THOMASVILLE — Blues was the music genre in play during a special workshop held at Thomas County Central High School Thursday.  

Arts for the Community at Thomas University, or ACTU, presented a blues workshop by musician Dr. David Evans, “Doctor of Blues.” The program was funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia Council for the Arts. TCCHS jazz ensemble musicians and pupils in teacher Lisa Stephens’ U.S. history class participated.

“Thomas University told me they received a grant to bring Dr. Evans to Thomasville, which included an educational outreach component,” TCCHS Bands Director Joe Regina said. “I thought it was a great idea to have him come to speak to our jazz ensemble. I was also glad to be able to have Mrs. Stephens’ U.S. history class join us for the presentation, which was applicable across many different areas of curriculum.”

Evans is an ethnomusicologist and blues artist. He’s produced more than 50 LPs and CDs, authored books on blues music and is a professor of music at the University of Memphis.

“My specialty is the blues and my research as part of my doctoral dissertation centered around the blues,” Evans said. “I have also specialized in blues research, performance and recording. I also pass my knowledge on to students through teaching.”

His workshop included an introduction to early blues of the southern region based on his research with older blues artists who were active in the early 20th century. He spoke about blues’ origins, the early blues environment and its singers, and he demonstrated some early songs on the guitar.

Stephens said her class just finished a Reconstruction unit, and she felt learning about blues music would be a great transition to the next unit on growth and progress. 

“I was very glad to hear Mr. Evans mention that some of the songs he sang were written during this time period as he gave the history of the blues,” Stephens said. “I asked my students to write a reflection about the performance in their interactive notebooks. I think the presentation made the time period seem more relevant to my students.”

Regina says it’s vital for students to understand that much of the music they listen to, no matter the genre, originated with the blues.

“Dr. Evans’ presentation was very authentic and included selections representing several different types of blues music,” he said. “He also did a great job relating the music to the history of South Georgia.”

Evans feels the workshop went very well. 

“I enjoyed reaching young people of that age,” he said. “I have been teaching college students for a number of years. Speaking to high school students was new for me. I think students at the high school level are very receptive and open themselves up to learning. The students were curious about learning about the lifestyle of people in the area. The students seemed very attentive, and several students came up to ask questions at the end.”

Senior Aneesia Lofton, 18, liked the workshop and hearing the new tunes.

“I gained a lot (of knowledge) about improvisation and learning how to ‘feel’ the music,” she said. “It made me feel like I want to touch my inner roots and bring out my culture in improvising.”

Sophomore Allie Bellamy, 15, found the workshop to be cool and liked that she got to hear different blues styles. 

“My favorite part of this experience was learning the history of blues and how different musicians played blues,” she said. “I gained knowledge about the history of blues and the guitar. I plan on putting what I learned to (use to) make me a better musician.”

Sophomore Taylor Stegall, 15, thought Evans did a wonderful job. 

“He is a very advanced guitarist, and it is obvious that he enjoys what he is doing,” Stegall said. “I liked it when he played with the kazoo and the guitar. The kazoo sounded funky, and I like funky…. I learned that there are different ways to play the guitar. I could use this knowledge to find different ways to play multiple other instruments.”

Evans hopes students gained a sense of another era, lifestyle and musical style that came from it. 

“This music is not heard much anymore, and it is not within mainstream/popular music, though it is not too far from it,” he said. “I think that young people can relate to this type of music. … I think it is good for people to know where the music came from. There is a lot of old music that is still represented today, and it is important to know how that fits into contemporary jazz and rock music.”