Land O' Lakes Artist Helps Her Fans 'Chill'

Music is in steel pan player Bickley Rivera's blood.

The Land O’ Lakes resident comes from a family of musicians. Her great uncle was Harvey Phillips, a famous tuba player known as Mr. Tuba. Her brother Robert Ashens is an international conductor and her grandmother was a famous opera singer named Francys Richardson.

She said she is hoping to take after her great uncle. He was a pioneer in getting the tuba to be seen as a solo instrument.

“I want to contribute something different to the music world by doing this,” Rivera said. “I have a great uncle that was a pioneer in the brass world. He was stuck with the tuba because no one else wanted it and he turned into a well-known tuba player. He did so much for that instrument and I hoping that I can do the same for the steel pan.”

Steel pans are made from steel drums. The drums are beat with a hammer which stretches the metal to a bowl-like shape.

“The way it works is there are a bunch of circles all different sizes,” Rivera said. “The bigger the circle, the lower the pitch. Each circle was carved to create a different pitch. There are also little holes around the edge of the circles to make the sound ring longer.”

Rivera has been playing music since she was 5-years-old.

“I studied classical music on the piano at the Springfield Conservatory of Music in Massachusetts,” Rivera said. “I was in a number of pop bands when I was in my 20’s. My husband and I were in a band called Cuba Libre where we played all original island tropical music. I played the keyboards then and still do sometimes.”

Rivera went from playing the piano to playing keyboards to playing the steel pan. She has also played the congas and a djembe. She originally played Calypso music, but recently started playing Nujazz. Her CD “Chillin’ After Five” is available on iTunes and at www.ChillinAfterFive.com.

“I always loved smooth jazz,” Rivera said. “When I bought a steel pan from Tom Reynolds in Orlando, it inspired me to write. It has this beautiful timbre of sound. As soon as I heard it, I had to have it. Listening to my steel pan in jazz is something that will allow you to relax. It is great to listen to after a long day at work.”

Recently Rivera went to the Bahamas to perform. She said she played the island music that she usually plays along with some of her original smooth jazz music.

“When I released the smooth jazz CD, everybody went crazy for it,” Rivera said. “Jazz music doesn’t typically have steel pan. So many people are used to hearing the steel pan played like drums, but I play it like a solo instrument. I had all these radio and TV interviews, because everyone was really intrigued.”

After years of playing anywhere and everywhere, Rivera is finally getting her music played internationally.

“My music is featured on the weather channel,” Rivera said. “I also have a license in Switzerland where they have my music streaming in hotels and spas. My music is also being played on the radio throughout the United States and Europe.”

Rivera still plays her island music at the Hyatt in Clearwater every Saturday. She is also looking for more places for her to perform her new smooth jazz music.

“Everything started to fall into place recently,” Rivera said. “I worked very hard to get here. It has been really great taking it all in. I am hoping to take the steel pan in a new direction. I want to play at jazz festivals and go on tour around the surrounding states. I think that is how people will fall in love with the music, if they see it live.”

Rivera has joined forces with another musician Mark Barrios. Her husband Nelson Rivera is also in the band.

“We share musicians and we are now just starting to get shows lined up,” Rivera said. “We do his original music and my original music. My husband has been such a great support for me. He helps manage me and promote my music.”

She is also working on touring Europe with the Women In Jazz South Florida.

Joan Cartwright, executive director of WIJSF, said she chose Rivera for their compilation CD and for the tour because she plays a rare instrument and she plays it well.

“We have 133 members” Cartwright said. “Bickley was one of the people we had on our compilation CD. We are hoping to bring those ten composers on the European tour. There are a lot of steel pan players in Florida, but most of them are male. Bickley is great because she is not just a talker; she does what she says she will. She is also a composer and her music appeals to a large audience.”

The Women of Jazz is selling a CD to help raise money for the group to tour Europe.

“If we sell 1,000 CD’s, we can raise $15, 000,” Cartwright said. “People can either purchase it on our site or download it. We are looking for corporate sponsors who want to get their business exposure in Europe.”

For more information, visit wijsf.com. To contact Cartwright, e-mail divajc47@yahoo.com or call (954) 740-3398.

For more information about Rivera, visit www.BickleyRivera.com. A video of Rivera’s song titled “Chillin’ After Five” is on YouTube.

Editor's note: Bickley Rivera's brother is an international conductor. A previous version of this story said otherwise.