Encore Artist Development

The Soul Of John Black is the collaboration of John Bigham and Christopher Thomas, multi-instrumentalists who have worked with an impressive array of acts, including Miles Davis, Betty Carter, Eminem, Henry Butler, Everlast, Fishbone, Joshua Redman and the Brian Blade Fellowship. Their musical backgrounds are so much more inclusive than exclusive that the result of their collaboration must have been wildly unpredictable. What has emerged, however, owes primary allegiance to funk and funk/jazz, hip-hop breakbeats and R&B. These tracks do cook. From the sexy remembrance of “Carolyn” to the monster groove of “Supa Killa”, the genre-crunching “Lost & Paranoid” and the acoustic tune “Joy”, The Soul Of John black have created a distinctive collection of polished, very hip tunes.

“The Soul Of John Black” (3 ½ stars) When you consider that the Soul Of John Black is essentially a duo it’s remarkable just how big a sound they’ve created. The pair excel at old-school funk and acoustic hip-hop, which lands them in the slipper terrain between Sly Stone and Macy Gray. “Scandalous (No. 9) is a walking-tempo, two chord funk groove that’s a good intro to the rest of the disc. Other notable tracks include the melodic “Time (Losing My Mind)” that hints at Otis Redding’s power-soul style. This is the kind of disc that won’t be on radio or MTV – but should be.

The Soul Of John Black (3 stars) Former Fishbone member finds a whole new brand of soul…THE SOUL OF JOHN BLACK, the amazing collaboration of former Fishbone multi-instrumentalist John Bigham and bassist Christopher Thomas, begins with a broad conception of soul. Instead of standard R&B loops, these guys use expansive, far-reaching melodies and rockish backing to tell their stories – which include several odes to beautiful women, a breakup song about being “trapped inside the burning wreckage of your status symbol” and, on the Stevie Wonder-ish “The Bridge”, the challenge of “I tried to build a bridge over my pain”. Where conventional soul-music wisdom says the beats must kill, Bigham lays down a tense, minimal rhythm and then concentrates on the rest of the framework: elaborate, strummed acoustic guitars that give way to groaning, distortion-heavy electrics and loose gospel harmonies that inspire the dazzling ad-libbed vocal outburst found on “Scandalous (No.)”, the tormented “Honey” and the album’s aptly named highlight, the smoldering, Afrobeat-tinged “Supa Killa”

If you were at the Apache Cafe one night around New Year's, you witnessed a rare assembly of Atlanta's hip-hop A-list. It was a music promoter's dream -- members of OutKast, Goodie Mob and Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz appearing together in one venue for just one night -- only they were appearing in the audience.

Goes straight to the roots of American music, paying a shrewdly contemporary tribute to the likes of Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters.

The Soul of John Black, “The Soul Of John Black” (No Mayo): John Bigham, formerly of Fishbone played guitar with Miles Davis, Dr. Dre and Eminem. This debut is a crisp, confident collection of soul, hip-hop and rock that’s defined by Mr. Bigham’s right-between-the-eyes vocals and acoustic guitar as well as, no surprise here, his superb musicianship.

The Young Affiliates of the Mint did it again.

Last night's Black & White Gala was a great party and great fun. The new location at the Forum added a bit of hipness to the annual fundraiser, which raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

There was a VIP area upstairs on the mezzanine. And the food, not as much as last year, was on the rooftop, which was heated and tented. The private auction was in the Pravda lounge. The party mostly drew young professionals.

The Maxx, based in Georgia, provided the music again, and they didn't disappoint. They are one of the best cover bands I've seen. They had the dance floor packed when we arrived about 9:45 p.m. They played everything from "I'm Coming Out" to "Let's Get it Started" to "September," which included a trumpet and saxophone player.

Women hiked up their little black dresses, guys unbuttoned their collars and everyone cut loose on the floor.

The Soul of John Black sometimes sound as if they're channeling the same ancestral ghosts as Otis Taylor... both embraces and transcends the blues tradition.

On his second album, ex-Fishbone and one-time Miles Davis guitarist John Bigham achieves a real-right surreality, blending blaxploitation, black water and Blue Velvet. Working mainly in haunted blues but dipping freely into other harmonic honeypots, Bigham sings the love, lust and lamentations of a complicated cat: himself. When he says “I’m gonna put in some work on you,” it means somebody’s getting a righteous schtupping and a pretty good omelet in the a.m. He says he needs a “good girl, not just anybody gon’ rock my world”: he’s talking quality and disposition and talent. He might be kooky, saying a fishy-smellin’ skeezer was the best thing he ever had and bemoaning a good girl cum coke whore with a sunny country-gospel tune (singing “She landed in the gutter/What a waste of good butter” like he just don’t care), but that’s what makes The Good Girl Blues such an enthralling, entertaining listen. It’s a funky good-time and a glimpse of Bigham’s soul, warts and all.

Heather Hayes wants you to know something: She is not her father. Can you dig it?

Growing up as Issac Hayes' daughter afforded her a comfortable life, but trying to escape his shadow hasn't been easy since she started her own music career.

If the blues is to survive and flourish, it will be because of artists like John 'J.B.' Bigham, aka the Soul of John Black.

Whild and Peach worked with André Benjamin (aka Dre) and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton of Outkast from their second album on, a whirlwind period that culminated in the 2004 double-disc, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which sold five million copies and became the first rap album to win a Grammy as Album of the Year. It also marked a transition point for Outkast.

Hayes and her band have a diverse R&B sound, mixing blues and a funk. Her high-energy shows and level of talent draw large crowds to every performance.

If you bought K-o’s Exit album and couldn’t figure out why you got stuck with a conscious rap Jewel, this Los Angeles outfit get the hip-hop-folk equation right. They coolly busk about sex, love, poverty, and paranoia in a raw, Roots-y style. This is what Sublime’s Brad Newell hears in heaven. B+

When Whild Peach takes the stage Wednesday night at Blue Cat's, the ensemble of players, as well as members of the audience, will no doubt be a melting pot of color.
After all, white kids listen to Outkast, the Atlanta superstars for whom Whild Peach has served as a backup group, as much as their African-American brothers and sisters. And the members of Whild Peach are both black and white.

The dual solo offering of Outkast was a constant presence in the car, right alongside the debut of this extraordinary talent, The Soul Of John Black. Starting at the crowded intersection of R&B and hip hop, they gather in elements of the blues and psychedelic rock and Stevie Wonderish vocal improvisation, yet never sound pretentious.

THE SOUL OF JOHN BLACK Former Fishbone guitarist takes R&B back before the day – Supper clubs lately are full of young afroed men paying smooooth homage to the sophisticated ‘70s soul of Donnie Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, but L.A.’s the Soul Of John Black hews closer to heartsick R&B like that of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. Guitarist John “JB Bigham has worked with both Miles Davis and ska-funk madmen Fishbone, but he and co-writer/bassist Christopher “CT” Thomas don’t showcase their jazz chops or try to out-eclectic fellow soul survivors like Joi and Erykah Badu. They keep their funk-rock radio friedndly and their ballads (including one about Joi) grounded. Bigham’s voice has a textured twang reminiscent of Al Green’s which makes the acoustic serenade “Time (Losing My Mind)” sends a hundred magic fingers down your spine.

For the last decade, the group OutKast has been making incredible music. But Big Boi and Andre 3000 don't just rhyme with fancy beats, and the tracks they MC to don't just come out of nowhere.

The band that helped create the original sound that OutKast has become legendary for is named Whild Peach, and the band is working on creating a separate name for itself.