Don Prorak:

Leader, Arranger, Steel Pans, Vocals, Iron & Percussion

Don Prorak's obsession with steel band started with one tenor pan. Like most obsessions, this quickly got out of hand, and he now owns enough instruments for a full steel orchestra, including two sets of bass pans. Fortunately, most of them live at the Brighton Heritage Academy, where he started the first high school steel band in Colorado, and at Colorado State University where he teaches pan.

Double second pan player, leader, and arranger for Pan Jumbies, Don owes much to Trinidad, which gave him experience working with the bands Carib Tokyo, Hummingbirds Pan Groove,Phase II Pan Grove, and TLC Skiffle Bunch during Panorama and the Steel Band Music Festival.

Most people think Don has a horse trailer because of the Arabian horses he has, but the real reason for the trailer is to move bass pans around. But what would you expect from a man who named his horse "Kaiso"? (In Trinidad, Kaiso is the original name for calypso music.)

The essential elements of Pan Jumbies' sound are Don's steel pans and vocals. The pans and marimba blend almost magically with the high-energy rhythm section for a Caribbean sound like no other.

Jim Theobald

Marimba, Percussion

If an instrument can be hit, Jim Theobald either has it or has his eye on it. His marimba playing brings the counterpoint of wood to the fire of the steel pans, and he has been writing original songs for the band. Jim traveled to over 70 countries on 6 continents with Julio Iglesias. An extremely versatile musician, Jim's experience covers everything from opera to calypso, and he is also a composer with credits in the U.S. and London. Jim and Don were college roommates at the University of Illinois, but lost touch with each other for more years than they want to divulge. When he's not playing, Jim lives to fly fish, and can be easily diverted by any body of water, no matter how small.

Blake Eberhard

Bass guitars

Blake Eberhard is a Denver native who has been active in the local music scene for over 25 years, including gigs and recordings with Pan Jumbies during the last 10+ years. He has played everything from elegant jazz for U.S. Presidents to blistering heavy metal for frenzied fans in Europe. Blake has played with John Denver, Bobby Vinton, Wind Machine and Dr. John, plus numerous regional and international recordings. In addition to a busy playing schedule, Blake also teaches privately, tutoring about 30 students each week. Of all the many styles of music he plays, Blake thinks playing calypso and reggae are among the most fun. "It's impossible to not dance!!"

Rich Rychel:

Drums

When he's not careening his bike down mountain trails (under the alias of Night Rider), Rich Rychel spends his time playing drums for Pan Jumbies or teaching at the music school he owns, the Denver Music Institute. Another transplant from Illinois, Rich has performed on cruise ships, plays with national acts, and is a frequent writer for Modern Drummer magazine. Coincidentally, Rich studied at Northern Illinois University, where Don's pan tuner, Cliff Alexis, teaches.

Pan Jumbies can be expanded up to 10 pieces to meet all of your entertainment needs.

Rick Henson, who leads Rocky Mountain Steel Bands and teaches at the Centennial Academy of Fine Arts and Education in Littleton Public Schools, specializes in double guitar and double second pans. Mike Nevin, on tenor pan, is an internationally known percussion and drum corps clinician, splitting his time between Denver, California, and Japan. Terry Smith, tenor pan, is known by many as a long time percussionist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

Vocalists Wende Harston and Joe Sanford are well known around the Denver area. Wende has worked with Pan Jumbies, Queen City Jazz Band, as an actor in movies, and as a jazz vocalist. Joe is in great demand as a singer with Cool Shooz and Moment's Notice Entertainment, and also teaches music in the Thornton School District.

Percussionist Dan Egger-Belandria hails from Venezuela and is also the leader of SeÒor Gato. Mike Abbott, guitar, worked extensively in Miami and New York before relocating to Colorado; he also teaches at Denver Music Institute. Bass player Ron Bland has been working with Pan Jumbies since before it was founded. Ron and Blake are both virtuoso bass players, and each puts his own stamp on the sound. Ron is always playing with Moment's Notice Entertainment, other free-lance gigs, as well as teaching at the University of Colorado at Denver.