The sudden death of one Bermuda?s top steel drummer?s left the musical fraternity shaken over the weekend.

Steve Dupres, 68, who was a central figure in Bermuda?s famed Esso Steel Band, died on Saturday afternoon, his son Stefan confirmed yesterday.

Mr. Dupres, who lived in Paget, came to Bermuda in the late 1950s from his native Trinidad and took up the position of arranger and ?echo-phone? player in the Esso Steel Band, which was an entertainment favourite for four decades.

?Mr. Dupres with the Esso Steel band, made an outstanding contribution to the early and popular development of Bermuda?s tourism,? former Tourism Minister Jim Woolridge said last night. Mr. Woolridge worked with the Esso Steel Band in his promotion of Bermuda overseas.

Having started out playing the steel pan in Trinidad Mr. Dupres came to Bermuda to play with the Esso Steel Band at the Jungle Room in the New Windsor Hotel. After the closure of the Jungle Room they started to play the circuit of hotels around the Island, Mr. Woolridge said.

Fellow Esso Steel Band member David Cannonier spoke of the band?s days on the hotel circuit when the group of five steel drummers and two singers wowed American tourists who ?had never seen or heard anything like the Esso Steel Band before?.

?The band ruled supreme from the 60s, through the 70s and early 80s,? said Mr. Cannonier, who sang Calypso and played the congas in the band.

?It was one night stands for all the bands, we played at the Inverurieand Sonesta hotels twice a week as well as several of the other hotels. If they would have made us play eight days a week. We were a novelty act for the tourists. When the American came and heard us they would sit there with their mouths open. They just couldn?t believe that this music was from these drums, and they would follow us around to where ever we were playing the next night. It was lot of fun but a lot of work.?

?Steve arranged all of our of music, and he was hell of a player. All the musicians who played with him on the Island or even just heard him respected him as a player. And they respected him as a man,? his bandmate said.

?Steve had a hell of a sense of humour but when he played music he was a perfectionist. He heard every sound and he wanted to know that it was correct. Just hanging around the house was when his personality shown through.

?Steve was the man with the baton. Rudolf Comissiong was the leader of the band, Carl Boarde secretary and treasurer and Herman Johnston made all the instruments and tuned them.? Also in the band were Kalvin Dove, and singer Neville Paynter

?I miss that time,? sand Mr. Cannonier ?As a young man it didn?t take long for me to realise that I was with some very serious professionals.?The band finally broke up in the 1980s when the hotel entertainment business dried up.

Mr. Dupres? nephew, Rolf Commissiong who is also the son the band?s leader Rudolf Commissiong, described his uncle?s role as arranger as integral to the success of the group.

?As an uncle, a great man, a man of great of compassion and kindness,? he said of Mr. Dupres. ?He was a great listener, which probably came from his greatness as a musician.?

?His interests were so broad. He was an intellectual and a great persona in the band,? he said.

?The Esso Band had to be one of the top bands in Bermuda from the 50s to the late 80s. They were the highest paid bands and one of the chief engines of tourism for Bermuda,? said Mr. Commissiong, who described how the group would tour overseas promoting Bermuda to huge crowds overseas. And it certainly paid off.

?You had hundreds of Americans coming from all over the East Coast just to hear them play,? he said.

?He played professionally up until he died, for visitors and locals alike all over the Island. He was remembered as being a person who was versatile in a number of musical styles, not only Caribbean-Trinidadian steel pan but he was also known for his classical arrangements for steel pan. And he loved Jazz. He was recognised by the local jazz aficionados for his contributions there.?

Mr. Dupres? is survived by his wife June Dupres, son, Stefan and daughter Melanie as well as many friends and family in Trinidad.