsalis, Randy Weston, and Art Blakey.

9. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 The following is a summary of Sharpe's success in the
steelband Panorama competition with the Phase II Steelband:
 1978 - Carnival Is Bacchanal (Lennox Sharpe), 3rd
 1986 - Pan Rising (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 1987 - This Feeling Nice (Lennox Sharpe), 1st
 1988 - Woman Is Boss (Lennox Sharpe), 1st
 1989 - Fire Down Below (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd (Tied)
 1990 - Break Down (Lennox Sharpe), 3rd
 1992 - Jam Meh Up (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 1993 - Birthday Party (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 1997 - Misbehave (Alvin Daniel), 2nd
 2000 - My Time (Lennox Sharpe), 3rd

10. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 2002 - Do What Yuh Want (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 2003 - Music in We Blood (Lennox Sharpe), 3rd
 2004 - We Like to Play (Lennox Sharpe & Anthony Alexis), 2nd (Tied)
 2005 - Trini Gone Wild (Anthony Alexis), 1st
 2006 - This One's for You, Bradley (Lennox Sharpe & Anthony Alexis), 1st
 2007 - Sharing Licks (Lennox Sharpe/Crazy), 2nd
 2008 - Musical Vengeance (Gregory Ballantyne), 1st
 2009 - Magic Drum (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 2010 - Pan Army (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 2012 - Archbishop of Pan (sung by Lydian Singers), 2nd
 2013 - More Love (Lennox Sharpe, sung by Black Stalin), 1st
 2014 - Jump High (sung by Destra Garcia), 1st
 2015 - Happiness (Lennox Sharpe), 2nd
 2016 - Madd Music (sung by Keith Lucas, composed by Len “Boogsie”
Sharpe and Nigel Rojas), 3rd (Tied)

11. Career: Lennox “Boogsie” Sharpe
 Follow the link to an article written by Dr. Pat
Bishop on the life and work of Lennox “Boogsie”
Sharpe (Caribbean Beat Magazine, Issue 57):
 https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-57/boogsie-
sharpe#axzz5vGjZARDd

12. The Performer
Boogsie performs “Summertime” at the Moods of Pan Festival in Antigua (2008)

13. The Performer
Boogsie performs “Summertime” at the Moods of Pan Festival in Antigua (2008)
 "Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934
by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and
Bess.
 After you have listened to Boogsie’s performance of
the piece “Summertime”, attempt the analysis
question attached on the following slides.

14. The Performer
Boogsie performs “Summertime” at the Moods of Pan Festival in Antigua (2008)
 Boogsie presents the melody of “Summertime”,
accompanied by the band.
 What are the instruments that are used in the band to accompany
Boogsie?
 How does Boogsie progress from the theme to the 1 1st
improvised section?
 After presenting the theme, Boogsie employs scat singing
while playing the double second pan.
 What is scat singing?
 Does the accompaniment from the band vary during this improvised
section?
 Upon which scale is Boogsie’s improvisation built?

15. The Performer
Boogsie performs “Summertime” at the Moods of Pan Festival in Antigua (2008)
 In the 2nd section of his improvisation, Boogsie stops
scatting. What other changes take place in the
music? Consider the following
 Tempo
 Dynamics
 Scale progressions
 Harmonisation of the melody.
 How does Boogsie return to the original
“Summertime” theme?