When Fernando Jones starts talking the Blues, students wake up. What began as a local initiative in the Chicago area schools in 1990, his “Blues Kids of America” today has spread across the country. His program provides oral history and music instruction and is designed to teach students literacy through music with a focus on the Blues. While refuting the many negative stereotypes that haunt this music, Jones is on a mission to show people the joy and beauty through academic implementations, lectures, and concert performances throughout the world. He recently presented his BITS program at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’s Summer Teacher Institute and Jones will soon be featured on the Travel Channel’s Wright Across America. In addition, Jones is a professor at Columbia College in Chicago. He designed the ‘Chicago Blues Scene: Past to Preservation’ and is the director of Columbia’s Blues Ensemble. From books to films, from sound recordings to theatrical productions, his contributions to the Blues have been paramount.
