15 December:

guitarist
Cameron Pierre

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“Relaxed, swinging and grooving” The Jazz Mann

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Born in London, Cameron was raised on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Like most of his peers, Cameron’s early musical influences included Bob Marley, Mighty Diamond, Big Youth, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff and a host of other artists from the French-speaking Caribbean.

 

At sixteen he joined Black Roots, a local cadance band from his village (Soufriere) however it was a short lived union as he was forced to leave the band and travel to the UK to join his parents – but not before contributing to the bands only album as their bassist.

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Within a few short years after arriving in London and switching to the guitar he began to establish himself by working with Jamaican artists including Clint Eastwood & General Saint, Gregory Issacs, Barrington Levy, Al Campbell, Wayne Marshall, Dennis Brown, Tipa Ire and Micheal Prophet. Then came the slow discovery of George Benson and Charlie Christian, and through them, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

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Since then Cameron has gone on to work with Courtney Pine, Pee Wee Ellis, Orphy Robinson, Alex Wilson, The Mighty Sparrow, David Rudder, Andy Narrell, Mario Conange, Jazz Jamaica, Ernest Ranglin, Dennis Rollins, Sarah Jane Morris, Ormar Puente, Junior Walker, Joe Cocker, Ophy Robinson and numerous others.

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As his own musical direction veered towards jazz, he remained in demand on the Calypso,and reggae circuit. A stalwart of the British jazz scene since the 80s, he was invited by renowned British saxophonist Courtney Pine to join his band, a position he held for almost 30years.

 

Alongside Courtney’s band, in 1994 Cameron formed Creole, a multi-cultural melange of musicians from Africa, Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean, enjoying wide critical acclaim for their performances at the Glastonbury and Womad festivals. In 1997, Cameron released the first of his six solo albums, Friday Night, to wide critical acclaim. In 2003 he also released The Other Side of Notting Hill, a body of work which was to help cement his reputation as a guitarist/composer par excellence. As a follow up to the acclaimed 2007 release Pad up his most recent release, Radio Jumbo sees Cameron teaming up with Martinique's virtuoso pianist Mario Canonge for his second release on the Destin-e Label.

 

Though his approach is undeniably indebted to that of his two great heroes, Wes Montgomery and George Benson, but infused with a bounce and vitality that belongs only to him. Touring with Courtney Pine's award-winning band Cameron's guitar style has dazzled many a jazz fan, and he has received glowing reviews from all over the world for his warm, dextrous sound and his self-deprecating and engaging stage presence.

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“an irresistible mix of groove and dance vibes” Jazzwise

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with Pete Whittaker: organ • Rick Finlay: drums • Jeremy Shoham: sax

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