Derrick “Doc” Pearson- A family man: Instrumental music to inspire, motivate and relax a family man
The expression he did it all or he saw it all is often used. So much so, in fact, that it can lose its meaning. But within the music industry, Derrick ‘Doc’ Pearson is as close to doing and seeing it all as one can come and still be there to talk about it. He was there for the rise and fall of the popularity of that wonderful derivative of DMV funk called Go-Go music. He wrote songs for legendary bands like The O’Jays. Pearson got married, started a family while juggling police jobs in Washington, DC and still writing songs. The pressures and temptations associated with the music industry and the police led Pearson down a destructive path. It was at this low point in his life that Pearson realized the one thing that had long been a part of his life but was always held at bay: his Christian faith.
Derrick “Doc” Pearson- A family man: Instrumental music to inspire, motivate and relax a family man
The expression he did it all or he saw it all is often used. So much so, in fact, that it can lose its meaning. But within the music industry, Derrick ‘Doc’ Pearson is as close to doing and seeing it all as one can come and still be there to talk about it. He was there for the rise and fall of the popularity of that wonderful derivative of DMV funk called Go-Go music. He wrote songs for legendary bands like The O’Jays. Pearson got married, started a family while juggling police jobs in Washington, DC and still writing songs. The pressures and temptations associated with the music industry and the police led Pearson down a destructive path. It was at this low point in his life that Pearson realized the one thing that had long been a part of his life but was always held at bay: his Christian faith.
Pearson accepted the Lord into his life, and he not only disconnected himself from secular music and its rewards and temptations, but from music entirely. This estrangement lasted until he answered a call from God to complete some spiritual and inspirational songs he wrote. Pearson has consistently released much-loved (and much-loved) Christian music since then, and that includes his latest, A Family Man: Instrumental music to inspire, motivate and relax a family man. It’s not Pearson’s first project that is primarily instrumental, but as the album’s title suggests, Pearson sees the project as spiritual therapy for the brothers. Pearson wrote in his liner notes that he was divinely inspired to write instrumental songs that a guy could listen to for inspiration, motivation, or just to relax.
Pearson leans heavily on his musical history as a creator of rhythm tracks during his days on the Go-Go and R&B scene to make music on A family man with the kind of punch that will keep guys interested. Tracks like “The Climb” feature conga drumming and brass hits with that distinctive Go-Go bounce, while tracks like “Road Trip” are a throwback to 1970s funk, where Pearson goes wild with thunder with a little serious. thumb work on the bass.
Pearson and his bass engage in a musical conversation with soprano saxophonist Merlon Devine over the laid-back, airy “Cozumel,” a contemporary jazz number that sports a step-by-step music beat, while the funky, bouncy “Walk In the Light” has a funky synthesized 1980s arrangement. Pearson returns to bass on the smooth jazz track “Sparkling Cider”, allowing himself to serve as a funky basis for improvisational conversations between Marcus Anderson (on tenor and alto sax) and guitarist Mike Scott, while Pearson himself even injects from the church when he jumps on the electric organ. Pearson and company even explore a little New Jack Swing on the “OMG” and “Ocho Rios” bangers.
Musically, Derrick ‘Doc’ Pearson has seen and heard a lot, and he put it into the creation A family man, a record that will inspire, motivate, relax and entertain all who listen. Recommended.
By Howard Dukes
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