The Birth of Broward County Library's Blues School

Two library reference employees from Main Library's Audio-Visual Section, Dave Montalbano (aka Cinema Dave) and Tim Bain, had an idea to bring a "Blues School" to Broward County Library. They wrote a grant that brought in funding for two lecture/concert events to be held in the libraries. To help promote the events, Dave and Tim dressed up in dark suits and fedoras, like the Blues Brothers of movie fame, and made a video by the railroad tracks. Tim, who is an accomplished guitarist, recorded the soundtrack for the video.
(Click here to watch the video commercial for Blues School.)

Dave set up a series of free video showings in the Main Library featuring blues music-based movies, including The Blues Brothers, Ray, Lady Sings the Blues and Crossroads. The movies played during the week of February 5 - 9, 2007.

Then, on Saturday, February 10, Professor Chuck Bergeron from the University of Miami School of Music brought along a few musical colleagues for a two-hour gig at the Main Library auditorium. Being a professor as well as a professional musician, his school lessons were scholarly as well as entertaining. Professor Bergeron told the story of how blues music got started by American slaves in the rhythm of their work songs: their  field hollers, ring shouts and call-and-response. He suggested that the term "got the blues" came from the days when slaves were forced to make blue clothing dye by crushing indigo plants in big vats. The toxic dye would permeate their skin and lead them to an early grave. Professor Bergeron is a bass guitar player and composer and has played and recorded with many musical greats, including Stan Getz, Dave Grusin, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Joe Williams.


On April 14, Blues School was in session again with world famous blues artist Guy Davis at the African-American Research and Cultural Center. Davis made his harmonica bark like a dog and grunt like a pig and rattle like a train. He lined up a group of volunteers on the edge of the stage and taught them how to swing an ax in the kind of rhythm that fuels the blues. On his guitar, he demonstrated different picking styles—from Delta style to Piedmont style. And he played Shortnin’ Bread on his banjo like nobody’s business. Guy Davis proved himself a blues musician worthy of acclaim, playing traditional country blues as well as his own contemporary blues compositions. Guy has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien as well as Garrison Keillor’s nationally syndicated radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. His album, Legacy was chosen by the music critics of National Public Radio as one of the best albums of 2004.

FUTURE OF THE BLUES
Will Blues School be back in session in 2008? Stay tuned to this web site . . . And don’t forget to sing the blues.