John Pearce was awarded a bursary at the Royal Academy of Music to study with Gyorgy Park, studied with Nic Fallowfield and Bela Katona, and has played at the Albert Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and several festivals. He was described by Andy Sheppard as “full of energy and intensity – a true musician.” Knowing Andy to be a discerning man, I decided to check out the music.
Just Friends, the violinist’s debut album, will be released with a September launch party at London’s Spice of Life. A quartet recording, the album finds John Pearce collaborating with David Newton (who has played with Alan Barnes, Clark Tracey, Art Themen) on piano, Will Harris (the Royals, Emily Wright) on bass and Ian Matthews (Kasabian, K-Passa) on drums – with special guest vocalist Lee Mead. Pearce focuses on standards which he grew up with, adding his own interpretation.
“I’ve been procrastinating from recording for a very long time and this album represents the culmination of a decade’s work,” Pearce told me. “The tunes selected mean a great deal to me and are pieces that I have lived with and enjoyed for a long time. I feel that I can be myself in them.”
The lineup features a long-hoped-for collaboration, too. “David Newton heard me play and approached me to do some playing together, probably around 10 years ago now,” John Pearce added. “He has been a musical mentor to me, and a great source of inspiration and encouragement. I became friends with Will from playing in jam sessions around Bristol. He provides a wonderful foundation for the music, and is one of the most melodic soloists on his instrument that I have worked with. Ian too, I first met at a Bristol jam session: I remember he had injured his hand, so was drumming one-handed but still out-playing everyone. He always brings a propulsive and dynamic energy to the music.”
Together, they’ve created something enjoyable and fun. “When I play, I find myself beset at times with obstacles, inhibiting my ability to express myself honestly,” Pearce mused. “There are particular moments during a performance, though, when I feel utterly liberated and ecstatic. Those moments make the blood, sweat and tears worthwhile.”
Just Friends opens with the title track written by John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis, offering a clever treatment with John Pearce’s violin singing over the top, soaring away at times and solid rhythmic piano and bass lines. The violin rises and falls, varying the theme in many ways, some of them challenging but delivered with ease. Appoggiaturas and little glissandos add interest and there is a quirkiness to the playing which is engaging. Uplifting and joyful music.
Sammy Fain’s “Alice in Wonderland” is treated with a gentleness and respect. The familiarity of the song is belied by the way in which Pearce takes the theme and throws it high, then descends to a lower delivery without changing key. It’s clever and interesting. The middle section takes on a Gypsy-jazz feel, as the violin walks its own path over steadfast rhythms from the drums, bass and piano. David Newton’s piano solo is lovely and played at just the right level of complexity and volume for such an uncomplicated number.
On Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” Newton switches to Fender Rhodes, and the violin slurps and slurs its way over the top, creating a very different feel and take on the number. Karl Suessdorf’s “Moonlight in Vermont” is gentle, peaceful and gorgeous, with an almost Celtic feel to the arrangement and style in the first part. The immersive, indulgent arrangement with violin is captivating and somehow demands the utmost attention, yet there is also a lot happening elsewhere. Will Harris’ bass line in the second half, for instance, is very intriguing, as is the piano over the top. It’s all amiable, companionable in essence, yet musically challenging – and that’s the art of the true musician: to deliver in such a way as to impart an ease and peace.
Gene De Paul’s “You Don’t Know What Love Is” begins with violin over piano before gentle percussion joins, the piano picking the harmonics out of the keys of the violin. This is a lovely version of this number, with some intricate ascensions from bow and strings. “Caravan,” by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol, is given the quartet treatment as it’s worked into a frenetic, strutting version. John Pearce’s violin takes the traditionally trombone-played lines and makes them his own, aided and abetted ably by the rest or the musicians who create texture and curves underneath – particularly when drums interact closely with the violin, playing apposite to the Latin-infused rhythms of violin and Fender before emerging with a great Ian Matthews solo.
“Stompin’ at the Savoy,” by Edgar Sampson, is delivered with a powerful start before Pearce’s violin slightly steals the show over David Newton’s repeated theme. Important in this track is the bass consistency – otherwise it loses its “stomp.” But no worries: The solo and almost continual bass line is delivered in style by Will Harris. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “So Danco Samba” is fun and just a tad furious, which makes it really enjoyable. The violin is also worked up well, as is the emergent piano solo.
In contrast, Victor Young’s “My Foolish Heart” is delivered as a ballad from the violin, the strings singing out the emotion of the song and grabbing both heart and ears. It crescendos and diminuendos at just the right time. Although a contemplative number, “My Foolish Heart” has life brought to it by the interpretation. The fact that it’s delivered purely and simply, with the exception of just a few well-placed trills and flurries, adds to the effect. The piano harmonies in the last 16 bars are worth listening out for.
“Lester Leaps In” by Lester Young is fast, furious and thoroughly enjoyable, as Pearce’s violin takes the tune and plays with it, throwing it high, low and somewhere in the middle. He demonstrates quicksilver changes of delivery, while generally keeping hold of the essence of the original. A good old-fashioned band-delivered number, with solos from Ian Matthews and Will Harris – and of course the enduring, singing, free-flowing violin.
With Just Friends, standards are treated with respect – yet they have an individuality injected into them, and that comes from the musicianship of John Pearce and that of the musicians he chose to record with.
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