Eric Bibb with Darick Campbell April 2, 2008

Eric Bibb’s music is a rich blend of the blues with elements of folk, country, gospel, and soul, thanks in part to his being the son of New York folksinger Leon Bibb, which afforded young Eric exposure to a wide variety of music and opportunities to meet performers like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. Bibb launched his career in Europe, performing at blues and folk festivals in London, Cambridge, and Dublin, sometimes with a full band and sometimes with slide guitarist Göran Wennerbrandt; he eventually settled permanently in Sweden, where he works as a music and voice teacher when not performing. Bibb’s debut album, Good Stuff, was released in Europe in 1997 and the U.S. a year later; it was followed by Shakin’ a Tailfeather in 1998, which featured producer Linda Tillery and a guest appearance by Taj Mahal. Home to Me arrived in 2000 and the enchanting Painting Signs followed the next summer. Natural Light appeared in 2003. This album was merely a prep for Friends, a star-studded cavalcade of performers and engineers that included Taj Mahal, Odetta, Charlie Musselwhite, Malian session aces Mamadou Diabate and Djelimady Tounkara, Martin Simpson, Kristina Olsen, Jerry Yester, and others. This record, far from being an overblown affair loaded with guests to cover a lack of imagination in song selection, is instead a virtual blueprint in how these outings should be done in the future. Its intimacy, warmth, and stellar execution make it one of Bibb’s best. A Ship Called Love, dedicated to Curtis Mayfield, was released in 2005, and later that same year a single-disc retrospective, Livin’, Lovin’ and Doin’, appeared from Hatman Records. The elegant Diamond Days arrived from Telarc Records in 2007.

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