Rhythm and Blues

Stax Music Academy students put on a performance during their SNAP! After School 2010 Winter Concert, “Funk in the Soul,” performed in November 2010 at Rhodes College.

Photo by Ronnie Booze, courtesy of Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Fernando Jones works with a group of students during a “Blues Kids” event at the Music Mart in DePaul Center in Chicago.

Photo courtesy of Fernando Jones

Many rhythm and blues musicians have dedicated significant time to the formal education of the next generation of artists. Nat Dove, a blues pianist of international renown, founded Bakersfield Blues Preservation Society in California, and offers “Blues in the Schools,” a program covering history, mathematics, geography, language, and other skills. He also lectures at universities and colleges nationally.

Fernando Jones, a guitar and bass player, is the director of the Columbia College Chicago Blues Ensemble. In addition to teaching advanced performance skills to college students, he also developed “Blues Kids,” a multicultural, interdisciplinary artist-in-residence music program designed to improve literacy through music.

In Memphis, the Stax Music Academy uses music to mentor young people. The Academy provides music education and performance opportunities to students with the goal of enhancing their leadership skills and academic abilities in order to inspire them to become active and productive community members.

The Rhythm and Blues program is produced in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.