Les Palmiers Steel Band – 1981

Toussaint Walter was one of the first Guadeloupean musicians trained in steel drums. The Capesterre Belle-Eau native founded the Palmiers orchestra, sometimes called Steel Band de Capesterre Belle-Eau, which produced several records from the 1970s onwards. The album presented here is one of the last, released in 1981, in the pure tradition that came over from Trinidad and alternates compositions by the group with a few standards including David Martial’s Célimène. Today, the heirs of the Walter family are perpetuating the pioneer’s work through the Karukéra Steel Band.