Among the challenges that come with getting older is that our elders continue to grow older too. With each revolution around the sun there is more likelihood that we will lose another dear friend who has had some profound influence on us as individuals. One such inspiration was legendary keyboard player Bernie Pitters, who passed away yesterday due to complications from a long battle with diabetes. “Bernie P” was like a Godfather to the reggae music fraternity in Canada. A cornerstone of Toronto’s Livestock and Hit Squad bands, who backed up virtually every major Jamaican artist to appear in the city, I used to marvel at Bernie’s unique style and unparalleled showmanship as a teenager, wondering “how can this cat be so cool”?! His stage presence was truly a spectacle to behold. I went on to embrace Bernie’s guidance and tutelage as a young adult, and I was both thrilled and honoured when Bernie P began sitting in with my group Halfway Tree in the late 90s, in Toronto and also when I moved to Halifax in the 2000s.
Bernie was a true heavyweight when it came to playing rub a dub music. Renowned Jamaican studio engineer, producer and musician Stephen Stewart explained to me once that he and Bernie used to race to their high school piano at lunch hour to see who could get to the piano bench first to impress the girls on their lunch break. Building on what he learned studying with legendary Jamaican keyboardist Jackie Mittoo after moving to Toronto in the 70s, Bernie developed a unique creative style as he “bubbled" and “shuffled” alongside Garry Lowe on bass, Tony Campbell on guitar and Tony “Raffa Dean” White on drums, all of whom have passed on to the other side.
After years of playing professionally, the hard core musician’s lifestyle began to take a toll on Bernie, and he developed severe diabetes, claiming both his sight and eventually a foot. I was honoured to have been able to offer Bernie nutritional guidance after graduating from holistic nutrition school in 2011, but of course diabetes can take a dreadful toll, as it did yesterday.
Bernie will leave an indelible mark in the hearts of those who had the great fortune to know him and his music will live on in the countless recordings he has blessed us with. While it may sound like a cliche to some, Bernie’s enthusiastic way of saying “ya mon” will ring in my ears itinually, as will his soft tone when he loved how something sounded: “wic-ked”! It is with profound Love for his strong, gentle and kind soul and with deep gratitude that I say goodbye to this dear friend and life-long mentor who will continue to live on in I & I music.
“It brings great joy to share such sweet togetherness.” ~ Bob Marley