Jit Samaroo

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Dr.Jit Samaroo was born in Surrey Village, Lopinot, Trinidad and Tobago in 1950, the seventh of 13 children. At age 10, he joined the short-lived Village Boys pan round the neck side. His mother, who loved playing the dholak, died in 1962, and so, young Jit, appointed the task of taking care of younger siblings, formed the Samaroo kids combo.

They were initially parang players - Jit on guitar pan, Girlie on cowbell, Vidya on the drums, Baboolal on maracas, and brother sonilal on scratcher - but by 14, already a self-confessed "slave to pan", Jit joined the Lever Brothers Canboulay Steelband. There he learned and mastered all the orchestra's instruments. Recognising young Jit's talent, the musical director Lendeg White allowed him to help arrange the band's calypsos. He also arranged for Jit to have music lessons.

In 1971, Jit won the Ping Pong (solo) category at the Steelband Music Festival. In that year too, bp Renegades tuner Bertrand "Butch" Kellman made the necessary connections for Jit to land the job of arranger with the Charlotte Street band.

Then began a long and successful relationship, with Jit helping the band to victory on more than 10 occasions. In 1984 bp Renegades won by 17.5 points, the widest margin ever recorded in Panorama finals. In 1989 he silenced critics who said he could only arrange Kitchener's calypsos, with an arrangement of Baron's "Somebody", that combined as many as six rhythms in one calypso arrangement. Also bp Renegades under his arrangement is the only Panorama band to have three successive wins in Panorama

He is hailed as the country's most clinically accurate arranger, arranging one tune by the device of composing additional tunes to accompany it.

A versatile composer and occasional bass player in his family band the Samaroo Jets, Jit was awarded the Hummingbird Medal of Merit(silver) in 1987.

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