Musicians give Legal Prep Charter Academy students a lesson in blues music
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Not every school can support a marching band or an orchestra.
You need to have enough students and of course enough money.
Morning Insider Lauren Victory takes us inside a new program defying those odds through an older genre of music.
Every week, Garfield Park gets groovy. Walk by Legal Prep Charter Academy and you might just hear why.
A new elective about Blues music started this year. Sophomore Jalil Ware nervously signed up.
"I was afraid that if I did and I have to perform in front of so many people and then I mess up, what if people laugh?" the 10th grader tells CBS 2.
The pressure is off when Blues music transports Ware and his classmates to a simpler time.
"It just has a rhythm that I just love personally and there's something about it that touches the inside of me," said Ware who was bouncing, clapping and playing along to the songs.
Senior Keyontae Sykes was also vibing out. "I grab the harmonica and start playing how I feel and I be going crazy!"
Lessons on the harmonica, piano, drums, bass and more are coming from living Blues legends, Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues.
Branch himself is a three-time Grammy-nominated, Emmy-award winning, Blues Hall of Famer with 50 years of experience.
"To see youngsters get excited and be able to grasp the significance of this music and have fun with it – it does your heart good," Branch said.
It does Ware's confidence good, too. Breakout sessions give the students one-on-one time with specific instruments. Ware loves to practice his drumming skills.
"He [the band's drummer] told me that before he got up there, he made a lot of mistakes," said Ware who felt at ease after hearing it'll take a lot of practice to get good so it's okay if he makes some errors.
Branch and his inspiring crew come with a cost.
"It's in the range of $30,000," said principal and Legal Charter Prep CEO Sam Finkelstein. He tells CBS 2 this class is only possible because of fundraising by Chicago Blues Revival, a non-profit trying to bring more Blues programming to small-sized Chicago high schools especially on the west and south sides.
"We haven't really had an opportunity to have an actual music program at Legal Prep. We're a small school, about 250 students, and so it's just not in the budget," said Finkelstein.
The 14-week pilot program needs support to continue after this semester. Chicago Blues Revival used private donations to make the music happen this round. Organizers are applying for some grants too but tell us that money usually isn't awarded until a pilot program is completed. The student musicians just wrapped up their fourth week.
