The Soul of John Black is an American alternative soul,blues,rock duo formed by John Bigham and Christopher Thomas.

History

John Bigham was previously a member of the band Fishbone

Fishbone

Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

 and also worked with Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

 and Everlast

Everlast (musician)

Erik Francis Schrody , better known by his stage name Everlast, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and songwriter, known for his solo hit "What It's Like" and as the front-man for rap group House of Pain. He is also part of the hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of...

, while Christopher Thomas had played with Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who records for Nonesuch Records. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991.-Biography:...

 and Betty Carter

Betty Carter

Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...

. Their first release was a self-titled album which was issued in 2002. A different self-titled release arrived in 2003 on the No Mayo label and featured a blend of soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, and hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

. NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

 named the track "Scandalous (No. 9)" one of the best of the year in All Songs Considered. By the release of the follow-up in 2007, Bigham was recording alone and essentially used the group as his own stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

. The sophomore release, The Good Girl Blues, focused on the blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 but continued to incorporate elements from jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

, rock & roll, and other styles. A third album, Black John, followed in 2009.

The Soul of John Black's "The Good Girl Blues" was nominated for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards

The Independent Music Awards

The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....

 for Blues Album of the year.

Discography

• The Soul of John Black (Self-released, 2002)
• The Soul of John Black (No Mayo, 2003)
• The Good Girl Blues (Cadabra, 2007)
• The Good Girl Blues (Yellow Dog Records
  Yellow Dog Records
  Yellow Dog Records is an American independent record label based in Memphis, Tennessee that features authentic American music - blues, jazz, soul and Americana...
  
  , 2007)
• Black John (Eclecto Groove, 2009)
• Good Thang (Yellow Dog Records
  Yellow Dog Records
  Yellow Dog Records is an American independent record label based in Memphis, Tennessee that features authentic American music - blues, jazz, soul and Americana...
  
  , 2011)