Pictured above: Cinema Dave Montalbano and Tim Bain from Broward County Library

Broward County Library’s Blues School, an inspiration from the International House of Blues Foundation, will give music lovers an opportunity to attend movies, listen to music and even hear, live in concert, internationally acclaimed Blues musician and educator Guy Davis. All programs are open to the public and free.

Schedule of Events:

• Cinema of the Blues, February 5 – 9, 2007, at the Main Library will feature daily screenings of blues-inspired movies like, The Blues Brothers, Ray, Lady Sings the Blues and Crossroads.

• Blues School, Saturday, February 10, 2007, at the Main Library, will feature Professor Chuck Bergeron from the University of Miami School of Music. Professor Bergeron will be discussing the origin and development of blues music and its influence on other music styles. This two-hour program will feature live music from Professor Bergeron and a band of acclaimed musicians from the University of Miami, School of Music. Professor Bergeron is a bassist and composer and has played and recorded with many musical greats, including Stan Getz, Dave Grusin, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Joe Williams.

• Blues School with Guy Davis, Saturday, April 14, 2007 will be held at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Library (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale. Guy Davis is a critically acclaimed blues musician who plays traditional country blues as well as his own contemporary blues compositions. His album, Legacy was chosen by the music critics of National Public Radio as one of the best albums of 2004. Guy has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien as well as Garrison Keillor’s nationally syndicated radio program, A Prairie Home Companion.

Guy Davis:

A musician, composer, actor, director and writer, Guy Davis has spent his career dedicating himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and sharing them with as many people as possible. Davis, who incorporates classic blues materials, African-American stories and his own original songs into his acclaimed live performances, has always been influenced by classic blues greats such as Blind Willie McTell, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Buddy Guy and Elizabeth Cotton as well as diverse musicians such as Fats Waller and Harry Belafonte.

Raised in New York City by his parents, actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Davis
eschewed formal music lessons, learning by watching and doing – he even picked up the fine art of finger picking from a nine-fingered guitarist on a night train from Boston to New York. Davis always loved both music and acting and has managed to combine his loves throughout his career, performing Off-Broadway and in his own one-man show, which won critical praise from both The New York Times and the Village Voice.

But for the past decade, Davis has focused on his music – writing, recording and
performing as well as releasing seven very well-received albums. His work has garnered an eclectic collection of fans including Maya Angelou, Jessica Lange and Jackson Browne, and even children – he’s performed on two of Nickelodeon’s shows. His most recent CD, Legacy, was selected as one of NPR’s Best CDs of the Year; its lead song, "Uncle Tom’s Dead," was one of the Best Songs of the Year.