‘Queen of Blues’ Denise LaSalle’s legacy lives on with music camp

JACKSON, Tenn. — The old Jackson Central-Merry High School band room was full of music as the Denise LaSalle music camp kicked off Monday.

“What we’re seeking to do is reach out to kids in the neighborhood and begin to introduce them to music and the industry and begin to mentor them in terms of success,” said Daryll H. Coleman, division chair for liberal studies and education at Lane College.

This was a dream of LaSalle’s before she died in January.

“She always had a spirit of taking care of the blues and making sure it never dies,” James “Super” Wolfe, LaSalle’s husband, said.

Students are getting the chance to learn to play not only blues, but gospel and jazz too.

Jada Peyton has been playing the clarinet for two years.

“I’m hoping to learn more about the notes and about the whole culture itself, ’cause right now it’s just the music that we have right now. We don’t pay attention to the music they’re presenting us with,” Peyton said.

The camp was free for all students. Organizers say they hope students leave the camp knowing more than just how to read music.

“I hope they’ve gotten some good moral values, and they’ve begun to see the potential they have, that they leave here transformed,” Coleman said.

This camp is also a precursor for the Denise LaSalle Blues Academy coming to Jackson in 2019.

Over the next two weeks, they’ll bring in all types of artists to teach the students, and they’ll have a finale concert on June 15.