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Dispatches From The World of Singer/Songwriter Heather Pierson

Dispatches From The World of Singer/Songwriter Heather Pierson

Tag Archives: jazz

Old Man Sco.

03 Monday Apr 2023

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jazz, John Scofield, music

On Friday night, Shawn and I were lucky enough to be in the audience at One Longfellow Square for a sold out solo show from the one and only John Scofield.

Wow, where to start? At the beginning, I suppose…

After a brief introduction from a venue volunteer, he came out on stage at 8pm on the dot with his semi-hollow body Ibanez, leaving his shoes in the green room. He took a seat between a couple of Fender amps, and then with a looper, and a couple of pedals, and his tremendous skills, he blew our minds for two hours.

There was very little banter, and the few words he spoke were infused with wisdom, humor, and quiet gratitude.

‘Check this out,’ he said a few times as many of us laughed softly, and then he’d launch into some tender version of ‘Alfie’ or ‘Somewhere’, or a chicken-pickin’ treatment of the Beatles ‘Julia’. Then he humorously schooled us on what he called the ‘rapey’ nature of the lyrics to ‘Slow Boat To China’ and then scorched through those 32 bars on a loop with increasingly daring harmony. He also graced us with versions of songs that I barely recognized at first, until I caught wind of the wisps of phrases from the original melodies – standards like ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Indiana’ – then right into some groove-laden versions of ‘Louie Louie’ and an unnamed new original (reading from his notes, ‘It’s called “Funk with Chords”‘) – and then gorgeous, no-frills renditions of songs like ‘Oh Danny Boy’ and ‘Easy To Remember.’ His encore – the Beatles ‘I Will’ – was a perfect end to a wild and wonderful ride through John’s musical imagination.

As I listened to him (and to the music-theory-informed giggles of the young guitar heads in the back rows behind us as John laid into this bit of outside harmony or that particular scale) I considered all the people with whom John has worked in his career since he was the same age as those students behind us – Miles, Mingus, Metheny, Medeski (just to stay in the letter M) – and, now in his 70s, how Old Man Sco would have all the reason in the world to retire from the road, retire from putting out records every year as he has since the 1970s – and yet here he was, just for us, just for the evening, in this intimate, top notch listening room in Portland, Maine, where you could hear a pin drop in between songs and phrases, each one of us leaning in as he reached for each note and grabbed just the one he wanted, never boastful in his choices, only ever seeking to serve each song and each melody and each measure and each note with the wisdom that can only come from one with as much experience, knowledge, grace, and humor as John.

‘Check this out,’ he said, and we did. He’s still out here in the world, exploring these 12 notes and inviting us to explore with him.

And he sounds precisely like himself, which is the mark of a true genius.

What an inspiration.

Thank you, John.

Christmas time is here.

06 Monday Dec 2021

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Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas, impermanence, jazz, live music, Vince Guaraldi

This weekend was a whirlwind of being back in the world, performing three shows in three states with Shawn and Craig. Making music with the two of them… ahh, heaven on earth.

We’d been rehearsing for weeks, knocking the rust off. We drove lots of miles. We opened our hearts and leaned into the familiarity of the songs, and took some new chances too, all of which paid off. The audiences were groovin’ in their seats. From above and around everyone’s masks, we could detect eyes and faces crinkled into smiles of joy and gratitude.

Friday’s show was the first, in Bangor, ME. A perfect kickoff! Good turnout, lovely folks, fantastic sound guy (thank you, Torin!). Everyone was so quiet, leaning in, until the end of each song. The applause in that hall was thunderous and joyful every time.

Saturday’s show was in the Northeast Kingdom town of Lyndon, VT, in a congregationalist-church-turned-meeting-house lifted straight off of a postcard. It even started to snow, very softly, as we got into town. Picture perfect. The show brought out another lovely group of folks, one of whom immediately recognized our very non-Christmas encore and talked shop with us after the show about that song and about jazz and piano and Oscar Peterson and New Orleans.

At Sunday’s show – at the community church (and the invitation) of my beloved childhood piano teacher, Helen Davidson – one woman shouted from her seat at the end of the concert, ‘Thanks for the memories!’ to which I quipped, ‘We don’t know that song’ and everyone laughed. Immediately after the show, she made a beeline for me, saying, ‘I really do thank you for the memories – this music meant the world to me as a kid.’ Oh, I wanted to hug this lovely stranger! Instead, I smiled and thanked her.

At every show, at least one person told me that this was their first live music since before COVID.

As the three of us sipped tea together, holed up in our motel room on Saturday night, we talked about the shows, about life, about music… and eventually the conversation came around to the fact that eventually, we will do something, anything, everything, for the last time. And what if this had been our last show? So, we agreed – let’s approach every performance, every song, every lick, as if it’s the last we’ll ever play.

Like I said – heaven on earth with these two.

The last verse from my favorite Christmas song, the one we have been and will be singing all month, sums it up for me in this moment:

Christmas time is here
And we’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year

Let’s slowly boil together, shall we?

21 Monday Jun 2021

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jazz, life, New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp

Two years ago this month, I was in New Orleans, working at the Traditional Jazz Camp, happy as hell, as I always seem to be in that city.

Shawn and I first attended the camp in 2012, after learning about it on WWOZ, a New Orleans radio station we’d discovered and fallen in love with during our first visit to the city in 2011. All these years later, we now come back year after year as members of the faculty and staff, helping each year to create and hold this big-hearted container into which we all pile up as much joy, hard work, harmony, and connection as we can all muster. You know, all the best things that life has to offer.

Twelve months later, in the middle of a pandemic, the camp couldn’t happen, of course. This year, with the miracle of and trust in vaccines, we are BACK!

It’s a tired analogy, but it’s absolutely the center of the bullseye—last night was a family reunion with a few new members brought into the fold. Most are return campers—the giddy cousins, the goofy step-siblings, the shy sisters, and the grumpy uncles—all of us stirred together and flavored by the heat and humidity and the sass and the brass of the city that gave the world one of the greatest gifts to ever emerge from humanity—jazz. From the friendly handshakes of the rhythm section to the clear direction of the bells of the horns, this music bounces and brags and also caresses and croons, and it carries the heart to a place that is beyond tradition. It’s a form that rests in the knowledge that every damn one of us has a place in the band. Everyone can blow, everyone can step, everyone can play. We can always find a place for you. We will support you. We will hold you up. We will listen to you. YOU ARE WELCOME HERE.

I saw so many tears of joy last night—a few of them my own—and so many unmasked smiles and hearts, ready to be slowly boiled in this stew that we will cook together this week, allowing the best parts of ourselves to season all that we bring to the pot.

Boy, do I love my job and my life!

One down, four to go!

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

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Cambridge, Charlie Brown Christmas, First Universalist Church, Fryeburg, Gorham, Heather Pierson, jazz, Laconia, Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center, Lily Pad, Maine, Massachusetts, Medallion Opera House, music, New Hampshire, Norway, Pitman's Freight Room

A huge thank you to everyone who came to the kick off of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tour at Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH this past Sunday afternoon!  What a wonderful and appreciative audience!  Here’s a little sample:

So that’s one down, and four more to go!

Next, we bring the show to Laconia, NH this coming Thursday, December 13th to Pitman’s Freight Room for an 8 p.m. show.   $10 at the door, BYO.

Then, on Friday, December 14th, the quartet will take the stage at Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center in Fryeburg, ME starting at 7:30 p.m.  The folks at Lake Region Caterers are offering a special buffet dinner on site before the concert.  Yum!  Sounds like a perfect family night out to me!

We’re bringing this show to Cambridge, MA! Saturday, December 15th, we’ll be at The Lily Pad for a 7 p.m. show.

Finally, we wrap up the tour in Norway, ME on Sunday, December 16th with a 3 p.m. concert at the First Universalist Church at 479 Main St.

Tickets are still available for these shows at www.heatherpierson.com so get yours today!

Here’s wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season!  And thanks, as always, for your continued love and support.

Love,
Heather
xo

A great night in Eaton – plus the July wrap-up!

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Bretton Woods, Bridgton, Davy Sturtevant, Eaton, Gorham, Gorham Common, Heather Pierson, Heather Pierson Quartet, jazz, Jeremy Dean, Joe Aliperti, Kid Dizzy, Kristen Short, Laconia, Little White Church, Maine, Matty Bowman, McGrath's Tavern, Medallion Opera House, Mount Washington Hotel, music, New England Songwriting Contest, New Hampshire, North Conway, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Pitman's Freight Room, Rusty Wiltjer, Shawn Nadeau, South Paris, Tower Hill Tavern, Waterford, Waterford World's Fair, White Mountain Hotel

Wow, what a fantastic night in Eaton last Friday! And boy, was it warm in that church! It felt like a typical night in New Orleans! Thanks to all the brave and supportive souls who came and sweated it out with the quartet and listened to our musical offerings. I can’t wait for the next jazz show this Friday (details below)!

Here’s what else I’m up to for the rest of this month:

Thursday, July 19th

A new venue and a new duo! Alto sax man Joe Aliperti and I will be bringing a jazz and blues duo show to Pitman’s Freight Room in Laconia, NH. A beautiful BYO hall, this place has a gorgeous Steinway grand that I can’t wait to play! $10 cover, doors at 7:00, music at 8:00.

Friday, July 20th

The Heather Pierson Quartet brings the jazz show to Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH! 7 p.m. start and tickets ($12/$6) are still available at www.heatherpierson.com. Get ’em quick!

Saturday, July 21st

Holy cow, it’s a triple! First, I’ll be doing a short solo set for Art In The Park in Bridgton, ME at 9:30 a.m. Then it’s off to Founders’ Day on Paris Hill in South Paris, ME for an 11:00 a.m. performance with Kristen Short and Rusty Wiltjer. I’ll end the day in North Conway, NH at White Mountain Hotel, 6 to 10 p.m.

Sunday, July 22nd

Shawn and I will perform in another newly formed group – this time, in a trio with Davy Sturtevant at Waterford World’s Fair at 10:30 a.m. When Davy and I play as a duo, we call ourselves “Stew and Pie”. So with Shawn, we’ll be “Stew, Pie and Dough”. Oh, and it’s Shawn’s birthday this day, too! Wooo!

Tuesday, July 24th

I’ll be the featured performer at Jazz Night in the conservatory of the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH. 9 p.m. set. You *have* to come hear this gorgeous Steinway! (Free show, too!)

Wednesday, July 25th

I’ll be back in Bretton Woods again, this time, in the dining room of what I lovingly refer to as “the big hotel in the sky”, 6 to 10 p.m.

Thursday, July 26th

The first of two nights with The Jeremy Dean Band! We hit McGrath’s Tavern in North Conway, NH at 9 p.m. sharp. Face-melting guitar guaranteed!

Friday, July 27th

Second night with JDB and another new venue for me – Tower Hill Tavern in Laconia, NH. Blues blues and more blues! 9 p.m. start.

Saturday, July 28th

Back at “home base” at White Mountain Hotel, 6 to 10 p.m.

Sunday, July 29th

I’ll be one of twenty songwriters chosen to compete in the New England Songwriting Competition at Ossipee Valley Music Festival! Wish me luck – or perhaps I’ll see you at the festival?

Tuesday, July 31st

Kid Dizzy (that’s me on keys and vocals, Jeremy Dean on guitar and vocals, Shawn on bass and Matty Bowman on drums) will give a FREE concert on the Gorham Common in Gorham, NH from 6 to 8 p.m.

There are some really cool things happening in August – I’ll fill you in with the next post! Don’t forget to stay in the loop on Facebook (HeatherPiersonMusic) or with Twitter (@HeatherPierson). Thanks so much for your continued love and support!

First jazz show this weekend!

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

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Eaton, Gorham, Heather Pierson, Heather Pierson Quartet, jazz, Kristen Short, Little White Church, Maine, Medallion Opera House, music, New England Songwriting Contest, New Hampshire, Norway, Norway Arts Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Rusty Wiltjer

I’m so excited about the upcoming Heather Pierson Quartet jazz shows, and the first one is this coming Friday, July 13th at the Little White Church in Eaton, NH! The guys and I have been working hard to bring you a very special and memorable evening of jazz and I can’t wait to share this music with you all! Can’t make it to the show this Friday? Then I hope you can make it to the Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH for the second show on Friday, July 20th! Tickets are still available for both shows and can be purchased online at www.heatherpierson.com.

I’m also psyched to announce that I am one of twenty songwriters chosen to compete in this year’s New England Songwriting Competition at the Ossipee Valley Music Festival in Hiram, ME on July 29th! Woo!

Lots more happening this month, including a couple of performances with my friend and fellow singer/songwriter Kristen Short (along with percussionist extraordinaire Rusty Wiltjer) – first, at Norway Arts Festival this Saturday the 14th at 10 a.m. and at Founders Day in South Paris, ME on Saturday, July 21st at 11 a.m. And that’s not all! (More in the next post, I promise!)

Hope you’re having a great summer and thanks as always for your continued love and support!

Jazz shows coming up – plus, an anniversary!

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Act One Dance Company, Andy's Old Port Pub, Eaton, Gorham, Heather Pierson, Heather Pierson Quartet, jazz, Little White Church, Maine, Medallion Opera House, music, North Conway, Portland, Schouler Park, Tina Titzer, White Mountain Hotel

July is here and with that comes a very busy time of year for me!  The next two weeks especially are filled to the brim in my world, mostly with private functions and obligations – but there are a couple of public shows that you should know about:

Wednesday, July 4th

Happy 4th!  I’ll be performing a few songs on my guitar at Schouler Park in North Conway, NH at around 3:30 p.m.  Also on stage at that time will be my dear friend Tina Titzer and her beautiful Act One Dance Company dancers!

Thursday, July 5th

I’ll be performing with Shawn at Andy’s Old Port Pub on Commercial St. in Portland, ME from 7 to 10 p.m.

Friday & Saturday, July 6th & 7th

Two nights at the seat of one of my favorite pianos, located in the dining room of The White Mountain Hotel in North Conway, NH.

I’m so excited that the quartet jazz shows are coming up very soon!  We’ve been rehearsing a bunch lately and really working hard to present a wonderful evening of jazz standards, some not so standards, and some music of my very own.   Will you be there?

Friday, July 13th at The Little White Church in Eaton, NH

Friday, July 20th at Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH

Tickets are on sale NOW and available at my website: www.heatherpierson.com.  Get yours today!  I can’t wait to share this music with you!

And finally… today is July 3rd and I’m very proud to say that it was on this day, fifteen years ago, that I had my last drink.   Without music, without commitment to my own health, and especially without the unending love and support from good friends — it wouldn’t be possible.   Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

Love,
Heather
xo

An evening of jazz with The Heather Pierson Quartet!

25 Monday Jun 2012

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Eaton, Heather Pierson, Heather Pierson Quartet, jazz, Joe Aliperti, Little White Church, Matty Bowman, Medallion Opera House, music, New Hampshire, Shawn Nadeau

I’m very excited to announce two very special jazz concerts coming up in July with The Heather Pierson Quartet!

Friday, July 13th at 7:00 p.m. at The Little White Church in Eaton, NH

Friday, July 20th at 7:00 p.m. at Medallion Opera House in Gorham, NH

The quartet (that’s me on piano and vocals, Joe Aliperti on alto sax, Matty Bowman on drums, and Shawn Nadeau on bass) will present selected compositions from several of the most prolific and acclaimed jazz composers and performers, including Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins. I hope you can make it – I’m super excited to share this music with you all!

Tickets are $12 each for adults and $6 for children under 18.

Eaton show tickets are available at: Eaton Village Store; White Birch Books in North Conway; White Mountain Cafe in Gorham.

Gorham show tickets are available at: Gorham Town Hall; White Mountain Cafe in Gorham; SaVoir Flare in Berlin.

You can also purchase tickets online at www.heatherpierson.com.

Hope to see you at the show(s)! 🙂

Brewing up something good!

16 Wednesday Feb 2011

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Chicago, Falafill, Heather Pierson, Intelligentsia Coffee, jazz, Jazz Showcase, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, music, Reckless Records

After a later and lazier start today, we headed back into the city to do more exploring.  First, fuel.  Shawn had scoped out a place called Intelligentsia Coffee on North Broadway, so we ducked in there to get him a cup of joe and I found an herbal tea on the menu that very much suited and pleased my tastes.  I wish I could’ve captured his reaction when he drank that very first sip – pure joy, and he said, “This is the best damn cup of coffee I’ve ever had!”  Totally worth the trip into the city just to see him enjoy that.  He knew for sure that Tina would love it too so we got some beans to bring home.  Watch out, Tina!  Some Burundi Mgogomo is on its way to you soon!

Next we headed down the street to Falafill for some fantastic (and cheap!) falafel for lunch, then a little more exploring.  We browsed around a music shop called Reckless Records and then, after a brief jaunt along beautiful Lake Shore Drive, headed over to the Museum of Contemporary Art to take advantage of their free day.  Quite a lot of interesting pieces and exhibits there, many interactive ones (including one in which we had the chance to lay inside a giant clamshell) but my favorite piece was of a huge sculpture of a series of panels bearing the engraved names of all of the Vietnamese victims of the Vietnam War.  Very moving indeed.

After a pitstop at home for a quick dinner, we headed out to Jazz Showcase to participate in the Tuesday Night Jam Session hosted by the Rajiv Halim Quintet.  The atmosphere was perfect and the music was really great.  I got nervous though but I had a great time with the other players.  While I was up, we played Ain’t Misbehavin’, Song For My Father, Straight No Chaser, and Misty.  And just as I was feeling really loose and relaxed, then it was time for someone else to play (ain’t that always the way?).  I got lots of compliments from a lot of nice players and folks.  Very kind people in this city.  Lots of other great players rounded out the night – including another sax player, stand-up bassist, two flautists and a plethora of drummers – and the night was over just as it seemed to begin.  I really had a great time and everyone was asking me to come back next week.  I said, “Sorry, I’ll be back in New Hampshire by then.”  One player asked, incredulously, “New Hampshire?  What the heck is in New Hampshire?!”  That got some laughs.

So… home now and looking forward to tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be very mild – around 50 degrees!! – so I think tomorrow we’ll do the Willis Tower/Skydeck and Navy Pier business, more downtown exploring, and then I’ve scoped out an open mic at a place called Heartland Cafe that also has vegan food on the menu – wow, I may have found “my people”.  🙂

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