If you enjoyed this clip, check out my feature length steel pan documentary "Sounds Like Steel," available for free on my KZfaq channel.

Some tuners would almost NEVER agree to do this. You can tell, he is willing to leave back a legacy!!

Wow. The man has a whole technique developed over time. A real artist. Great work here Chas. World class.

This is my very musically blessed brother Jim/Jimi/ Phillip also known as Panman doing what he loves and enjoy doing, creating,making the musical instruments that we call the steelpan

Thanks to Chas for featuring a living master at his craft. Besides tuning, Jimi is a very talented multi instrumentalist. He plays the electric bass, guitar , keyboards, drums including tassa and all forms of percussion and needless to say a " sick " pannist. What really caught my attention after being pulled into Jimi's orbit, was his ability to arrange any piece of music for pan and it sounded like the piece of music as opposed to pan playing a song. I believe I can write a short book about Jimi but I would leave that for the true writers and story tellers and i hope to see such a thing before we move on to higher plains. I forgot to mention that from time to time Jimi has been commisioned by the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Education to teach the craft/art of pan manufacture and tuning. Lawd, I need to stop now before I really end up writing the book on Jimi "Panman" Philip. Don't stop yet Jimi and huge thanks to Chas Sheppard again.

My chemistry teachers tried this once thinking it shouldn't be that hard, but the both of them gave up and had to say hats off to these people. So massive respect!

I am astounded by the level of precision that goes into this craft! A very informative video that elicits the highest respect for the talent of this craftsman.

I'm speechless every time a see craftsman/musician like Jimi. What a legend!!!!

Watching him gleefully freehand the markings reminded me a lot of the joy my machine shop teachers would get out of showing us cute setups and old-school ways to line things up by sight. Really cool video.

Oh my word when he turned the pan over and started reducing the tension you could hear it go thru an octave it was awesome

It was an honour to watch this man share his skills.

What a great documentation of such a beautiful sound and what goes behind it’s production. Thanks a bunch chas and jimi and the internet for bringing this to my perception.

27:10 the way he tuned that note in… mind blowing! What an awesome skill

Such a unique sound. I hope this technique never gets forgotten

No computer or technology can teach you this. Absolutely amazing this is Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹 own yesss!

I can watch artisan craftsmanship videos all day long. Jim Jimi is one of those crafters. I’m hoping he has or has had a few apprentices. Skills like Jimi’s shouldn’t be allowed to die out or be taken over by machines. The sound of a Steel Band is always uplifting, I don’t know if they do sad tunes! Keep up the good work Jimi. Edit: Just noticed the sign above the door. (Steel Pan workshop and school.) That’s encouraging for the future of this art.

'The knowing hand and eye'. Knowing exactly where to hit, how hard to hit and having the ear to know when it's right. All learned over many years. Thank you for showing this master at work.

Watching this artist at work made this feel shorter than 37 minutes! Incredible talent and dedication to his craft.

Every steel pan is a masterpiece, because nobody taught him to do that, experience and talent only. Well done man!!!!

now this is true 'pan handling' - amazing skill/craft/art thanks to all involved for sharing this process

This guy Jimi is awesome. What a great neighbor to have =)

I am an engineer and it amazes me the talent this man has for his chosen craft.

Backstory....during WW2 both the british and american armed forces had large military bases all over the Caribbean , many (perhaps most) of which were tasked to combat the german navy and U-boat threats to north and south america. Almost all of the fuel and oil used to support the aircraft in serving this effort was imported in 55 gallon steel drums. By the end of the war, there were many thousands of these drums laying in dumps all over the islands. the residents picked up and modified these empty drums for many different uses, including this very pleasant one. the making of music😀😀

this is what KZfaq is made for. This man is a legend

It was amazing for me to realize that steel pan makers knew intuitively the techniques that skilled sheet metal fabricators in industry use: Stretch forming; Drawing: (reducing the size of a piece of sheet metal); Flanging; Hemming: Beading: Bulging: Necking: Planishing: Shrinking. And 'nuff physics involved. I'm sure the pan makers/tuners learned some of these terms long after they mastered the skills. The thing is that these skills have traditionally been used to form sheet metal for structural and mechanical components and visually aesthetic shapes. Trini took it one step further to fine tune the skill for, well, fine tuning.😁. Go Trini!👍. (Oh yuh gon a'ready?)

Stumbled on this video by accident but man I got to say I'm happy that I started watching. Awesome work and such a talent 👍🏻

Thank you for sharing. I am a Somali native and I will introduce this musical instrument to Somalia, East Africa. The sight and sound of our beautiful tropical beaches will soon change. You documenting this man's work will undoubtedly change many people's lives. Thank for all your hard work and for sharing with us.

Fascinating program. His talent and skill is awesome. Jimmy Phillips is a treasure. I had always wanted to know how the fine tuning process worked and then to see it actually done right to the ornamental rim start to finish was very generous of him to reveal his process. Thank you…🇨🇦🌹🌹🌹

Very cool! I always wondered how they were made.... I love Jim's casual nature yet knowledgeable demonstration.

Very intuitive and microtonal facility, this man knows where sound lives.

I worked along side this gentleman in Montreal some years ago.

I'm not a musician, but I listen religiously. There's one song for pan by Cliff Martinez called, "First Sleep," used in the U.S. version of the movie, "Solaris," (or, I think it's pan...it might be baschet cristal). I would like to some day make a pan, and learn that song. I am so grateful to this man for being so open, and complete (and generous) in showing the process. Some day, just a dream...maybe out of reach. Beautiful sounds no matter the genre! Thank you!

I could listen to this man talk all day, seems like he has a heart of gold 😊.

I will never make, let alone play a steel drum, but it I so enjoy watching a craftsman work and learning the process. Mankind is so imaginative and resourceful.

Nice, somebody have to teach somebody, and if the teacher didn't teach, then the pupil would not learn, so good job Mr Philip and thanks for putting Trinidad and Tobago on the map one more time.

Thanks for your amazing work! I think it is important to maintain this knowledge and the Trinidad y Tobago culture over time. As Handpan makers we must honor them. Thank you Chas. Best regards from Steel Art Chile 🇨🇱

The question is: how could the man who created this unique instrument have ideas to say well I want to use a steel drum, do all this he did, find international tuned notes(famous do re mi fa sol la si) and turn it into a masterpiece music instrument?!!!! He is just a genious, period. This dude is enormously talented and enjoys doing this art, you can just feel it!! Respect for you with capital R!!

This guy is super smart. Like legit high IQ. Very impressive! A true craftsman and engineer! I am left in awe.

I am blown away. Have always love Steel Drum sounds, now I totally appreciate them!

Love his personality! Great craft.

This was cool, thank you for filming/uploading and thank you Jimi for sharing with us

Woawww ! Respect to the man insteresting , because they're contributing to the world. This instrument is really nice .Love his personality!Great craft and this was a fantastic interview /doc..Thank You for sharing. (I'm sorry for my english. )I'm french People of Reunion island créole ) I like the steelpan. I play the double second pan.👍👏🎩🎶🎼🎵🌴🍀Blessing.

Thanks random youtube suggestion. Very enjoyable to watch an artist like him do what he does. Massive skill there!

Jimi is a master of his craft. 👍👍

Such a talent you don’t learn that overnight that’s years of learning and this man’s got it down pat such a creative person

I remember hearing these as a kid for the first time, I was enthralled by the sound.

I am taking a World Music class. The teacher did not assign this video - but I am making sure he and everybody in the class hears about it. Thank you for a really happy half hour. (My favorite part was when I realized he was tuning it at the end with a tuning app on his cell phone. 5000 miles away, I use an app for my violin. Great moment.)

Such an interesting video. I always wondered how these were made. And Jim is an awesome human being. Carrying on a tradition and willing to show his hard work and dedication.

😮 first time seeing this instrument. I'm more than impressed. The man is a legend, his precision and attention to detail is crazy.

Mr. Phillip is one very talented and patient man. Thanks for the video. It's wonderful to see such craftsmanship.

Sesame Street has an awesome clip of one being made back in the 70’s. Got me hooked on the cool sound!.

Thank You Chas I am an old man just sitting here watching videos and this popped up.. Suddenly not so depressed and down... I had a huge smile.. Much appreciated.. Subbed!

I could watch this guy work and tune all day

No shit man! this dude is outstanding. An excellent musician builder. I hope that he passes his craft on to others.

This is absolutely beautiful!! What a process...science AND art....

Simply amazing! I love listening to the soft sound of steel drums. What a skilled artist!

Wonderful video. Jimi Phillip is a great instrument craftsman and it was fascinating to watch him work his steel magic!

thank you for the video, that is really cool. the work put into the steel drums actually takes a lot of skill and practice. loved it!!!

Absolutely awesome!

I really hope this video gets uploaded to the Internet Archive at some point. People will definitely still want to watch this in 20 years, and probably will still want to see how this was done in 200 (if not 2000) years. It's such good documentation of a process that is deep art, with a fantastic flow and clear presentation. The amount of intuition and experience shown here is amazing. I especially love how his responses to analytical, physics-y questions were almost all intuitive (and am glad they got asked, as I had the same questions, and they were gonna bug me). He doesn't have equations for the size of the notes, because he doesn't need them: all the more amazingly human of an art! That's the kind of handiwork that the nerds come along and reverse engineer into equations, but seeing a master working by feel is magic. Thanks for putting this together, and good luck with the upcoming release!

I played a Show on Mother's Day 2000 in Trinidad. A friend took our band to a place that made these pans. Got to see this step by step. I actually bought a small pan and brought it back with me.

Beautiful work and a heavenly sound comes forth.

Amazing to see the process! Thanks for this! 🙏🏻

What a sweet and down to earth person!!

Great video. One of the most comprehensive and best explained processes on video out there.

FASCINATING! Thank you for sharing.

As a pan fanatic, I absolutely loved this video. Thank you Jimmy for taking the time to share with us.

This gentleman is a national treasure. He must be kept safe at all costs.

What a Craftsman. Basic tools. Tuning by ear.

God, man. What a blessing to able to witness this process. The passion is immense.

Thank you Jimi and Chas.

So great of him to share this…

I love this man. Thanks Chas

This big man: Dedicated to fabricating joy and making the World a happier place.

That is amazing. I never thought so much went in to those, beautiful

Brilliant stuff - thanks for sharing

My sweet twin island state gave the world this instrument ❤🇹🇹🇹

INCREDIBLE craftsmanship!

The mastery that it takes to craft an instrument like this is remarkable. What a master craftsmen.

Beyond Awesome!

True craftsmanship!

Love this!

Simply amazing!!

God bless Trini hands ,they invented a the Steelpan gifted people ❤🇹🇹👍

This was awesome to watch.

I pray that anyone hoping to capitalize on this this man's techniques or the craft gives the proper due and compensation to the art form and its innovators.

This really was a great video. Thanks for sharing. The years of skill and coupled with the modern day tuner. A real craftsman sharing his trade.

Awesome guy, Chas! He must have fantastic hearing! What an art- and all because the US Navy left untold millions of barrels on T&T, which was the shipping make up and transition to over seas fleets from their harbors.

Love this.

What a great and hard work this gentleman do,incredible...!

Tell the world that you are a true INNOVATOR, Jimi. All the very best for 2024, my dear friend.

the miracle of KZfaq - exactly what I was looking for, THX Mr. SHeppard !!!!!!

This was super cool to watch and learn something. Thank you for the video

This was peaceful to watch

Wow this is so amazing cheers! Blown away, thanks guys.

This I can respect. Because they're contributing to the world and not making things that destroy the soul. This instrument is really nice, and tbh outside of classical and bluegrass it is one of my favorite.

Happy memories of the pan yards in Trinidad. Thanks for posting.

That was a really great video . Keep it up. I see this channel getting big with quality content like this.

This is a priceless video

Super cool, thanks for sharing. Cheers from Alberta- Canada!!!