Celebrate Nashville off Jefferson Street , June 23, 2007 was filled with the gutsy, rhapsodic melodies of jazz and blues by some of the men and women that are music legends and still living and working in Nashville. The desire to reach back and enjoy great times in history was a part of the motivation for the event planned by Arts Alive.  Renee Somers local artist and an art teacher in Nashville for the past ten years painted eleven portraits of Nashville’s memorable music legends in an 8 foot by 8 foot medley on four panels. The artists were selected by the Musicians Aide Society. Renee researched the men and women she was assigned to paint and was delighted to find that not only were they music legends and well respected for their music performance but three at least were also teachers of the highest caliber here in Nashville. Charles Dungy taught music at Tennessee State University, Buford Majors was a vocational education teacher and a music teacher and taught in the Metropolitan Nashville School District, and James “Nick” Nixon taught guitar for our department of Parks and Recreation and still is a part of Blues in the Schools. While Renee was working at Harris Hillman School she observed the faces of children filled with delight and still remembers the squeals of laughter as children were pulled into the musical moment of Cajun swing when Nick Nixon came with the Blues in the Schools program.  The paintings took her four months of focused work. The project began in December when she took their photos at a Christmas party planned for the Musicians Aide Society. Some of the subjects were gathered through old photos donated by loved ones. Any art project requires forethought as the plains and rolling hills of facial structure are contemplated. The size of a painting is always a factor in the length of time required to accomplish its completion. R.Somers much prefers to paint from life but in this busy day and age that is sometimes impractical.  Through the spring the paintings were in process. On the Celebrate Nashville event on June 23, the paintings were hung on the side of the building next to the interstate over pass over Jefferson Street. The balloons waved in the breeze as the music wafted through the air to honor those present and those that had passed on. The children that attended had participated in neighborhood clean up on the Beasley Street alley. Young DeSean Jackson was allowed to get onto the stage and test out the drums as his brothers Richard and Marcus watched along with friends April and Chan’dreka. There were many in attendance but none so delighted as the children. It was as though the moment was for the children as they sat on the front row, entranced by the harmonica, and bass guitar of Deford Bailey Jr. and with the inspirational music provided by The Gathering Band. Nick Nixon made some melodic magic and as we all ate ice cream provided by Beverly and Ed Kendall, and chowed down on food provided by local venders it became an event that connected our past with our present. Marion James and Lady Diane belted out the music rhythms and the audience swooned over the heart felt sound.  R. Somers will be having prints made of the art series of the Jefferson Street Musicians and these will be made available in the near future. If you are interested in a copy then please respond on the reply button on this web site or email R. Somers at rsomers@t-2-t.org or rsomers@mnps.org In the subject window, please note, “The Jefferson Street Musicians. Monies derived from the sale of these prints will be donated to Arts Alive and a portion will be given to The Musicians Aide Society. The works themselves are to be displayed in local art shows for a short time, but if anyone wants to purchase the originals, please feel free to make a bid for them. Contact R. Somers at 615 415 7633 with bids or requests to display The Musicians of Jefferson Street. A final note to say, all the wonderful musicians that lived and played on Jefferson Street were not painted, only these few. There were many musicians that emerged during the 50’s through the 70’s on Jefferson Street. These are just a small sample of the abundant talent of this era. For more information of this time period of music in Nashville and beyond, please take a trip to the Music Hall of Fame downtown. There you will be able to purchase a CD called Night Train to Nashville and find more information regarding these musicians. |
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Celebrate Nashville off Jefferson Street |