Today we’d like to introduce you to Clifford Jones.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing piano in Evander Child’s High school located in the Bronx New York when I was in tenth grade at the age of 14 years old. I took a music appreciation class where I learned music fundamentals such as note values, rests, rhythms, chords, and even how to read music. The game changer though was when we studied famous classical composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. After class was over, I would go home and listen to their beautiful piano works. As I continued to do this, I ended up printing out their music and would try to play it. At first, the process was slow but eventually, I got a hang of it. After the class ended for the next three years, I taught myself.
My technique, my understanding, and my love for classical piano increased tremendously because of the works by Chopin and Liszt. Their music although deemed impossible at first, motivated me to master the piano. At the age of 17, my granny not only bought me my first piano but she also paid for piano lessons at the famed NYC arts-based school Harlem School of the Arts. Over the next eight years between HSA and college (Lehman College) my talents and passion for piano increased even more. I performed at various churches throughout NYC, hotels and even did a fundraiser event for HSA at the world-famous Apollo Theater located in NYC.
These last nine years (25-34) I have been blessed to be able to be in a position to teach at the same school that fueled my passion for piano (Harlem School of the Arts) and inspires future generations of black and brown kids to play classical piano. As well as I have performed in my first two solo piano recitals music by favorite composers Franz Liszt as well as my own compositions.
In these last two years, I started my own online piano teaching business called The 88 Keys of Intellectual Property Academy (88 KIP Academy) which services students as young as four years old to as old as 95 (my granny). I have been blessed to be able to teach students from Africa, England, Washington, Orlando, Sacramento, and other various locations.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been a bumpy one. When I first started playing piano, people labeled me a sellout or not being black enough because I play classical piano. When I would go to certain functions as soon as I walked in, I would be racially profiled. I’ve had family meme bees try to deter me from pursuing my passion by saying I won’t make any money. Besides that, at times I would get in my own way with the normalized self-doubt.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For work, I am a piano teacher through two nonprofits. The first one is Harlem School of the Arts where I’ve been a piano teacher to young kids for the past nine years. I also work at a nonprofit called OPUS where I am placed at a school and teach piano to young kids as well. I also am an online business owner of a piano school called the 88 KIP ACADEMY (88 KEYS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ACADEMY), where o service students from around the world as young as four years old to as old as my granny’s age 95. Besides that, I am also a rap producer for the past 12 years and a classical piano composer. I have hundreds of beats under the moniker CJ3 PRODUCTIONZ on any streaming service. I am also a classical piano composer heavily influenced by my favorite composer Franz Liszt.
I am known for my love and passion for being a black classical pianist and how I advocate for future generations of black and brown kids to learn piano. It is also what separates me from others. There aren’t many black people in the classical world, and despite the blatant and closet racism I have faced, I will never stop playing piano and inspiring future generations to play classical piano.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is my first Christmas at six years old when I moved in with my grandparents. My granny stayed up the night before Christmas wrapping gifts and cooking Christmas dinner. I woke up Christmas morning with my older brother and he convinced me to open my gifts and let my granny sleep due to her being up the night before. So I opened the first big gift which said “To Clifford Love Santa” (same handwriting as my granny’s which I would figure out years later lmao) and it was my first gaming system SEGA Genesis! My excitement woke my granny up and she was so sad cuz she wanted to capture the moment when I opened the present. So we re-wrapped the Sega genesis and l opened it up again so she could snap my excitement on her Polaroid camera lmao.
Pricing:
- Piano Consultations: $75 1 hour, $60 45 minutes, $50 30 Minutes
- 88 Kip Academy Piano lessons 4 half hour lessons $150
- 88 Kip Academy Piano lessons 4 Forty Five minute lessons $200
- 88 Kip Academy Piano lessons 4 1 hour lessons $250
- To book me for your event: My rate starts at $350
Contact Info:
- Website: www.88KIP.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/88kipacademy/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/108249860996762/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/cliffman16
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/cliff_jones_pianist/
