Guitarist Jesse Black, 14, has performed 160 times in seven states over the past four years. He is a member of the Kentucky and Nashville blues societies and will perform as part of a blues showcase at B. B. King’s in Memphis.ABOUT HIM
• School: Ninth-grader at Marion County High School.• Siblings: Sister, Chelsea, 24.• Favorite song to play: “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan.• Musical idol(s): Don Henley (vocals) and Jimmy Page (guitar).• Favorite movie: “The Blues Brothers.”
CLAIM TO FAME
Guitarist Jesse Black, 14, has performed 160 times in seven states over the past four years. He is a member of the Nashville and Kentucky blues societies and will perform as part of a blues showcase at B.B. King’s in Memphis.
TALENT SHOW
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“The Sound of Music” teaches that the beginning is a fine place to start for any budding musician. Jesse Black’s problem was figuring out what came next.
About six months after he picked up the guitar at age 10, Jesse made his stage debut during an open jam at the Lakeside Officer’s Club on Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, Tenn. At the time, his repertoire consisted entirely of intros to classic rock standards, but his rendition of the signature guitar lick leading into Guns ‘n Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” received a rousing response from the packed club.