Services, celebrations planned in memory of blues musician John Cephas

Tributes set in honor of blues musician Cephas

A "Reflections of Life Celebration" service for John Dudley Cephas, offering musicians who knew the legendary Piedmont blues guitarist an opportunity to perform, will be held at noon Saturday in Bowling Green.

Woodford resident Yolanda Johnson, a daughter of Mr. Cephas, said that musicians Jeffrey Scott, Gregg Kimball, John Lohman and Earl Privett are expected to attend and may perform.

Before the service at the Caroline County Community Center, family members will receive condolences from 11 a.m. until noon. Mr. Cephas' flag-draped coffin will be present at the center, 17202 Richmond Turnpike.

Burial will be at Quantico National Cemetery at a later date.

A John Cephas Memorial also will be held in Washington on March 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Baird Auditorium in the National Museum of Natural History, at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue.

Mr. Cephas, 78, died March 4 at home in Woodford in Caroline.

Phil Wiggins, his longtime musical collaborator, is organizing the Washington event with the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation. Representatives of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Smithsonian Institution will speak, and musicians will perform.

Afterward, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. S.W., in Washington, a House Party Jam in honor of Mr. Cephas will re-create the learning atmosphere that "John spoke of as being so important to him," Wiggins said.

Wiggins, who played harmonica with Mr. Cephas for 34 years, said he was "probably the foremost master of Piedmont style blues. He took that style all over the world. We performed on every continent, except Antarctica."

Reflecting on the loss, Wiggins said: "I was just thinking the other day of a particular song that we used to play. I'll probably never play that song again. It's one that I learned from him. It's very difficult, and it's not well-known."

Rick Franklin, a Piedmont blues guitarist in Northern Virginia, recalled Mr. Cephas as the last of the "three giants" of the Piedmont blues guitar style, the others being the late John Jackson of Tappahannock and Archie Edwards from Franklin County.

"I remember that he was always generous with the music. He would stop and show you something and have the patience to teach you," Franklin said.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Cephas is survived by a longtime partner, Lynn Volpe; two sons, Carlyle Cephas of Woodford and Christopher Cephas of Upper Marlboro, Md; four other daughters, LaVerne Waller of Cheverly, Md., Kathaline Cephas and Donna Perkins of Spotsylvania County, and Emily Cephas of Seattle; two stepdaughters, Earline Stevenson and Pearline Lessame of Woodford; and 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Arrangements are being handled by C.W. Edwards Funeral Home in Bowling Green.

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .