By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
BIBB'S BLUES
Eric Bibb
E
ric Bibb has always embraced all the
nuances of the blues. Growing up
with a folk-singing father, he was
exposed at an early age to the importance
and power of message music. Taj Mahal,
Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Richie Havens
were regular visitors to his childhood
home and ultimate musical influences. So
it makes sense that Eric doesn’t just play
acoustic guitar (which he has expertly
strummed since he was seven with a little
guidance from Bob Dylan.), but he uses it
to tell tales of struggles, empowerment,
and love. Eric fell in love with pre-war,
country blues as a twenty-something and
has been consistently covering and creat-
ing contemporary versions ever since. But
he doesn’t simply recreate old blues tunes
or updates them. Eric Bibb has explored
the global path of the blues, which traces
back to West Africa as well as blues off-
spring of soul and gospel. So his latest
release, fittingly called Global Griot
(Stony Plain Records) presents a two-disc
tour of Delta blues, Malian kora songs,
gospel, and soul, connecting them all neat-
ly together.
Opening up with the smooth anthem
“Gathering of the Tribes,” the melodic
kora and chanting of Senegalese artist Solo
Cissokho layers over Eric’s soothing cho-
rus of “ drink the pure water of forgive-
ness/sing a sweet song of mercy/let the
cornerstone of the temple be love.” A griot
is a storyteller and musician who pre-
serves the history and daily life of a peo-
ple, basically what hip hop evolved into
today. Eric takes the concept and supplies
his version of griot music with artists from
across the globe and a clear message of
enlightenment. “Wherza Money At”
attacks the greed for oil that exploits the
poor people whose land it’s siphoned
from with Kuku Ansong on trumpet and
Owura Sax on tenor delivering a tasty
Afropop beat over Eric’s call for justice.
“What’s He Gonna Say Today” points to
White House messiness and ‘the way he’s
dissing the red, white and blue.” Canadian
blues musician Harrison Kennedy adds
soulful vocals on the foot stomping blues
of “Brazos River Blues” and a rousing
cover of Big Bill Broonzy’s “Black, Brown,
and White.” Malian star Habis Koite’ joins
Eric with haunting guitar and vocals on
the contemporary blues of “We Don’t
Care” and the contagious rhythms of the
West African classic “Mami Wata
Sebastian’s Tune.”
The 24-track album supplies a memo-
rable package of music that blends history,
geography, and music seamlessly. For
those interested in how blues intersects
with other genres as well as the world, this
is an essential CD.
West Coast bluesman Kirk Fletcher
upholds the electric blues guitar tradition
with Hold On (Elaysia) a collection of
February Clearance Sale
original tunes that showcase his block-
buster fretwork and gruff vocal style. Once
the lead guitarist for the Fabulous
Thunderbirds, he knows his way around
hard-rocking, honky tonk blues. Kirk
learned to play guitar in his father’s
church, and the spirit-raising style of his
sound reflects that. Blasting off with the
effervescent opener “Two Steps Back,” he
wrings out every lick of funky blues with
Mahalia Barnes serving up feverish back-
up vocals. The tune is a night of sweaty
dancing and drinking rolled up into five
minutes with a few notes of Clapton’s
“Layla” slipped in for good measure. “You
Need Me” cools things down by conjuring
up Memphis fried blues with a touch of
gospel undertones. “Sad Sad Day” heads
into boogie-woogie blues and a nasty gui-
tar solo that is made for dancing. The
blues ballad “‘The Answer” focuses on a
melancholy vibe with lyrics like “I wish I
had a mother /and I wish I had a wife/I
work so hard to make it through the
night.” Kirk is a master guitarist, but his
vocals are slightly shaky here. The emo-
tion comes through his guitar but floats
over his singing. “Times Ticking” is a blis-
tering blues rocker with pounding percus-
sion while “Dupree” is an instrumental
gem that brims with jazzy riffs and an easy
groove. The scorching “ Gotta Right” is a
standout, with Kirk declaring and demon-
strating “I gotta a right to sing the blues.”
The solo is so vicious, with a soul-bending
Telecaster rip, that it will bring tears to
your eyes. The title song, a soul-blues bal-
lad with beautiful background vocals is
the closer for this tight, seven-track album.
The Closer is a strong indication that West
Coast blues has a new blues guitarist hero,
don’t sleep on this.
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16 illinoisentertainer.com february 2019
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