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6/28/2007

Mark Mays

The band’s frontman, songwriter and producer is John Bigham, former guitarist for the influential ska-funk group Fishbone. After leaving the volatile band in the late ’90s, Bigham formed The Soul of John Black with bass player Chris Thomas, a veteran of the jazz scene. Their debut disc gave some of the same flavors as a Fishbone record—rollicking funk, danceable hip-hop beats and Bigham’s monstrous rock guitar playing. Yet Bigham’s crew managed one thing Fishbone was rarely able to do well: lull you to bliss with a soulful ballad. This skill is likely due to jazz and blues influences (Bigham wrote a song for Miles Davis), and it’s the blues chops Bigham showcases on his recent release, Good Girl Blues. With Nikka Costa’s backing band alongside, Bigham covers blues styles from one end of the Mississippi River to the other, from John Lee Hooker’s “mean lick” one-chord aggression to Leadbelly’s dark yearning. The record is no mere recitation of blues classics, though. Bigham’s production modernizes things with funky beats and ambient electronica when appropriate, and his sense of pop hooks makes the music accessible to those who just like a good groove.