Mississippi Valley Blues Society

The one thing the blues don't get is the backing and pushing of TV and radio like a lot of this garbage you hears. They choke stuff down people's throat so they got no choice but to listen to it.

- John L. Hooker

Blues Education News

Fernando Jones Blues in the Schools Residency Scheduled for April 12-16

Chicago blues guitarist, composer, actor, writer, and educator Fernando Jones will be the artist for the Mississippi Valley Blues Society Blues in the Schools Residency Series during the week of April 12-16, 2010. Fernando will conduct workshops at schools and colleges as well as free open-to-the-public performances:

* Wednesday April 14, 11:30 a.m.—Black Hawk College, Building 1 lower lobby, Moline
* Wednesday April 14, 7 p.m.—Mojo’s in the River Music Experience, Davenport
* Thursday April 15, 7 p.m.—St. Ambrose University, Galvin Fine Arts Center, Madsen Hall, Davenport

Fernando Jones

Fernando’s residency will be his second blues educational visit to the Quad Cities. He conducted workshops for BlueSKool at the 2003 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. Fernando Jones is a recipient of the Blues Foundation’s 2008 Keeping the Blues Alive award in Education.

Fernando Jones was born in Chicago on February 7, 1964. He grew up on the Southside, where he was exposed to all kinds of music, mostly African American and especially the blues. Both of his parents had migrated from Mississippi, reluctantly leaving family, loved ones, and friends to find better jobs and living conditions in the big city, but returning to Mississippi for visits every year, exposing young Fernando to more blues music. By the time he was four years old, Fernando began teaching himself how to play the guitar, using an instrument a member of Fernando’s brother’s band had left in the home. After seeing how much love and interest Fernando had in music and the guitar, his uncle Jackson Stack purchased a brand new sunburst Teisco guitar and a shoebox-sized amp for Fernando for his sixth birthday.

Hawkeye Herman's Updated Blues Bibliography

Hawkeye Herman

Dear Blues Friends,

There's been considerable growth in the public's interest in “alternative” genres/styles of music (blues, folk, bluegrass, old-timey, ethnic/world, etc.). I’m not going to try to analyze the phenomena, but I rejoice in it. When the consumer demands variety, the wise shopkeeper responds.

Besides playing and listening to the music, I enjoy reading biographies, autobiographies, various blues related historical material, and watching blues on video. I would like to see a bigger 'catalog,' variety, and selection of blues related books, literature, periodicals, and videos in the bookstores.

I'm frequently asked, “What books can I read to learn more about the music and the people of the Blues?” That’s a tough question, as there are many hundreds of titles. I don't have time to read everything that's available. I enjoy reading, but I’m no book reviewer. The purpose of this blues related book and video list is to give folks a 'taste' of the broad variety of blues related books, literature, and video that are available. The list is not "complete," and it's always growing. Even though the list is quite long, please take your time looking it over. I'm pretty sure you'll see a number of titles and subjects that will pique your interest.

Rev. Robert Jones Preaches the Blues - MVBS Artist-in-Residence March 15-19

Rev. Robert Jones - Photo by James Fraher

Blues guitarist, violinist, harmonica player, singer, and educator Rev. Robert B. Jones is the third artist selected by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society for the 2009/2010 Blues in the Schools Artists in Residence series. During the week of March 15-19, 2010, Robert will conduct workshops in schools and colleges and free open to the public performances.

The open to the public performances by Robert Jones are:

· Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m.—Borders, Davenport

· Wednesday, March 17 at 7 p.m.—Mojo’s in the River Music Experience, Davenport

· Friday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m.—Fairmount St. Public Library, Davenport

Robert Jones is recognized by blues artists and critics for his ability to sing like early blues legends. Howlin’ Wolf’s legendary guitarist Hubert Sumlin has said, “Robert Jones is an extraordinary musician. He can play the old stuff!” RiverRoad Lifetime Achievement Award winner the late Robert Lockwood said about Robert Jones: “He has the music of Son House in his pocket.” Finally, Neal Kobin, columnist for the Detroit Free Press, states: “Wherever he rambles, he’s doing what he loves. Not just singing the blues but teaching and preaching them.”

Up the Mississippi - A Journey of the Blues Anthology/CD Project

Blues Anthology

After many months of hard work by the Education Committee, the Anthology/CD project has been completed. The 127 page blues anthology is intended to be an introduction for readers whose knowledge of this uniquely American musical form may be limited. As the story of the blues and how it has evolved is far too complex to be contained in a single book, the anthology is offered as a collection of chapters by educators, historians, and performers themselves in the hope that it will encourage readers to further explore the blues.

The anthology includes chapters by such writers as Dr. Richard Raichelson, a PH.D in folklore and anthropology, who writes on Memphis and its role in the history of the blues, by Sally Stevens, founder of the New Orleans Blues Project, covering Louisiana Blues, by Bob Koester, founder and owner of Delmark Records, writing on the Blues in St. Louis, and many other authors. In addition there is an introduction by Dr. Karen McFarland, poetry by Dr. Sterling Plumpp, and a brief history of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society.

MVBS Presents Mississippi’s Johnnie Billington, Blues in the Schools Artist in Residency Feb. 8-12

Johnnie Billington

The Mississippi Valley Blues Society Education Committee is especially fortunate in being able to get one of the very top blues educators, guitarists, and singers — Clarksdale, Mississippi resident Johnnie Billington—for a Black History Month Blues in the Schools residency for the week of February 8-12, 2010.

Billington’s residency will have him presenting workshops in numerous Quad-City area schools, as well as giving free, open-to-the-public performances:

· Wed. Feb. 10, 7 p.m. — Mojo’s in the RME, Davenport

· Thurs. Feb. 11, 5 p.m. — United Neighbors, 808 Harrison St., Davenport

· Fri. Feb. 12, 4 p.m. — Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 630 9^th St., Rock Island

Johnnie Billington was born in 1935 in Crowder, Mississippi, a small community on the Quitman/Panola county line. His father was a sharecropper, and he grew up working on the farm. He first became interested in music through listening to the legendary blues show “King Biscuit Time,” which was broadcast from nearby Helena, Arkansas. Billington’s father bought him a guitar when he was 10 years old, and he began teaching himself the instrument by playing along with the King Biscuit performers. By the age of 13 he was playing in clubs throughout the Delta with a Clarksdale-based band.

MVBS Blues in the Schools Artist Residencies by Year

2010

Johnnie Billington	February 8-12, 2010
Rev. Robert Jones	March 15-19, 2010
Fernando Jones	April 12-16, 2010

2009

TJ Wheeler	February 2-6, 2009
Hal Reed	April 6-10, 2009
Spencer Bohren	November 9-13, 2009

2008

Fruteland Jackson	February 2008
Guy Davis	April 2008
Billy Branch	October 13-17
Corey Harris	November 3-7

2007

Hal Reed	Feb 5th to Feb 10
Bill Bell	April 23rd to April 28th
Catfish Keith	June Summer Residency
Hawkeye Herman	October 2007
Rich DelGrosso	November 2007

2006

Sam Butler	February 2006
Robert Jones	April 2006
Kevin Burt	Oct 2nd to Oct 7th
Alabama Blues Project with Carolyn Shines	Nov 6th to Nov 11th

Digging the Roots - Comments by Gene Morgan

Hawkeye Herman’s list of blues related books on the Mississippi Valley Blues Society web site is a very impressive and nearly complete resource for blues reference material. I say nearly complete only because there are new books coming out all the time and also there are a few other areas that people really interested in the story of the blues could investigate to get a complete picture.

You do not have to know the why or when or how of the blues to appreciate the music. It is not the thinking side of the brain that is first to react to the music. Blues is a feeling. It just is. That is really all you have to know. But if you have a real passion for the music you may get to the point of wanting to know more about how it is and was made. It is like enjoying a painting and wanting to know more about the painter. Or, when the guy hits a home run in the World Series you may want to check his batting average. Ok, enough analogies, you get the picture.

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