Lakewood guitarist enjoys sharing the gift of music
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

TOYNETT HALL Self-taught guitarist Derek Pierre of Lakewood strums his guitar at Café Night, a program that was sponsored by the Lakewood library on Aug. 5.

LAKEWOOD — For Derek Pierre, playing the guitar is a labor of love.

Pierre, 59, of Lakewood, taught himself how to play the instrument after being inspired by the jazz guitar technique of Wes Montgomery.

In a dual effort to keep his skills sharp and to share his talent with others, Pierre performs locally. On Aug. 5 he performed before a small group of people at Café Night, a program sponsored by Ocean County Library's Lakewood branch.

The musician sat center stage in the library's meeting room and played a variety of rhythm and blues ballads, jazz, reggae and folk songs.

Pierre said his main goal when he performs is to "reach."

"I play to reach. I can play all styles of music. So whatever the crowd wants to hear, I play. Music is a universal language. It brings people together and serves as a therapy for the audience and myself," he said.

Pierre confidently strums the strings on his guitar with what seems to be little effort. Despite the appearance of ease with which he plays, he said it can sometimes be difficult to get a song just right.

"Although I have been playing and perfecting my craft for nearly 40 years, the guitar is a very hard instrument to play. It is more than just playing strings with a pick (going) up and down. It also requires ear training and learning a lot of different rhythms," Pierre said.

Pierre said learning something new takes hard work, determination and practice.

Mandje Ivanchukov of Howell stopped by the library on his way home from work to listen to Pierre perform and said, "I think he is excellent."

Branchmanager Zarita Mattox extended an invitation for Pierre to perform at Café Night after he played at the library's staff appreciation ceremony in March.

Mattox said the library staff "tries to bring in diverse programs and local talent. This is our community. It is important to support those in our community who participate in our programming."

Next on the library's agenda is a "Gospel Under the Stars" performance by local choirs on Aug. 19; "Fabulous Fiesta" to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Sammy Galvez on Sept. 12; and in November the library will honor New Jersey's Lenni Lenape Indians. For more information call the library at 732- 363-1435.