The dynamic artist and the Blackstrap Brothers to perform at the Grand Annex
By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
There may never be another Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite,The King of Soul or a Godfather of Soul. Mr. James Brown took all of those forever more. But what about “Hardest Working Man in Show Business?”
RLn spoke to Reverend Tall Tree ahead of his March 3 performance at the Grand Annex and realized just how hard this man and his band have been working. Going back to his younger days he said that music chose him.
Reverend Tall Tree, whose given name is Chris Pierce, is actually an ordained minister. He was ordained 15 years ago and studied several spiritual paths and religions. Reverend Tall Tree has received international acclaim for his singing, songwriting and harmonica and guitar playing. More importantly, he knows how to stir his audience. He’s a charismatic and emotive singer who grew up listening to his parents’ record collection comprised of soul music and rhythm and blues hits. Pierce’s inspirations are drawn from the likes of Solomon Burke, Bill Withers, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone.
With roots in soul and his expertise in jazz and blues, one could say Pierce has made a religion of musical expression. With his eclectic approach to music he has enjoyed a full roster of worldwide tours as a solo artist and as an opener for many great artists including, B.B. King, Seal, Aaron Neville, Al Green, Toots & the Maytals and Robert Cray.
“It’s been a journey of basically opening myself up to different experiences, going for things and keeping the love of music in the forefront,” Pierce said.
Pierce wasn’t just offering up a cliche when he said he opened himself up to different experiences.
He recounted how he got to open for the multi-Grammy winning international star, Seal, while he was on tour in 2005. The opportunity was the result of a wild chance meeting. A friend suggested he bring his acoustic guitar along to a house party. Pierce did so and in walks Seal. If that isn’t crazy enough, the two chatted during which Seal told him he was going on a scaled down acoustic tour.
“I kind of jokingly said, ‘Hey, if you ever need an opener, here’s my card,’” Pierce said. “And two weeks later, I was in Germany in front of 10,000 people. With my acoustic guitar, opening for Seal.”
Pierce said all of these tours kind of “happened that way.”
Pierce noted that he got on the tours of B.B. King and Aaron Neville by writing letters to their managers. With Al Green, Pierce’s manager at the time reached out to the artist.
“I just made sure that these folks knew about my love for soul music and R&B music and that was something that I had been a lover of and maker of for many years,” Pierce said. “There’s a lot of power in that. I think a personal touch is always the way to go. Let them know who you are and why you should be there.”
In addition to his solo records, which include the critically acclaimed albums Chris Pierce Live at the Hotel Café (2009) and When the Hustle Comes to a Stop (2012), Pierce has contributed to full length recordings (in addition to ongoing performances and tours) as a member of War & Pierce (with singer/songwriter Sunny War). He also performs as a featured guest with several orchestras around the United States and abroad.
Pierce and War, who have recently completed a tour, met through a mutual friend, Jared Faber. The two met in Prague when Pierce was on that serendipitous tour with Seal.
“We linked up and fast forward 10 years later he called me and said he just saw this amazing woman play in Venice, ‘her name is Sunny War,’” Pierce said. “The first time we got together we wrote a song and recorded it in one sitting, in two hours. We looked at each other and said let’s just do some more.”
The duo released an EP (extended play) of six songs and are slowly working on more to release a full LP.
Pierce’s talents for songwriting and singing have touched mainstream media audiences. Siddhartha Khosla, composer for the NBC family drama This is Us, asked the singer/songwriter to collaborate on a song for a poignant episode called Memphis. The number, We Can Always Come Back To This, was the emotional center of the episode and became a hit single. It charted at number one on the Billboard Blues Chart and in the Top 20 on the rock and R&B charts. They used three different versions of the song. One was a version that Pierce played in the television scene. He was nominated as a co-writer of the song for “Best Song/Recording Created for Television” by The Guild of Music Supervisors.
For the past four years Pierce has been working on a blues opera and is finally starting to share it in different clubs and theaters. As an added surprise for the Grand Annex performance, he and The Blackstrap Brothers will play a few selections from the opera. He stars in it, acts in it and co-wrote it. Together with television writer Mark Malone they wrote Reverend Tall Tree as a fictional character, a street preacher in the south in the 1930s and ‘40s.
The tension in the piece is as simple and universal as the human condition itself. Reverend Tall Tree is a man who searches for and yearns for love and a kind of blessedness (a connection with the infinite and the divine) but who is subject to human frailty and human passion (for both good and ill). The opera is a continuation of the stories told in traditional blues.
“We’re going to have a good time, encourage people to sing along, shout, dance have a good time.” Pierce said.
Going back to his childhood and previous work in music, when he still only went by his given name, Pierce said he was feeling the music even at a young age.
“In kindergarten we had choir in our school and I immediately gravitated towards that. I was the kid in the back of the choir rocking out.”
Those emotions are what inspires Pierce on his musical journey for his entire life. As he grew older he listened to the artists who he called, “folk’s I could relate to, (who) were doing stuff a little different,” such as Prince and Terence Trent D’Arby. His favorite jazz artists are Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Art Tatum.
“As far as singers go, the late Jon Hendrick’s who just passed last year is, I think, my favorite all-time favorite jazz vocalists, next to Billie [Holiday], of course, and Ella [Fitzgerald],” he said. “I loved John because he did all the vocalese stuff and basically transcribed horn solos and different solos and put words to them. I thought that was always a unique way to present jazz.”
For Pierce, the most fulfilling part of performing is the energy of connection.
“The synergy,” he said. “It’s a way of plugging in to me, as far as life goes. Being able to put things out there and exchange energy with people on a regular basis and share a perspective in hopes that it can move through some of the static and isolated feelings of everyday life with people. I just hope to make a difference through art.”
Other articles by Melina Paris
Art Comes Alive in Representational Acts
Harkin Bares his Hearth In the Round