Eric Bibb CD Preview

It's a story worthy of blues mythology...one night, a few years ago, noted blues guitarist Eric Bibb was approached by a fan after a London performance. Carrying a guitar case, the fan opened it up to reveal a vintage, 1930s-era Resophonic National steel guitar that once belonged to Mississippi Delta blues legend Booker T. "Bukka" White. Holding the famed instrument inspired a song, which Bibb later expanded into an entire album.

On January 26, 2010 Telarc Records will be releasing Booker's Guitar, the album inspired by Bibb's chance meeting with the fan in London. A fifteen-song collection that represents Bibb's deep connection with the Delta blues, the album-opening title track was recorded in England, Bibb using White's powerful guitar. The remainder of Booker's Guitar was recorded in rural Ohio, with Bibb using his own personal instruments, but the other songs fuse perfectly with the English recording to create a masterful updating of the Mississippi Delta blues legacy.

"Holding the guitar that Booker White had played for so many years," Bibb recalls in a press release for the album, "seeing his actual handwriting on a set list that had been taped to the side of the guitar - it all made me feel like the time was finally upon me to make a statement about my relationship with the Delta blues tradition. It was like a rite of passage, an initiation. I felt like this guitar finding its way to me was a signal that I had journeyed far enough to be able to make an honest tribute to the music of my heroes."

I've heard this incredible album, and let me tell you, with Booker's Guitar, Eric Bibb has released the first great blues album of 2010. Mark January 26th on your calendar, 'cause you're going to want this one in your blues library!

Photo courtesy Telarc Records