I figured I’d kick off the December series of columns with an acquaintance of mine who I have been covering for many years now: Heather Pierson. This pianist/singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist lives over in North Conway, New Hampshire, and has an impressive catalogue of more than a dozen albums on her own Vessel Recordings label. There are solo instrumental releases, duo and trio recordings, as well as some a cappella albums and full-band selections to choose from. All told, she’s a very talented lady and a joy to interview. Back in early November, I called her at home to find out more about this annual tour she has put together and to see how she’s doing since our last chat in 2020.

Q: So you’re taking Charlie Brown on the road again.
Pierson: We are — yeah, and we’ve got quite a line-up of shows this year.

Q: Really? How far afield do you go with this?
Pierson: The farthest point this year is Westport, Connecticut.

Q: Good grief, that is a ways away. I’m familiar with your One Longfellow Square shows and other Maine gigs, but I believe you do travel further with your duo gigs, right?
Pierson: Yeah, Shawn (Nadeau) and I just got back recently from Texas. We were on the road for most of October. We had a couple of weeks in Texas and got back on the day after Halloween (chuckle). It was a lot of driving.

Q: Now, have you ever put out a CD of your “Charlie Brown Christmas” show?
Pierson: No, and I don’t think we would ever do that, just because there already is an amazing recording (laughter) done in 1964 by Vince Guaraldi. I’ve gotten that question many times — every year people ask me — and a part of me, just for a second, says, “Well, maybe we should,” and then I go, “No, that recording already exists — go get it!” (Chuckle)

Q: (Laughter) Good point. Now the TV show was only a half an hour long, so do you throw other tunes into your set?
Pierson: Well, there’s a lot of music on the original Vince Guaraldi Trio recording, a part of which was used in the TV show; so we perform the entirety of the album and we also perform some other compositions (of his) just to kind of shed some more light on what a great composer he was. Last year we had done our own Vince Guaraldi-like interpretation of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” We might include that in the set this year. The set list isn’t finalized yet, but it will be soon.

Q: Now, do I understand correctly that you’ve got a gig up in Bangor?
Pierson: Yeah, we’re going to be at Bangor Arts Exchange and that’s on Friday the 16th.

Q: Have you ever performed up in that venue before?
Pierson: Yes, I think this is our fourth or fifth year bringing this show to Bangor.

Q: When one considers all the various projects you’re involved with, it seems like you have got quite a few hats that you wear.
Pierson: Yes, I have a lot of irons in the fire, a lot of creative projects going all at once, which is really fun and exciting. And, yes, it’s a little exhausting at times (chuckle).

Q: With columns and home upkeep and things like that happening around here, I know exactly what you mean. At least you’re a lot younger than I am so you can probably multi-task a little better than I can (laughter).
Pierson: (Chuckle) Well, I’ve heard it said that there’s actually no such thing as multi-tasking, there’s just like ultra-organization. I wouldn’t say I’m ultra-organized, but I would be no where without my lists. I have lists that keep me on task.

Q: I can relate to that, too, I just keep forgetting where I put those lists! So, are you working on something new as far as recording goes?
Pierson: Yes, I have a new project this year with my friend Leah Boyd. … Long story short, she and I had reconnected in recent years and started making music together again. She was the original lead singer in Garajh Mahal, which was the first band I was in when I was 13 or 14 over 30 years ago (laughter). Anyway she and I have reunited and are making music together again in a duo called Peaceful Means. We’ve had a handful of shows so far this year and, in fact, just yesterday and this fall, we’ve been in the recording studio working on what will be our first release. We have eight originals planned so far. Some are ones we’ve written on our own and some were ones we’ve written together this year, and I’m really excited about the music that we’re creating together.

Q: Now, is this instrumental or vocal, or both?
Pierson: It’s vocals. We both sing, and we take turns singing lead. She sings lead on some songs, I sing lead on others, and then we do a lot of vocal harmonization together. I’m playing piano and guitar and percussion, and she’s playing ukulele and percussion. We’ve just had a few performances here and there, but so far the reception has been really quite strong and people keep asking us, “When are you going to have a recording?” So we’re working on that now and hope to have that ready sometime in the new year.

Q: I tell you, Heather, there is nothing finer. I don’t care if its heavy metal or folk, if there are good vocal harmonies, I’m in!
Pierson: Yeah, I think you will enjoy Peaceful Means very much (laughter), lots of vocal harmonies.

Q: Now back to that concert at the Bangor Arts Exchange — it will be part of the Charlie Brown Christmas tour, correct?
Pierson: Right. Yup, it’s the trio with Shawn Nadeau on bass and Craig Bryan on drums.

Q: What got you into the Christmas show, just out of curiosity?
Pierson: Well, I always loved that music, and there are so many generations now of people, since that special aired back in 1965, that it was their first exposure to piano jazz music. I’ve always enjoyed it, and back in 2010, when my life was kind of reshaping for the better, one thing I’d always wanted to do was to play in a jazz trio. So in 2011 I started doing the Charlie Brown Christmas. I’d always loved that music, and I thought it would be so fun to perform it as a jazz trio as Vince did and present it anew to audiences. Every year I hear from people, of all ages, saying that it’s like a homecoming to gather around that music again. And because it’s jazz, it’s not exactly the same every time we do it, the form is the same for every song and then there’s what you do with it in that moment.

Q: Is there anything, Heather that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Pierson: Only that we’re bringing the show to a venue in Maine that’s new to me, I’ve never been there before, and it’s the Waldo Theater in Waldoboro, the show is on Sunday the 11th at 4 in the afternoon.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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