Clarence Curvan and His Orchestra

Clarence Curvan once told me that his music was influenced by the legendary Trinidad dance band, The Sel Duncan Orchestra. I had never noticed it before, but in this sweet arrangement of Leoncavallo's "Mattinata" you can clearly hear that smooth Sel Duncan influenced sound, especially in the horn section featuring Roy Cape on Alto sax. The arrangement was by Beverly Griffith (piano), who at the time was the bands main arranger. Some arranging was also done by future bandleader Ron Berridge, including the band's original "Tribute to Carlos", which was a .tribute to Jamaican Carlos Malcolm, whose band they thought was the best in the Caribbean at that time. I should also mention that after the band's membership changed in the late sixties, the band's music moved to include a more soulful sound, and the arranger and keyboardist at the time was none other than legendary steelband arranger Clive Bradley. The playlist also features some of my other favorite Clarence Curvan hits, including a soulful version of Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances", an arrangement by Clive Bradley. So take a break, step back in time, and enjoy the sweet sounds.