A tribute to beloved Hamilton musician Don Berryman
Don Berryman devoted his life to music, working as a professional musician in Hamilton for much of the past five decades, playing trombone with a variety of local bands including The Brass Union and Powerhouse.
Even when failing health meant he could no longer play the trombone, Berryman switched to keyboards and mandolin to keep the music flowing.
“He had degrees in literature and engineering, but his love was music,” says Carlo DiBattista, trumpet player and leader of the eight-piece R&B band Powerhouse. “He was a touring musician for most of his life. He was passionate for music and would do anything to make gigs happen. We miss him.”
Berryman was diagnosed with cancer in September and his final show with Powerhouse, a band he had played with since 1986, was in January. On May 12, Berryman died at the age of 66.
Now the many musicians he befriended over the years are organizing a special musical tribute to Berryman. It will take place Sunday, July 16, 4 to 9 p.m., at the Royal Canadian Legion, 1180 Barton St. E.
Powerhouse, of course, will be on the bill, joined by many of the band’s former members, as well as Burnt Rose, The Mark LaForme Band, The D.A.R.T.S. Band and Chicago Transit.
Berryman started out in the music business in 1970 as a member of The Brass Union, a popular Hamilton-Burlington group that combined brass with contemporary rock in the same way as Chicago, Lighthouse and Blood, Sweat and Tears.
The Brass Union was one of the most popular live bands in the area in the early ’70s, recording a single “It Won’t Be Long,” that got airplay on local radio stations.
After The Brass Union broke up,
Berryman studied at both McMaster University and Mohawk College. He couldn’t escape music, however, and became one of the founding members of Powerhouse in 1986, touring across Canada with the band for the next 30 years, often backing tribute artists.
“He was a team player,” says DiBattista, who first met Berryman booking The Brass Union to a Glendale high school dance in 1971. “He would play any position you asked him to. In all the years I worked with him, I never heard him raise his voice to me and we had our differences at times, just like most musicians who work in bands. The love was there always.”
Two years ago, DiBattista said Berryman could no longer play trombone and considered leaving Powerhouse. Instead, he became the band’s second keyboard player.
“He shows up at rehearsal and blows everybody else in the band away. He’s adding all these string parts on keyboards. We also back up a Rod Stewart guy, so Don goes out and buys a mandolin and plays it on ‘Maggie May’ … We’re not going to replace him.”
With the money raised at the July 16 tribute, DiBattista hopes to plant a tree in Berryman’s name on the grounds of the Bob Kemp Hospice, which was built on land donated by Don’s mother, Iris Berryman.