Jack Pearson, American Musical Treasure
JGT contributor Joe Barth talks to guitarist Jack Pearson about his time with the Allman Brothers, his influences, and of course, his interest in jazz guitar.
Jack Pearson was born and raised in the music capital of the USA, Nashville. In addition to being a skilled guitarist, Jack plays mandolin, banjo, and Hammond organ. In 2018, the state of Tennessee recognized Jack as an “American Musical Treasure.” Rolling Stone magazine called his playing a “fluid, jazzy style” as well as a “dynamic slide player.”
JB: Growing up in Nashville, what led to your interest in jazz guitar?
JP: I was born in Nashville and grew up in Murfreesboro, TN, a few miles outside of Nashville. There were a bunch of good musicians in the Boro and not just guitar players. There were lots of bands around there. I was exposed to a variety of styles of music when I was young, so it was a natural progression to jazz. There’s a rich history of jazz guitar in Nashville. You’ve probably heard of Hank Garland, Mike Elliott, Lenny Breau, and others. Some have passed away but now there’s a whole new herd of great younger players.
JB: I know that the Allman Brothers Band’s Live at the Fillmore East album has been very special to you. What in that album helped you most as a jazz guitarist?
JP: I was born in 1960 and was young when I first heard them. I was a kid, so I didn’t know anything except I liked how they sounded. It was very different from most bands. Around that same period, I heard Wes Montgomery. So, when Duane Allman played octaves, I knew who he got that from. (laughter)
I studied Duane’s slide playing. Duane and Dickey both played great rhythm parts, solos, and harmonies. The interplay between all the instruments was really cool. The whole band had a swing to their playing because they were blues players and to me, Gregg was one of the best blues singers ever.
JB: To you what are a couple more influential jazz guitar albums and why?
JP:I have pretty much everything Wes recorded. And lots of Django, he was so inventive, just incredible and I like his electric playing also, he was getting into bebop before he died. Joe Pass, Grant Green, Tony Mottola, Charlie Christian, Jim Hall, oh man, so many. When I was a teenager, I started listening to Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio live albums almost every night.
JB: Talk about working with Jimmy Raney and later with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco in the mid-1980s.
I met Jimmy through jazz guitarist Mel Deal and Mel hooked me up with Groove Holmes also. Jimmy liked my playing and invited me to do a workshop, a concert, and a club gig with him. He was really nice and encouraging. Mel would have jam sessions at his house, it was great, and Jimmy enjoyed making coffee for everyone, he was too cool. Sometimes I wish we had recorders back then like we do now. Man, there were a lot of notes flying around.
Buddy DeFranco came to MTSU to perform and John Duke who ran the jazz department asked me to come play with Buddy. I backed him up on his clinic and concert. He said let’s play “Cherokee” and start in the key of F and then modulated a half step every chorus till we got to Bb and then stayed there. So, we went chromatically from F up to Bb. I’m thankful I knew the changes and could do it on the spot and in front of the audience. He told me that the first time he played with Bird (Charlie Parker) he called the song “All The Things You Are” in some weird key.
I was also blessed to play many times with Mundell Lowe. Man was he great, and a great guy too. I first heard about him on one of my Charlie Parker records. One time he said, “Jack just when I think I know what you’re gonna play, you play something else. You like throwing curveballs”. I said, “Oh yeah, well I’ve got a knuckleball too, so you better watch out!” (laughter) He had a great sense of humor. We had a lot of fun kidding around at the gigs. I sure do miss him.
JB: What do you find so rewarding in working with your friend and harmonica master William Howse?
JP: William is a master and has his own style of playing and singing. He’s just a natural. We’ve been friends since we were kids. He’s like a brother to me. Gregg Allman used the call him “William Howse, the Voice”. Man, what a compliment coming from Gregg Allman whom I consider “The Voice.”
JB: With the Allman Brothers Band, you first filled in for Dickey Betts, then later filled in for Warren Haynes (Duane Allman’s role), and then had Derek Trucks replace you when you left. Tell us a little about what you appreciated most in your Allman Brothers experience.
JP: Warren and I became friends when he lived in Nashville in the mid-‘80s. So, he called me to sub for Dickey in 1993. After that, Gregg asked me to join his Gregg Allman solo band, and then in 1997 when Warren left to play full-time with Gov’t Mule, Gregg called and invited me to become a member of the Allman Brothers Band. So that’s when I got to work with Dickey. It was great and we were really starting to get something happening, but I started having hearing problems because of the stage volume. So, I had to leave the band in 1999. That’s when Derek Trucks came in. I’ll tell you one thing, I never dreamed I would be a member of that band, so it was quite an experience. Gregg and I were good friends, we wrote some songs together and spent a lot of time hanging out. Jaimoe and I hit it off right away also, we’re still tight. His birthday was yesterday, he’s 80 and the last one left of the original band.
JB: Tell us about your goals in making your two Playin’ All Them Changes albums.
JP: Some of the older jazz guys that I played with when I was younger would say “Man you got to play all them changes”. Playing changes was the way of improvising over a song’s chord progression and learning how chord families interact with one another. It’s been a lifelong study and working on the harmonic possibilities never ends. So I thought I would record some originals and some of it is total improvisation. I got to reminiscing and thought I’d title it Playing All Them Changes as a tribute to the guys who play Changes. I also tried to pass these concepts along when I am teaching. And with my sense of humor, I included a couple of pieces that have no changes. (laughter) On the album, I use my Gibson ES 330 reissue. I play it unplugged, just acoustic, no amp. I thought it was a nice personal sound. You can hear noises from the neighborhood in some of the songs. So, it’s “for real.”
JB: Is your new CD Thankful a gospel album?
JP: Yes, it is. I’ve been a Christian believer for a long time. It has 12 songs. Three instrumentals and the rest with vocals.
JB: What is your “go-to” guitar for a jazz gig?
JP: I like my Gibson ES 330 and my ‘59 ES 125T. They both have a feeling and sound that I like unplugged and plugged in. I have back and shoulder problems so I can’t reach around big archtops anymore. I played a 1951 Epiphone archtop for many years, but I don’t have it now. Most people expect to see an archtop onstage, but I’ve played all kinds of guitars on jazz gigs. Telecasters, SGs, Strats, and Les Pauls. Ed Bickert played a Tele. I think we can play jazz on any guitar if the notes and phrasing are right and if the wood has a good tone. But sometimes, it is hard to beat the sound of a hollow body for traditional jazz.
JB: As a gigging musician, talk about the jazz scene in the Nashville area.
JP: It’s like most cities we play in, restaurants, wedding receptions, private parties, house concerts, and country clubs. I used to go see Lenny Breau and other guys play in restaurants around town too. Once upon a time, I had a steady jazz gig at a restaurant where we played every other Tuesday for 6 years… guitar, upright bass, and sax. I couldn’t believe they let me play swing and bebop there for that long. (laughter) There are a lot of great musicians in Nashville, but I’m not sure if anyone actually makes a living only playing jazz locally. We all have to play different styles of music, teach and do other jobs to pay the bills and support our jazz habit. Most local gigs have paid about the same for the last 40 years, it’s really ridiculous. My favorite music is played at home as well as jam sessions with friends with no agenda or anything. Just playing music for the sake of the music.
