Rhythm Roots: Local music teachers inspiring the younger generation of today

Rhythm Roots: Blake High School

Briona Arradondo reports.

TAMPA - Tampa’s been a great spot for musical talent of the past and present, and the nation was reminded of that when rapper Doechii gave her hometown a shoutout at the Grammys this year.

Doechii learned music theory and more from teachers at Blake High School, a magnet school for performing arts. For two educators of the band and orchestra programs, life took unexpected turns to put them in charge of shaping our future musicians.

"My dad was my band director, and his father was also a band director. So, I’ve been exposed to instruments literally since birth," said Carmen Griffin, the director of marching and jazz bands at Blake High School.

It makes sense that Griffin would end up becoming a maestro herself, carrying on her dad’s legacy within the same walls at Blake High School. She leads the marching and jazz bands, a role she kind of fell into 16 years earlier.

"I wanted to teach English and African American History as a matter of fact and I said, well, let me just see if I like this whole teaching thing and I started subbing first," said Griffin. "The principal at the time, Jacqueline Haynes, as soon as she saw my face she said, ‘Oh no, I remember you,’ having been a student at Blake. She said, ‘I need you over that band,’ and I said, ‘Oh no, ma’am, I’d like to have a life.’"

Clearly, life had a tempo change in store.

"My kids are really leaving here with money in hand, scholarships in hand, and not everybody is pursuing music," said Griffin.

Their skills are shaped by a former professional jazz musician who played with some of the best.

"The late Ray Brown, who played with Ella Fitzgerald, the Clayton Brothers, John Clayton, who’s a master arranger and composer, Regina Carter, many jazz greats that really kind of poured into me and shaped what I hear," said Griffin.

And around those young minds, her philosophy is "music needs to be felt not heard."

Just down the hall from Griffin, different sounds fill the classroom as strings warm up and tune for rehearsal. Orchestra director Jason Jerald connects with his students in the best way he knows how, making music with them for 23 years.

"He knows when to take things not too so seriously and when to take things seriously and that’s really important," said 17-year-old Blake senior Maya McDowell, an upright bass player in Jerald’s class.

Jerald grew up in the Atlanta area, and played viola in school.

"To be honest, I probably shouldn’t be saying this on camera, but I didn’t want to teach. My primary instrument is viola, and so my goal was to be a professional violaist in the Atlanta Symphony and not be responsible for anyone. But apparently the Lord had a different plan in mind," said Jerald.

He fell in love with teaching and the idea of inspiring others.

"Growing up in Atlanta, I did not have someone to look up to that was not only a Black person, let alone a Black male in the orchestral field. That was very rare," said Jerald.

Rhythm Roots

What is not rare is hearing the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and others. So he wants his class to know there's so much more, adding African-American composers to their repertoire.

"Right around the COVID time, we did an entire program of all minorities, whether they be female, Hispanic, African American composers," said Jerald.

It includes exposure to composers like Florence Price and Samuel Coleridge Taylor.

"You’re not in it alone. There’s a grand history of people that look like us that do what we do as a people. And here at Blake High School, considering that it’s one of two historically Black high schools, I find that it is extremely extraordinary," said Jerald.

The teens in his class get it.

"My number one inspiration is Esperanza Spaulding. She is so inspirational for me because she plays upright bass like I do, and she is a woman of color with this beautiful afro. And [when I started] playing, I hadn’t seen very much of that," said McDowell.

McDowell said she’s noticed more Black artists in orchestral spaces, and she said it sets a tone for younger kids.

"I think that it’s important now more than ever that they know where is a place for them to be here and to play," said McDowell.

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Her classmate, Blake High School junior Alexius Williams, said Jerald’s class helped her come into her own as a young black musician, and she wants that for others.

"If somebody does decide to tell you that you can’t do this, or you can’t do that, make sure that you go and do it anyway and prove the world that, show them what you’re capable of," said Williams, 17.

Griffin and Jerald are showing their students that the arts mean more than just notes on a page.

"Arts education is one piece that ties in all of our other curriculum in education, whether it be science, technology, engineering, mathematics. That chair that you’re sitting in, an art student designed that," said Jerald.

The teens are learning the keys to play well in life.

"It’s always really cool for me to see the kids that are able to take those experiences that they learned in band, namely marching band, that team building and perseverance. All of those things transfer well in the real world, especially in your working life," said Griffin. "When you introduce things to young people in the right way, I think they’ll carry it carefully and treat it well."

They are creating and embracing what Blake’s future musicians are capable of.

"Classical music is the last thing people think about, but we’re out here. We’re doing our thing. We’re doing it well," said Jerald.

Both Jerald and Griffin said they are happy to see more diversity in band and orchestra spaces. They said their students inspire them, and there are many local musicians with connections to Blake.

The Source: FOX 13's Briona Arradondo researched the information for this story and conducted the interviews.

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