Canberra musician Courtney Leiba led a life - from Trinidad to Tasmania.
He played the steel drums everywhere from the local shops to The Ed Sullivan Show
Following his death this week, his family remember a gentle giant of the music world
He played the steel drums everywhere from the local shops to The Ed Sullivan Show
Following his death this week, his family remember a gentle giant of the music world
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:12 This one, just to put them all together.
00:16 I was just wondering what the John Wayne one had got to.
00:18 Oh, is that in the living room?
00:19 Maybe this was a shrine, could be.
00:22 Yeah, it might be in the living room.
00:23 Yeah.
00:24 [Music]
00:44 Yeah, well, he was very outgoing.
00:48 He just loved socialising with people and chatting with people.
00:52 Irrespective of whether they were made of the Governor-General, the dude once,
00:57 or whether it happened to be the bloke that was cleaning the drains outside our house.
01:03 He was really keen to chat to all of them.
01:06 Yeah, no, he was very friendly and always had stories to tell to everyone.
01:14 And he also loved, like he loves playing music, but he also loved teaching music.
01:19 He used to do quite a bit, I think there's, yeah, there's some photos in here, I'm pretty sure, of him.
01:32 Like he used to go into schools at times and teach music.
01:37 Yeah, he really, he really loved teaching.
01:40 So, yeah, he taught various things.
01:44 Some he'd teach the steel drums to.
01:47 He taught the ukulele to people.
01:49 He even taught congas to people too.
01:51 Yeah.
01:52 [Music]
02:16 It's hard to, it's like he's lived a zillion lives.
02:20 [Laughter]
02:22 I mean, everything from in Trinidad, he was a law clerk to WJ Alexander,
02:31 who was a special advisor to the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
02:38 And Courtney actually typed out the Trinidad Constitution.
02:43 Yeah, and to everything to, you know, knowing a bit about agriculture with his grandparents,
02:49 because they used to grow cocoa and coffee on their estate.
02:52 So, yeah, he could see how coffee and cocoa grew and how they turned it into, you know,
02:57 chocolate and coffee, like, you know, we drink.
03:01 [Music]
03:11 Yeah, actually, I had a moment yesterday because we saw a nurse that looked after mum
03:17 when she had a leg infection recently, and I actually went with her a few times when I was nursing.
03:23 And, you know, Griffin saw her and said hi.
03:26 So, you know, I said to her, dad had passed away on Monday.
03:30 And this guy just was walking past and goes, oh, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I knew your dad.
03:35 He used to play the drums, did it, and then, you know, we did like a fist bump,
03:39 touch his other fix and say, you know, good on you and take care.
03:43 [Music]
03:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]