Bringing It All Back Home

Eric Bibb comes from a musical place. His father, folk-singer Leon Bibb, made a name for himself in the 1960s New York folk scene, his uncle was John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the legendary Paul Robeson was his godfather. Bibb grew up surrounded by musical icons. Bob Dylan advised him to “keep it simple, and forget all that fancy stuff.” Taj Mahal said, “much to my delight, [Eric] has a great voice, is an excellent performer, and has a great knowledge about the roots of this music.” Friend and mentor Odetta called him “Eric the delicious.” Bibb didn’t have to be a folk singer – he briefly rejected his musical pedigree and studied psychology and Russian at Columbia University. He came to understand and appreciate his musical heritage however, and at the age of 19, went to Paris with noted guitarist Mickey Baker to fulfill his destiny. Were the folk music boom still alive, Eric Bibb would most likely be a household name.

An Evening With Eric Bibb (M.C.) is guitarist/singer-songwriter/storyteller Bibb’s first live CD. Recorded at the Basement Club in Sydney, Australia in 2002, Bibb and bassist Dave Bronze launch into the spirited, funky original “Good Stuff,” reminiscent of Bibb’s mentor, Taj Mahal: “You’ve got the good stuff, momma, where you been so long?” “Shingle By Shingle” is a gentle, Mississippi John Hurt-inspired tune about self-discovery and love: “Shingle by shingle, I’m patching up the roof/love makes a change and I’m living proof.” Bibb thanks Taj for sending him the traditional song “Needed Time,” a gentle gospel tune that calls out for the Lord’s healing power, and Bibb keeps it biblical on the rousing traditional tune “Lonesome Valley.” He pays tribute to his godfather on the bluesy “Don’t Ever Let Your Spirit Down” and to his “favorite 10-year-old” on the whimsical instrumental “Sebastian’s Tune.”

An Evening With Eric Bibb is a tapestry of contemporary and traditional folk music. “Got To Do Better” is a protest song with an ostinato beat about the way we are now that brings it down to the most elemental. After running down the ills of contemporary society, Bibb exhorts, “We got to do better, when it comes to the golden rule/obey it to the letter/everything will be cool/’cause hatred is a luxury the price is too high/we got to do better if we want to survive.” “Panama Hat” is a whimsical Taj-inspired fan favorite, conjuring images of flower children and folk festivals gone by. If you were ever a folkie, it will take you back in time. Bibb concludes the CD with a rousing version of Reverend Gary Davis’ “I Heard The Angels Singing.”

Bibb is a warm, engaging performer and a masterful guitarist who is keeping the folk tradition alive. According to legendary guitarist John Cephas (one half of the guitar/harmonica duo Cephas & Wiggins), Eric Bibb is “right on time.”

NEW RELEASES: Truth (Concord), the latest CD by avant-garde bluesman Robben Ford, is Ford’s take on today’s world. The opener, “Lateral Climb,” is a personal song that deals with modern-day problems like credit-card debt and the seemingly endless struggle to get ahead. “Peace On My Mind” is an anti-war song with the words “The call to war is blind man leading blind/every day more and more I’ve got peace on my mind.” Ford teamed up with Keb’ Mo’ to write a poetic tribute to B.B. King entitled “Riley B. King.” It is an airy, jazzy number with the refrain, “By the light of the moon, over the ocean/Riley B. King, he’s the king of emotion/his royal blue is like the deep blue sea, Riley King.” The tune “You’re Going To Need A Friend,” written with his wife, Anne Kerry Ford, is reminiscent of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone,” describing an Edie Sedgwick-type character, who is burning too many bridges. Special guests include Susan Tedeschi (“One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor”), Bernie Worrell and Charley Drayton from Keith Richards And The Expensive Winos) R&B vocalist Siedah Garrett, Gary Novak, and Chris Chaney . . . “If the Devil was a woman, she’d look exactly like my girl.” So says Irish fretman/vocalist Gary Moore on “If The Devil Made Whiskey,” from his new CD, Close As You Get (Eagle). Renowned for his stint in Thin Lizzy, Moore gets little recognition in this country for his prodigious blues chops, but he is a bluesman who gets it. Check out the impassioned solo on the deep blue original “Trouble At Home,” the rockin’ shuffle “Eyesight To The Blind,” and the Son House acoustic masterpiece, “Sundown.”

R.I.P. Edward “Eddie” Berner: Eddie Berner, or “Blues Eddie,” passed away at the age of 74 on Monday, September 10th, after surgery at St. Joseph’s hospital. Berner was dubbed Chicago’s No. 1 Blues Fan, by the City Of Chicago, and by the many musicians whose music he supported with unending enthusiasm.

Berner was Chicago’s unofficial ambassador of the blues. He could be found nightly at clubs throughout the city and suburbs standing in front of the stage, urging the musicians on, and simultaneously exhorting the audience to show their enthusiasm. Berner loved the ladies and charmed female fans and blues women alike. Rejected by his parents early on (he was left with slight brain damage by a childhood illness and institutionalized for many years) he embraced the blues community and the powerful music that resonated in his soul. Eddie was one of a kind. The Chicago blues scene has lost its best and most enthusiastic cheerleader. May he rest in peace.

– Beverly Zeldin-Palmer

Category: Columns, Monthly, Sweet Home