This Boston-based blues and soul singer’s seventh album might seem an update of the elegantly funky Stax sound, with its deep grooves and smartly harmonized horns. But Nulisch has developed his own distinctive roots music hybrid, one he’s culled from the stinging guitar blues of his native Texas (fortified by Austin guitar slinger Johnny Moeller), the swampy Excello Records vibe, Motown, Memphis, and even a little reggae.
Plus, his performances here are smooth yet searing, right from the defiant, semi-autobiographical opener, “You Don’t Know Me,” to his reworking of the Slim Harpo title cut to “Let a Woman Be a Woman,” which blends Studio One rhythm guitar with a tambourine that sounds borrowed from a Temptations single. After lending his sugar-and-dust vocal style to James Cotton’s band for three years, Nulisch — who came to prominence singing with the original Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets and Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters — is back on top of his own signature game.
DARRELL NULISCH | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | November 28 at 7:30 pm | $15 | 617.395.7757 or www.regattabarjazz.com
Editor's Note: Nulisch's show was rescheduled from October 20 until November 28.
