PERFORMER: The Soul of John Black (www.yellowdogrecords.com)
CD: “The Good Girl Blues” (Yellow Dog)

The second release from former Fishbone guitarist/keyboardist John “J.B.” Bigham’s band The Soul of John Black, “The Good Girl Blues” explores a rich tapestry of blues, R&B and soul that’s all but an endangered species. It opens with “The Hole,” a black, à capella field chant that sets up a funky groove that showcases Bigham’s acrobatic soul croon. From there, he takes on straight-up, slow blues (“The Moon Blues”), the funked-up, Southern-fried “Swamp Thang” (a cross between Poonanny and Tony Joe White) and countryish “One Hit” (reminiscent of Brewer and Shipley’s ’60s hit “One Toke Over the Line”), and the simmering soul of “Feelin’s.”

With plenty of femm-e background vocals, “Good Girl” gives the blues a different twist while “Moanin’” is exactly that — an old-school moan with nothing but Bigham’s wordless vocals and an acoustic guitar.

Having played with Miles Davis, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Bruce Hornsby and Everlast, Bigham brings a wealth of experience to his music, making his “blues” a “spirit” more than simply a musical form. Bigham takes ample cues from the likes of Leadbelly and John Lee Hooker, as well as absorbing the influence of people like Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’ and Robert Cray. With any luck, this signals an innovative resurgence of the blues by black artists, most of whom have opted to steer clear of the genre for some time.

– By Michael Lipton 

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