Every great musician starts from somewhere, including today’s crop of hip hop and R&B superstars. Artists like Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars are enormously talented in their own right, but there wouldn’t have been a “To Pimp A Butterfly” or “24K Magic” without the magic of the blues.
In fact, R&B stands for rhythm and blues, with the latter permeating a plethora of genres over the past century. Blues music, with its trademark call and response schematics and lyrics dealing with themes of oppression and overcoming, has influence in hip hop, funk, rock and gospel, among other genres. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) students found out all the facts of the blues form and function during a February partnership with JazzReach.
As of SMMUSD’s Black History Month education, district Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Tom Whaley led efforts to secure grants for a four-day JazzReach visit to district sites. JazzReach is a national non-profit music organization based in New York City, established in 1994 and “dedicated to the promotion, performance, creation and teaching of jazz music.” Of course, blues has a major influence on jazz as well, leading to JazzReach assemblies at SMMUSD middle schools entitled “Yes Indeed!” guiding fourth through eighth graders through the history of the genre.
“The assemblies were more than just educational experiences; they were transformative journeys into the heart and soul of American music,” Whaley said in a district press release. “By delving into the rich tradition of the blues, we aimed to instill a greater appreciation, awareness and understanding of African American heritage among our students.”
The assemblies included multimedia elements and live performances, with JazzReach Executive and Artistic Director Hans Schuman noting that the group attempts to “dissect” the blues by informing about its roots and heritage in the 19th-century American South and how the oppressive conditions gave birth to a “unique and indigenous” style of sound.
“It’s a really comprehensive program that aims to celebrate our great American blues tradition,” Schuman said of the program. “The overall program objectives are really to illuminate, as broadly as we can, what the blues are and the impact the blues has had on American music and other styles of music.”
Debuting in the fall of 2014, the show conveyed how different styles of blues are played, as well as the music’s role as a means of persistence and prevailing amidst problems.
“We’re [really] trying to make sure that our young audiences understand that the blues isn’t really all about woe and struggle, it’s also about overcoming these things and the way in which the blues are used to express our will to overcome,” Schuman said.
On the last day of JazzReach’s visit, a professional combo from the organization performed with the Samohi Jazz Band during lunch at the Samohi Discovery cafeteria. Band students took notes from the clinicians on improvisation and working as a team, with the school’s advanced jazz combo learning for three two-hour rehearsals prior to performance.
“We [wanted] to recognize the countless ways in which African-Americans have contributed to American culture and how they have led the way in advocating for civil rights, inclusion and racial equity,” Whaley added.
The visit from JazzReach was lauded by students and staff alike for being a unique opportunity to connect with musical history and be a bridge to African-American influences in the arts.
“As we look back on this year’s Black History Month celebration with JazzReach, we remain committed to fostering appreciation and understanding among our students,” SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said. “Through initiatives like these, we honor the past, inspire the present and shape the future.”