Bio
JACKSON
FRUTELAND
Solo Acoustic Musician Sevices * Oral Historian Blues Lecturer and Storyteller
B. Greenaway
About The Artist
"... the musical and emotional authenticity of the performances carries the ring of absolute truth." - Blues Revue.
University of Chicago Blues Fest
Electro-Fi recording artist Fruteland Jackson is a HistoryMaker (www.thehistorymakers.com).
A musician, author, storyteller, and oral historian, Jackson plays traditional acoustic blues and other traditional styles. He is a five-time Blues Music Award Nominee and recipient of the Blues Foundation's "Keeping the Blues Alive" award. Since 1992 he has presented the award-winning *All About the Blues Series- Blues in the School Programs. Fruteland works to bring more music education to our schools. His program motto is "Try, Trust, and Triumph."
Fruteland's latest CD," Good as Your Last Dollar," was nominated for BMA in 2020 for Best Acoustic Album and Best Acoustic Artist on Electro-Fi Records.
Fruteland debuted his new Storytelling CD release" Singing the Blues with Stories Vol. I" This CD Includes Stewball (The Blind Racehorse and The Life and Legend of Robert Johnson. Available on IT Records.
"Fruteland Jackson is foremost an entertainer, a man who knows how to tell a compelling story and mesmerize an audience with his tangy tales to make them laugh." "He knows who he is. He toured with Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Homesick James. He is an artist." – Living Blues Magazine - Ask Alexa to Play Fruteland Jackson's new CD.
773-366-2271
Alsip, IL 60803
"Jackson's secret weapon is his song-writing; his mastery of prewar idioms is frightening in its totality Jackson's secret weapon is his song-writing" - Blues Revue
Horse Theif Hollow, Chicago
Buddy Guys Legends, Chicago 1993
Fruteland plays acoustic guitar, focusing on pre-war and post-war blues ranging from Robert Johnson and Big Bill Broonzey to Memphis Minnie and Elizabeth Cotton, ragtime, and other blues styles.
Old Towne School Of Folk Music, Chicago
" Forthright and intelligent. singer-guitarist Jackson has the style and improvisational instinct to carry on as one of the premier acoustic blues artists today. " "Chicago folk-blues ambassador Fruteland Jackson..." DownBeat Jazz Magazine
Toronto, Canada
"But speaking the language like a native is something else entirely, and Fruteland Jackson knows how to do both — and how to translate for the rest of us."
Blues 2.0
Listen Now
"Jackson’s plaintive and anguished vocals extolling the fact that he still considers himself a “modern-day slave”, the starkness of the delivery further enhance by a chanted chorus, the solitary instrument a “big boom drum”. - Blues in Britain Magazine
Buddy Guy Legends, Chicago,Il
Library Adult Programming
"The Emergence and Evovlement of Blues Music in American Culture"
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The African Connection - "NOMMO" Power of the Spoken Word.
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The Sotherhern Legacy - Mississippi Delta, East Texas, and Piedmont Regions - W.C. Handy, The Father of the Blues
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The Urban Conversion - The Great Migration, Chicago Blues Tradition, Roots of Rock and Roll - Legendary Blues musician Willie Dixon - Q and A
American Library Association, Lyons Public Library, Palos Park Library, Anaconda Public Library, Glen Ellyn Public Library, Bensenville Public Library, and South Holland Library. Alsip/Marionette Public Library, Midlothian Public Library, MT Prospect Public Library, Vernon Area Public Library District, Libertyville High School, Waukegan Jewish Museum, and the Levy Center for Seniors.
Past visits in Chicago and its suburbs include:
Explore Blues Music Through Song and Lecture
What is Blues 101
"Blues 101" is a "How to"guide that teaches how to present Blues music in School programs (BITS). It consists of three high-definition video sessions for elementary, middle, and high school grades. This program aims to help educators, artists, and anyone interested in keeping the Blues music alive by offering a proven approach and methods to reach students effectively. Fruteland Jackson, who has over 30 years of experience in transmitting Blues culture to the next generation through lectures, performances, and workshops, has created this program that has reached over one million students. You can download the program below.
Our Aim
We have created a DVD named "Blues 101" to promote and raise awareness of Blues music. This DVD and Tutorials is specifically designed for elementary, middle, and high school grade levels, and it includes three high-definition videos with presentations by Fruteland Jackson, a musician and oral historian. Blues 101 aims to assist educators, artists, and individuals interested in keeping the Blues music alive. It also provides supplementary content about organizing and administering Blues in the School programs in the classroom.
Each video is $14.95 for ONLINE STREAMING
Videos can be downloaded and watched on a computer, cellphone, or SMART TV.
Hardcopy DVD 34.95 + S&H
ELEMENTARY GRADES
BLUES 101
GET ALL 3 VIDEOS PLUS TUTORIALS
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES
BLUES 101
A link to supplementary materials for the DVD will be emailed after the purchase.
For Educators and Artists or individuals interested in keeping the"Blues Alive."
HIGH SCHOOL GRADES
BLUES 101
Magazines may email frutejack@gmail.com to receive a Review Copy
Supplementary Tutorial and Guides for Organizing and Administering Blues in the Schools Programs are $19.95
NEWS, REVIEWS, ARTICLES and Misc
Fruteland Jackson is a HISTORYMAKER
Fruteland Jackson is The Blues Foundation's Keeping the Blues Alive Recipient
Fruteland Jackson is a Five Time Blues Music Award Nominee Best Album-Best Artist
"One-Millionth Student" Blues in the Schools Celebration.
Piedmont Blues Society Greensboro, NC 2010
All YouTube Videos - Fruteland Jackson Channel
Video of "Windy City" by Fruteland Jackson and Inna Melnikov
Tour Schedule
Ask Amazon Alexa to Play Fruteland Jackson's Music
Five-Time Blues Music Award Nominee
Play on Youtube or ask Amazon Alexa
Click here to buy this CD
Click here to buy this CD
Click here to buy this CD