"Bertie" November 2002 2005

BERTRAM   LLOYD   MARSHALL DATE OF BIRTH: February 6, 1936 PLACE OF BIRTH: Laventille, Trinidad EDUCATION: St. Phillip EC School Tranquillity Intermediate School STEELBANDS: Highlanders (1950s - 1970) Desperadoes (1970 - 2002) SPECIALTIES: Tuner Player Arranger CAREER:                                       Marshall began his steelband career in the 1950s and by the early 1960s had developed a new lead instrument, the double-tenor, for his Highlanders Steelband in Laventille where he was the leader, tuner, and arranger. He went on to become the first panman to install covers over pans during Carnival when he observed that the heat generated by the rays of the sun raised the temperature of the playing surfaces of pans and affected their tone. His continued experimentation with electronics resulted in his 1964 introduction of amplified pans which were used for the first time on the road during the 1965 Carnival. In 1971, he introduced the Bertphone, a foot pedal system for controlling the tone of amplified pans. Highlanders were disbanded in 1972 and Marshall joined Desperadoes as a tuner, following an invitation from its leader, Rudolph Charles. In 2004, Marshall suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body and greatly curtailed his pan-tuning work. AWARD: 1992 - Trinidad & Tobago Chaconia Medal Gold (for Culture) Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit