Photo by Glenn Kaupert
Fernando Jones | Renaissance Man
"The non-profit Blues Kids Foundation holds annual Fernando Jones Blues summer camps, where students as young as eight or nine years old hone their chops."
David Browne, Rolling Stone Magazine (Click here for article)
"[Fernando] you are one in a million trying to get to the bottom of the barrel of the Blues.”
Buddy Guy (Click to see photo of the two)
"Unlike Jazz camps, camps that focus on the Blues are a rarity. [Fernando] Jones’ Blues Camps have become an annual rite of Summer."
Downbeat Magazine (Click here for article)
"Few Chicago Blues musicians have done more to nurture the next generation of talent than guitarist Fernando Jones."
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune (Click here for article)
"I work on my craft and my complete package every single day. I perform every show as if it were Carnegie Hall. My music and I are one. Being born 5 months premature, one looks at life differently."
Fernando Jones
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The Bluesman + Musician + Educator
Booking Request | Band Stage Plot | Blank Contract
During the COVID-19 Jones established an interview series entitled Midnight Music Mix. Click here to view.
If one word could describe this "creative" named Fernando Jones it would be rare. This multi-instrumentalist started off by playing the Blues on the guitar when he was just four years old. Today, he's still going strong as a bandleader. This world-class, internationally known American Bluesman, educator and songwriter was born to loving Mississippi parents on the Southside of Chicago. They were advocates for education and the arts. Jones is one of a few living African American Bluesmen to have a tribute album of his compositions done by a band on a different continent; Jona's Blues Band of Rome, Italy is the group.
Jones has performed his compositions from basement parties to the University of Hawaii to The Smithsonian Institute to the Conservatory of Music in Pescara, Italy to nightclubs in Havana, Cuba. Here is a sample of his scholarly writing in the Journal of Popular Music Studies and awards. In January 2020, the National Association of Music Merchants invited him to host a lecture on the impact of Blues Pedagogy. As a lecturer Fernando Jones has established Blues Camps for youths on the continents of Asia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean island of Cuba. Here's an interview on him done by The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
As evident of his work(s) demonstrate; here’s why Fernando Jones, a Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipient and Chicago Blues Hall of Fame member is worth investing in as a performer, lecturer and/or an artist-in-residence. Fernando Jones is original in his approach to music with a focus on the Blues and the performing arts.
• Download Fernando Jones' lecture at Delta State University | October 4, 2019
• Article in IL Blues Magazine, Winter 2021
• Article in The Citizen News Paper, Winter 2022
• Nov. 10, 2021 interview on "Buddy Guys Radio" below.
Background
Inspired by his older brothers, Foree, Marvin and Greg, Jones taught himself how to play guitar when he was just four years old, and has been playing ever since. Today, he’s still an internationally traveled performer and educator; as a bandleader Fernando Jones & My Band! is a sharp dressed, raw guitar driven original sounding power trio. Their sound is full, sexy, and always evolving. Whether playing alone in someone's living room or with his band in concert, each performance is entertaining and engaging among multigenerational audiences. He has no tricks or gimmicks and is easy to work with and is one of the most complete Bluesmen and scholars of his generation.
Jones is on faculty in the Music Department at Columbia College Chicago as the founding Blues Ensemble director. There, his Blues Camp for student musicians ages 12 to 18 is in-residence. He is published in the Journal of Popular Music.
Jones has presented at national industry conferences including but not limited to:
• National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)
- How to Host a Successful Summer Blues Camp
- Steps to Pivoting to Online Music Lessons
• Nation Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE),
• Association for Popular Music Education (APME).
• Blues Conference at Delta State University
He also holds memberships with the American Federation of Musicians (Local 10-208), Broadcast Music, Inc. (songwriter and publisher), The Chicago (IL) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated (Lifetime Membership).
Jones is the go-to-guy for all things Blues when the City of Chicago needs a music ambassador. Whether playing alone in someone's living room or with his band in concert, each performance is entertaining and engaging among multi-generational audiences. He has tricks or gimmicks and is easy to work with and is one of the most complete Bluesmen and scholars of his generation.
From books to films, from sound recordings to theatrical productions, his contributions to this American art form have been paramount. Jones has been recognized and celebrated by his peers and the press as being on the "cutting edge" of the Blues. He adds new blood and a new perspective to its legacy, musically and culturally. As a composer, he has taken great pride in performing his original works publicly to help insure the evolutionary development of this movement.
The Lecturer
Fernando Jones has presented professional development workshops for Blues Camp International, FDIC, Nike marketing team, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), Columbia College Chicago, The NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants), Chicago Public School (CPS) and The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
Press Photos
• Video link to our latest TV broadcast
• Headshots (With Instruments and Suits)
The Graphic Designer & Visual Artist
See ink drawings, logos and painting samples of Fernando Jones.
The Songwriter
While refuting the many negative stereotypes that haunt the Blues, he is on a mission to show its beauty through academic implementations, lectures, and concerts. As a result, Jones' hands were photographed by National Geographic Magazine. His book, I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot, has been used as a resource by the likes of the Discovery Channel, Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, Living Blues Magazine, London Times, and Al-Jazeera. Radio stations such as ABC, BBC, CBS, CLTV, NBC, WTTW, NPR, WGN and PBS have celebrated him for his playing style and unique perspective on the status of Black music in America. He and his music have been featured in the Travel Channel’s “America the Wright Way” Series (worldwide broadcast, seen in over 125 million households), The Ryder Cup (Chicago host), Eric Clapton’s Crossroads DVD, ABC7’s "Someone You Should Know” Dateline NBC, Downbeat Magazine's Musicians Studio and countless international music documentaries.
As a music festival producer, Fernando Jones created the first Blues Festival at the University of Illinois at Chicago while a sophomore in the Spring of 1984 and produced it in February 1985 — featuring his eldest brother Foree Superstar, Junior Wells, Magic Slim, and Buddy Guy.
Strategic partnerships and professional affiliations: Allstate, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (Life Membership), American Federation of Musicians (Local 10-208), Fender Musical Instruments, Jim Dunlop, D'Addario Foundation, Real Men Cook, The Chicago Blues Festival Advisory Board, NABSE and Shure.
Charitable Giving: Real Men Cook Charities, Guide Right Chicago, The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Edward G. Irvin Foundation and more, and church and civic organizations.
• 2020 Chicago Defender Men of Excellence Award recipient
• 2019 Allstate Grant Recipient for Blues Camp
• Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Inductee
• "Blues Kids Day(s)" Proclamations from: the City of Chicago
• California Legislature Assembly Certificate of Recognition
• City of Riverside, CA Proclamation to Recognize and Honor
• State of California Senate Certificate of Recognition
• Corona, CA Blues Day Proclamation
• State of Illinois Proclamation for a Blues Day
• Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipient, 2008
• Teacher of the year finalist (Columbia College Chicago, 2006)
• Life Membership with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated
• See more awards. Click here.
Photo by Glenn Kaupert