FERNANDO JONES: KEEPING THE BLUES RED HOT

International Musician, Mar 2008

Chicago, Illinois, became a center for the blues in the '40s and '50s after many famous musicians migrated from the South. On today's blues scene, one native son of the city is keeping the traditions alive. Guitarist Fernando Jones of Local 10-208 (Chicago, IL) directs the only collegiate blues ensemble in the US, based at Columbia College Chicago. This ensemble and the other classes Jones teaches use the city's blues clubs as classrooms, and legendary players become guest instructors. Jones' mission goes beyond historical preservation, as he gives new life to a fundamentally American art form.

"The days of the bluesman emerging from a nightclub have passed," Jones says. "Today's blues musician has to be a global thinker; has to be prepared to travel; and has to prepare his or her music globally as well; and I think it has to come from the angle of education."

Jones' role as a transmitter of tradition comes from his scholarship of the blues. His book, I Was There When the Blues Was Red hot, examines the social roots of the music, including issues of appropriation and influence, with interviews and anecdotes from musicians, historians, and musicologists. Regarding the origins of the music, Jones says, "The blues started as a byproduct of slavery and a form of communication or code. Different instruments in different regions have inspired different sounds."

The Blues Ensemble at Columbia College started in the fall of 2005 and has included violin, trombone, trumpet, saxophone along with the usual guitar, bass, piano, harmonica, and drums. "It's grown in the way word has gotten out," Jones says. "The advantage is that the greatest songs have yet to be written. One of my students could write the next great standard or become the next great singer or bass player. The books are still open; there's no closed membership."

Though, at 43, he's mindful of the way his generation adopted the music. "We had to learn the blues in the street-being mistreated, lied to, lied on," he says. He believes that his students have the talent to make the music their own and to write songs out of their own experiences. "Most of these kids have had relationships-with their parents and guardians, or they've dated," he says. "Many of them are the only ones in their schools who played an instrument. They've learned more than they think they've learned."

Jones says he makes the ensemble's rehearsals, from 6:30 to 9:20 Monday evenings, "open to the entire universe." Grammy winning blues guitarist George "Buddy" Guy of Local 10-208 and bassist and singer William "Bootsy" Collins of Local 1 (Cincinnati, OH) are among the legendary musicians who have stopped in to give lessons and guidance. Jones' dedication to teaching and his efforts to bring together musicians from different generations have earned him the 2008 Keeping the Blues Alive Education award from the Memphis-based Blues Foundation.

In addition to his work with students at Columbia College, the award also reflects his work as the founder of the Blues Kids of America, an educational outreach program to teach younger students literacy through music with an emphasis on the blues. Jones has served as an artist-in-residence with many schools in the greater Chicago area, and has taken his presentations to schools and institutions throughout the US.

Jones was first introduced to the AFM by several older members who told him about their struggles with racial discrimination. "I joined because I knew I needed to have protection, and I learned that, in the past, black musicians had to fight to be a part of the union," he says. The union has come through for him in the past. One time Edward Ward, former president of Local 10-208, stepped up for him in a contract dispute with a nightclub. "I got on the phone with [Ward], and he said, 'I'll call you back.' He calls me back and says, 'Go get your money,'" Jones says. "The union will jump in for you. That's why I'm proud to be a member, and doubly proud to be a black member, and triply proud to be a black blues musician who's a member."

"We need to have high visibility," he adds. "Blues musicians are the ones who provide the live entertainment for which Chicago has become famous."

He also tries to boost the AFM's visibility with the younger generation. "I blow my horn for the union, and I tell my students about AFM and BMI, and that those are two organizations you need to join if you want to be taken seriously," he says.

In his own performances as a guitarist, Jones digs deep to find humor in the blues. "People think of the blues and they think 'my baby just left me.' That's just one spoke in the wheel. I tell the audience, 'Help a bluesman and you save a hubcap's life.'"

He says that the subject matter of his original songs is quite diverse: comedy, tragedy, superstition, the supernatural, loss of loved ones, and friendship. Jones performs frequently at Buddy Guy's Legends club and constantly works to improve his playing, songwriting, and especially his singing. "Some people just hide behind the electric guitar, but I wanted to develop my vocals," he says.