Exhibit meant to inspire viewers to dig deeper into the blues’ rich history

Carol Richardson
·2 min read

Forty colorful folk-art style illustrations of many of the 20th century’s giants of the blues, as well as other legendary musicians whose style was influenced by these trailblazers, is on display at the A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center.

Each portrait features a brief history of the musicians’ lives and their significant accomplishments. These pieces by artists Ty the Portrait Guy and George Borum are meant to inspire viewers to dig deeper into the blues’ rich history and its masters, to relish a century’s worth of extraordinary recordings and to “let the spirit move them” at the many live concert opportunities there are to hear the blues masters of today.

The "Blues Pioneers and Their Progeny” exhibit features 40 colorful folk-art style illustrations of many of the 20th century’s giants of the blues, as well as other legendary musicians whose style was influenced by these trailblazers. It will be shown through Sept. 30 at the A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center, 1013 NW Seventh Avenue in Gainesville.

Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated in the South around the 1860s by African-Americans from roots in African-American work songs and spirituals. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, shouts, chants and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, is characterized by the call-and-response pattern.

"Blues Pioneers and Their Progeny" exhibition features such musical giants at Bo Diddley, Louis Armstrong, B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Duke Ellington, Howlin' Wolf, Big Mama Thornton, Elvis, Chubby Checker, Billie Holiday, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Bessie Smith, Koko Taylor, Freddy King, James Brown and many more. Music can be heard at the museum by scanning a QR code or by listening to the recordings at the museum.

The "Blues Pioneers and Their Progeny” exhibit features 40 colorful folk-art style illustrations of many of the 20th century’s giants of the blues, as well as other legendary musicians whose style was influenced by these trailblazers. It will be shown through Sept. 30 at the A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center, 1013 NW Seventh Avenue in Gainesville.

The exhibition will run through Sept. 30.

A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center is located at 1013 NW Seventh Avenue in Gainesville in the former homestead of Alachua County pioneering educator A. Quinn "Prof" Jones, who was a principal of Union Academy (1921-1923) and Lincoln High School (1923-1957). The museum was placed on the National Register of Historic places in 2010 and renovated by the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Agency and through funding from Wild Spaces and Public Places in 2017.

The "Blues Pioneers and Their Progeny” exhibit features 40 colorful folk-art style illustrations of many of the 20th century’s giants of the blues, as well as other legendary musicians whose style was influenced by these trailblazers. It will be shown through Sept. 30 at the A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center, 1013 NW Seventh Avenue in Gainesville.

A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center is a cultural facility under the direction of the city of Gainesville's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department. Museum hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 1 to 5 p.m., and during special events. For more information, call (352) 334-2010.

Carol Richardson is museum coordinator for the A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center. 

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Carol Richardson: A. Quinn Jones Museum exhibit on giants of the blues