Phase2

Mr Bongo reissues, in full for the first time, a pioneering steelband album from 1979. Masterminded by the key and highly influential steelpan player, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Phase2 showcases Boogsie's innovative fusion of jazz, funk and Caribbean rhythms in stunning style.

Dubbed 'the Mozart of Pan' by Wynton Marsalis, Boogsie began playing pan at the age of five and composed his own music by the age of nine years old. Across a long and illustrious career, he has won seven National Panorama Championships in Trinidad and Tobago with his compositions and band, a world Steelband Music Festival with his original compositions "In the Rainforest", and two Notting Hill Panorama Championships with Mangrove Steel Orchestra. Over the years he has also played with Andre Tanker, Lord Shorty, Lord Kitchener, Leston Paul, Clive Zanda, and other amazing Caribbean greats. Len became an arranger for the National Steelband of Trinidad and Tobago and is a cultural ambassador for the country promoting the instrument.

Phase2 is built up predominantly of original compositions by Boogsie, alongside a track penned by fellow Trinidadian musician Raf Robertson and an outstanding Trinidadian-disco cover version of Roy Ayers' classic 'Can't You See Me'. Phase II is the name of the band Boogsie started with six of his friends who sought to compose their own music.

Drenched in feel-good island-life energy, the eight tracks showcase Boogsie's creative approach to the pan and its ability to elevate the flavour of a host of genres not usually associated with the instrument.