How Memphis roots-blues musician Jad Tariq makes the old sound new again on debut album

Ask Jad Tariq to name a few of his favorite musicians and singers, and he'll quickly reel off a list of names, both popular and obscure: Big Joe Turner, Louis Prima, Oscar Moore, Floyd Smith, Billy Butler. The influence of those great old R&B, jump blues and jazz artists can be heard on "Jad Tariq Sings…", the debut album by the 28-year-old guitarist/vocalist that comes out March 7.  

Given his busy touring schedule — he's currently on the road with the Memphis Rhythm Review, his group with Wyly Bigger and Benton Parker, and will next head out with bluesman Tony Holiday in Europe — Tariq may not get to celebrate with a local show for several months.

"This past year was a crazy touring year for me, I was was gone 6 or 7 months on the road," said Tariq, who has become one of the rising young stars — along with Bigger, Parker and Jon Hay — leading a retro roots music renaissance in the Bluff City.

The son of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Tariq grew up in Connecticut, where he was exposed to a wide range of music. "In the car, my dad would play lot of Arabic CDs, but he also loved Elvis and he listened to Eric Clapton," he said. "My mom liked a lot of rock 'n' roll, but she also listened to a lot of swing — Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Dean Martin."

Though he would end up studying classical bass, Tariq picked up guitar as a boy and found direction after watching a video of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Stax Records bluesman Albert King. "I was already hip to Stevie Ray Vaughan, but it was really seeing Albert King that blew my mind — there was so much power to it," said Tariq, who was soon tracing back through the work of other six-string practitioners like B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian and Lonnie Johnson.  

From Connecticut to Rhodes College

Tariq started his professional life early, playing his first gigs as a 12-year-old. "I was playing [covers] in bars around Connecticut and then had an original band in high school that was playing in New York City." After high school, Tariq came to Memphis to attend Rhodes College, where he studied business, though his focus was more on the Bluff City's rich musical history. "So much of the stuff that I listened to as a kid came from Memphis, so it kind of seemed like a good place for me to be."

As a senior at Rhodes, Tariq began turning up at gigs by Memphis musician and Blues Music Award-winning singer John Németh , who eventually let him sit in with the band. Tariq's sharp, stylish playing quickly won over Németh. "First time I met Jad was at the Railgarten during a winter residency gig," recalls Németh. "I got him up to jam, and he lit the place up. A fan was so inspired that he ran to the stage with flaming shots of Bacardi 151. Jad took the shot during his solo without blowing out the flame. Then drank a pint of beer to cool it off. After the show I asked him to tour with me."

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Tariq would go on the road with the singer and appeared on Németh's 2023 concert LP, "Live From The Fallout Shelter." Németh notes that Tariq's blues and R&B chops are impressive, but that "I really love when he incorporates his Palestinian heritage and those sounds into his music. It's super unique."

After getting his break with Németh, gigs with local roots and blues music merchants like John Paul Keith and Earl the Pearl followed, further honing Tariq's skills on stage. "Learning on the bandstand — I would consider that the real education I got in Memphis," Tariq says, laughing. "There's certain things and elements about playing with other people that you can't learn in a classroom, or from watching a video or practicing on your own. You can only learn it when you're under fire on stage."

How debut album 'Jad Tariq Sings…' came together

Tariq notes that he wasn't planning on staying in Memphis after graduating college. "But I had already done a couple Nemeth tours. Then I started getting calls for other gigs in town. At first, I was playing like once a week, twice a week — then you're playing like five nights a week, making some money and having a lot of fun."

In between his road work, Tariq and his housemates set up their own home studio, Lola's Place Recording, where he began cutting a few tracks, which eventually evolved into his album, "Jad Tariq Sings…"

"I really wanted my record to sound old school because that's what I listen to," he says. "I wanted it to sound airy and like you're in the room with the band. Some of my favorite records have that sound where you can almost picture the type of room that the musicians are in."

The album — which mixes a batch of ebullient Tariq originals (including first single "Flapjack") with covers of songs by Walker, King and Wynonie Harris — features a core band of local vets, including Art Edmaiston on saxophone, Carl Caspersen and bass, Gerald Stevens and Bigger on piano, and Earl Lowe on drums.

"I sent out quick iPhone voice memos to the band and was like, 'Let's get into the studio and cut this.' I'm not the kind of guy who likes to over plan," Tariq said. "I want the music to be kind of raw and loose. And we got in there and found arrangements that we thought were cool, and I don't think we did more than two or three takes on any of the tunes. We just rocked on through them."

After cutting the tracks in Memphis, Tariq sent the record up to New Jersey to his friend Dave Gross to mix and master it. The Momojo label — an imprint of the Nola Blue record company, whose roster includes Németh — signed up to release the LP.

Tariq's album draws heavily on a tradition of late-'40s and early '50s R&B, blues and jazz. "It's definitely blues that has a rock 'n' roll feel to it," he said. "Guys like T-Bone Walker, the jump blues thing, had jazz elements and swing elements. If you look at the Fats Domino or even the Little Richard records, a lot of that stuff had jazz musicians in the band. Rock 'n' roll was really created by jazz musicians and jazz session players."

"In the end, I guess I classify what I do as rhythm and blues, but there's a lot of different kinds of music in there too," he added.  "It's all the stuff I love and listen to. I'm just trying to put my own spin on it."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jad Tariq talks debut album, Memphis music influences and more