"Fast and Free" genre: General Blues
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	Blues guitarist Tab Benoit, born and raised in Louisiana, may be a relative newcomer to the region's rich and centuries-old musical history, but he's clearly a product—and a disciple—of the same multicultural aesthetic. Wetlands, Benoit's first outing on Telarc, serves as clear declaration of his creative lineage.
	CD: Wetlands   Label: Telarc International Corp. Credits: Tab Benoit
	Story Behind the Song Benoit’s soulful and expressive voice and stinging guitar stay front and center throughout the thirteen tracks that make up Wetlands. Backed by the solid accompaniment of drummer Daryl White and bassist Carl Dufrene, Tab mixes classic blues and R&B nuggets with original compositions like the driving title track and the autobiographical "When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues." Tab clearly demonstrates his reverance for the indigenous music of his Louisiana homeland and his mastery of the idiom on the great Li’l Bob & the Lollipops anthem "I Got Loaded," Professor Longhair’s little-known classic "Her Mind Is Gone" (first recorded for Mercury Records half a century ago), and the Boozoo Chavis tribute "Dog Hill." Otis Redding, one of Tab’s primary vocal influences, gets a special salute with an impassioned reading of his timeless "These Arms of Mine." Tab’s versatility on guitar brings a variety of musical dimensions to Wetlands—from slow blues to swampy ballads to brisk shuffles. At various moments along the way, Benoit even extracts the irresistible Zydeco groove of accordion and rubboard from his six-stringed instrument. His vocal attack, meanwhile, is consistently heartfelt and convincing—a fusion of the historical with the personal—with Tab’s own artistic signature on each track from the first note to the last. Check out Wetlands, and hear Tab Benoit’s version of the Louisiana blues story that’s centuries old yet contemporary and relevant at the same time.

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