374 - Joy Lapps: Exploring History, Community, and Expression Through the Steel Pan

Joy Lapps is a bandleader, composer, and educator based in Toronto. She was introduced to the steel pan through her church music program as a teenager, and soon started playing community and church events. This soon led to composing her own music and leading her own bands. Her latest release is Girl in the Yard, featuring her own compositions and arrangements, and her husband, Larnell Lewis on drums. The album reflects her exploration of the steel pan as a traditional folk instrument of resistance, but also as the vehicle for her original compositional ideas.

In this episode, Joy talks about:

• The musical and geographic origins of the steel pan
• How Larnell encouraged her to compose, improvise, and take the steel pan beyond its traditional stylistic role
• How having a son with special needs has affected her relationship with music
• Leaning into her instrument's traditional identity vs. carving a new musical path for it
• How her relationship with Larnell has affected her relationship with the drums
• Working with her band to translate traditional Afro-Caribbean styles to a modern jazz format