Click and Register at BluesKids.com/EarlyBird it's free.

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If you have questions call us at (779) BluesMe

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“The non-profit Blues Kids Foundation holds annual Fernando Jones Blues summer camps [Blues Camp International], where students as young as eight or nine years old hone their chops.”

Rolling Stone (Click)

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"[Fernando] you are one in a million trying to get to the

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bottom of the barrel of the Blues.”

Buddy Guy (Click to see photo of the two)

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"Unlike Jazz camps, camps that focus on the Blues are a rarity. [Fernando] Jones’ Blues Camps have become an annual rite of Summer."

Downbeat (Click for article)

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"Few Chicago Blues musicians have done more to nurture the next generation of talent than guitarist Fernando Jones."

Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune (Click for article)

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Saturday, April 23, 2022

1P  - Sign-in

1:30P - Program Start

2P to 3:30P - Ensembles

3:30P - Snack (Chips, pastries, juice)

4P - Sound Check

4:25P - House Opens

4:30P - Concert 

5:45 to 6:30P- Reception

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About the Founder

Internationally known Bluesman Fernando Jones founded Blues Camp, an international program, and established it Monday, July 5, 2010 on the campus of Columbia College Chicago where he is on faculty as founding Blues Ensemble director in the Music Department. on July 4th, the day before, there was a kick-off celebration on the site of the old Chess Records at 2120 S. Michigan Avenue. Jones said, "It has been a dream since childhood to have a centrally located place where children could come and play the Blues in a user friendly, nurturing environment on a college or performing arts campus." 

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Mr. Jones is also a songwriter and scholar. Born to loving Mississippi parents on the South Side of Chicago, Jones was inspired by his older brothers, Foree, Marvin and Gregory to play music; that inspiration led him to teaching himself how to play guitar when he was just four years old.

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He is a highly sought-after lecturer focusing on music pedagogy and literacy improvement whose clientele has included the Smithsonian Institute and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Buddy Guy said that Fernando Jones is “one in a million trying to get to the bottom of the barrel of the Blues.” The incomparable Fernando Jones is a 21st Century Renaissance man and the 2008 Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipient and a Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Inductee to name but two of his professional acknowledgements.

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​Assessment Measures

Click here for the Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge Standards that we use.

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​Assessment Measures

• Pre-Course Evaluation

• Oral and Written Quizzes

• Homework Assignments

• Class Participation

• Rehearsal Performance Prep

• Concert Performances Evaluation

• Final Presentation Project

• Exit Course Evaluation

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Goals

• Introduce the history of American music through the lens of the Blues.

• Keep the Blues youthful and exciting, while preserving the past.

• Represent the next generation of Blues artist as scholars and proficient players + vocalists.

• Use critical thinking skills and collaborate with others.

• Apply practical skills learned in class in a culminating activity on stage.

• Introduce students to the art of live professional performance.

 

Learning Outcomes

For Student Musicians To:

• Improve music literacy by playing by ear and reading tabs + chord charts.

• Communicate using cross-generational/regional “Blues” language.

• Use proper dynamics to ensure appropriate volume levels for songs.

• Accompany vocalist with proper volume control, fills and chords.

• Critique and self-evaluate performances and provide feedback to others.

• Perform as “one” in an ensemble setting.

• Demonstrate basic Blues patterns such as 8-bar and 12-bar Blues.

• Demonstrate the call-and-response.

• Play songs effectively without guitar or piano solos.

• Perform a 15 to 20 minute set of music at a professional level with confidence.

• Demonstrate the art of the groove.

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Photo by Glenn Kaupert