Eric Bibb was born in New York to a musical family. His father was Leon Bibb, a singer who made a name for himself as a part of the ‘60s folk scene, and his uncle is world famous jazz pianist and composer John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Bibb made a name for himself in Europe as an artist who was keeping Mississippi Delta Blues alive and pure, and has found success in the USA over the last 13 years or so. Many have compared his style to that of Keb’ Mo’, in that he has kept true to the principles and style of those Delta Blues while modernizing the arrangements to appeal to the 21st Century ear.

With his new album, “Booker’s Guitar,” he gets back to the basics, to the raw simplicity and beauty of the blues, inspired by the great blues guitarist Booker (aka Bukka) White - actually, inspired by his guitar! As explained in the liner notes of the album, Bibb was approached by a fan after a show in the UK who offered to let him see and play the National guitar that belonged to the famous bluesman, explaining that he was a big fan and appreciated the fact that he, of a new generation, was keeping the “great acoustic blues tradition alive.”

Bibb met the man the next day and had an epiphany. “Spiritually, the experience of playing Booker White’s guitar took my personal connection to traditional country blues to another level. It actually felt like an initiation and a benediction,” he writes in the liner notes. So inspired, he set out to “offer a handmade tribute to the music and musicians of a bygone era,” which he has accomplished in grand style.

Recorded in the Bainbridge Store, a 19th Century General Store at the Geauga County Historical Society Century Village in Burton, Ohio, he laid down 15 songs in two days, with his only accompaniment being Grant Dermody playing harmonica. He has created a beautiful, intense, intimate and lovingly performed set of songs that any blues aficianado, or just anyone who appreciates good music, will cherish.

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