Bernie Pearl Somebody Got To Do It! CD

“Somebody Got To Do It!” Bernie Pearl, Live at Boulevard Music, (Major Label-ML016-CD)"...one of the best blues CDs of the past two decades..."Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, July, 2008"...he channels his mentors Fred MacDowell, Mance Lipscomb, and Lightnin' Hopkins into a powerful, groove-mining performance...he cranks out solo after hypnotic, zone-transporting solo...at times his playing is so intricate and so note-intensive, it actually sounds like two guitars swapping notes.Other times with all the jukin' metallic-bopping rhythms going on, it's almost as if he's accompanied by a percussionist."Dan Willging, Dirty Linen June/July 2008 (#136)“…this guy is a phenomenon…Pearl’s the real deal and then some…the ace guitarist turns in a set of performances riveting the listener with their technical finesse, jaw-dropping chops, and ungodly authenticity…I guarantee there won’t be many times in your life you’ll hear blues like this.”Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, FAME.com February, 2008"...huge amounts of skill, self-confidence, and audacity - in about equal measures! ...It is good to hear that Bernie can play all these styles with ease, even nicer to note that he has assimilated more than just the instrumental prowess...this is an extremely welcome set."Norman Darwen, Blues & Rhythm, U.K.Liner notesI was fortunate to have been born into a family where the arts were appreciated. An older sister and brother were heavily into folk music as the 50’s began. I, too, picked up a guitar and started strumming. In 1958, my brother Ed opened a “coffeehouse/gallery/folk music center” in L.A. called the Ash Grove. I was privileged over the course of some 15 years to hear some of the greatest music and musicians this country ever produced. Doc Watson and Tom Ashley, Bill Monroe, Maybelle Carter, Flatt & Scruggs, the Stanley Bros. were just a few of the country greats who regularly played there.The first bluesman I saw was “ Lone Cat” Jesse Fuller, and he stole me away from folk music in that moment. I studied with Brownie McGhee, with Sonny Terry quietly riffing nearby. I got to meet and play with Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Fred MacDowell and a host of others. When Big Mama Thornton fired her guitarist on opening night, I got the gig. I led bands behind J.B. Hutto, Johnny Shines & Walter Horton, Koko Taylor, and Freddie King. Through the Ash Grove I got to know and work with great L.A. bluesmen like George “Harmonica” Smith, Pee Wee Crayton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Lowell Fulson, Big Joe Turner, and Harmonica Fats. I booked Howlin’ Wolf, Albert Collins, and Albert King in their LA debuts. When people ask me what style of blues I play, Delta, Chicago, New Orleans, West Coast, or Texas, I don’t know what to say, because I’ve learned from everyone. My acoustic playing reflects the amplified, and my electric style reflects the acoustic country blues. All the players I knew were concerned that their music be carried on, and in my own way I try to do it. I also feel enormously privileged to have been where I could learn to do it under the guidance of the masters.Bernie Pearl December, 2005Webiste: Berniepearl.comBernie Pearl - Martin and National Guitars, VocalsMichael Barry - Upright Bass, all tracks