OTHELLO  MOLINEAUX

DATE OF BIRTH: 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH: Longdenville, Trinidad
EDUCATION:
  • Fatima College
  • Queen's Royal College
  • STEELBAND: Wonder Harps
    SPECIALTIES:
  • Player
  • Arranger
  • Composer
  • CAREER:                                        Reared by parents who were musicians, Molineaux learned to play the piano at a very young age. He became interested in pan music at 11 and, by the age of 15, had learned to tune pans and formed his own band, Wonder Harps. He left Trinidad in 1967 to pursue a musical career as a piano player in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. However, he began focusing on playing pan music and went on to become one of the world's leading "pan jazz" players by the end of the 1990s. Molineaux has appeared in concert around the world, performing extensively in Canada, Japan, and the USA. He has appeared with such American jazz music greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, and Ahmad Jamal. Over the years, Molineaux has arranged for steelbands in Trinidad, including Laventille Serenaders, Valley Harps, Tripoli, East Side Symphony, Nevados, and Tobago Starlift. In 1998, he arranged the music for the Pamberi Steelband in the Panorama competition. He also wrote a book on learning to play pan, "Beginning Steel Drum," and has made numerous recordings.
    AWARDS:
    • 1987 - Commendation from the Ohio House of Representatives, USA
    • 1991 - Vanguard Award for Outstanding Leadership Among Black Musicians
    Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit