Andy Narell, the world's most renowned steel pan master, continues to apply his unorthodox instrument to diverse musical settings in which it had not previously been utilized. On Behind the Bridge, Narell combines Trinidad's steel pan music with North American jazz and Antillean and Brazilian genres. He successfully unifies the musical styles of the Western Hemisphere, furthering the Pan-American ideals of the late Dizzy Gillespie and other artists who have attempted to merge jazz with world music.

"I wanted the new album to be more about my playing, to put the pan in more of a chamber context, to play live for the most part, and stay away from overdubbing," comments the 44-year old pan ambassador. "I also focused on music that I spend a lot of time listening to and studying ... the musical styles of Trinidad, Cuba and Brazil."

Since 1966, Narell has frequently traveled to Trinidad, where he has performed with his band, as well as with such artists as David Rudder, Charlie's Roots, Ray Holman, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Robert Greenidge, and 100-member steel bands at the annual Panorama Festival. Narell's strong ties with Trinidad's musical heritage are illustrated in his soothing solo adaptation of Rudder's "Nuff Respect," a calypso originally known for its amusing Iyrics making fun of the banter that men use to court women.

Hailed once by a Trinidadian newspaper as an honorary "Trini", Narell shows his instrumental chops on "Rainorama", a popular tune authored by the world's most prolific Calypsonian, the venerable octogenarian Lord Kitchener, whose original Iyrics humorously documented how one time the Carnival, delayed until May, was washed out by rain. Departing from the usual Trinidadian calypso style, Narell's instrumental version acquires a Pan-Caribbean flavor by incorporating Puerto Rican bomba elements supplied by percussionist Luis Conte.

A native of Santiago, Cuba's second largest city, Conte is also featured in "Sea of Stories", a piece previously recorded on the CD "Down the Road", when Narell fused an entire steel orchestra with Conte's liturgical Afro-Cuban bata drums. This time, however, Conte has the opportunity to play cajon (a Cuban wooden box) in a style of yambu (a modality of Cuban rumba), before Narell's original composition turns into the modern avenue of songo , a post-1959 Cuban style created by bassist Juan Formell (of Los Van Van fame). Conte also joins Narell and the cosmopolitan Argentine pianist Dario Eskenazi for an amazing interpretation of "Al fin te vi," one of the approximately 70 wonderful danzas authored by the dazzling pianist Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963), Cuba's most representative composer. The unique compositional magic conjured by Cuba's piano masters is also conducive to Narell's laid-back, duet adaptation of "Claudia", initially structured as an instrumental bolero by Havana-born pianist Jesus "Chucho" Valdes, former leader of Irakere and prodigal son of batanga king Ramon "Bebon" Valdes.

On the other hand, Narell explores Brazil's musical legacy, with the vital assistance of carioca percussionist Paulinho da Costa, by interpreting a couple of tunes - "Segura Ele" and "Lamentos" - composed by multi-instrumentalist Alfredo da Rocha Viana, Jr. (better known as Pixinguinha, 1898-1973), who is equally regarded as one of the most important founding fathers of samba and one of the most productive choro composers.

Pixinguinha is no longer among us, but Rio de Janeiro remains one of our planet's major compositional sources. Written by Ivan Lins and Ronaldo Monteiro and initially popularized by the late vocalist Elis Regnia, "Madalena" is representative of the post-bossa urban popular music known as "MPB" (musica popular brasileira).

Last but not least, there is the enigmatic piano/steel pan duet titled "Jutland." Composed by pianist Dario Eskenazi, this piece evokes an ethereal mood, much like the style developed by certain European jazz players.