Keb’ Mo’ visits the Music Hall on March 22

Hand Keb’ Mo’ a slide guitar and he will play you an old-fashioned blues song.

The guitarist and singer/songwriter has become one of the foremost names in contemporary blues, combining the grit and gravel of traditional Delta roots with folksy and soulful modifications. His sound bridges the gap between Robert Johnson and Robert Cray, picking up hints of jazz and R&B influences along the way.

Born Kevin Moore in South Los Angeles in 1951, Mo’ grew up in a home filled with gospel music and popular records. His parents hailed from the deep South, connecting him to the Delta blues ancestry that sculpted his musical style. His uncle gave him his first guitar when he was a teenager, and he soon began gigging with R&B bands and pop cover groups.

Mo’ later landed a job writing songs and contracting demo sessions for A&M Records, which afforded him the opportunity to play with a number of well-known jazz and blues musicians. He released his self-titled debut disc in 1994, implementing a gritty, deep blues mentality that quickly grabbed the attention of fans and critics alike. Three of the artist’s eight studio albums have received Grammy awards for best contemporary blues album.

Mo’ released his most recent album, “Suitcase,” in June 2006. He worked with producer John Porter, who has also produced albums for B.B. King, Santana, Los Lonely Boys, Taj Mahal, Elvis Costello and others. Mo’ recorded the 12 tracks at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, where such legends as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Johnny Cash have made records.

The disc features a variety of poppy blues songs that feel slightly less raw and stripped-down than Mo’s early works. He strums his acoustic guitar and croons dreamily through many tracks, occasionally bringing in horns and pianos to garnish the rhythm. Only on a couple of tracks, notably “Suitcase” and “Whole Nutha’ Thang,” do the rich and muddy strains of Delta Blues dominate the tone.

“You won’t see me wastin’ all the money I made / And you ain’t gonna never see me drive no Escalade. / If you’re lookin’ for a handout, you’re wastin’ your time. / I wouldn’t give a crutch to a cripple; I wouldn’t give a bum a dime,” Mo’ snarls in “Whole Nutha’ Thang.”

“Suitcase” followed a 2004 release titled “Peace … Back by Popular Demand,” which featured covers of protest songs and peace ballads by artists like Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon and Elvis Costello.

“My intention for this record is to be meaningful and relevant to what I am feeling in our own time,” Mo’ said of the previous record on his Web site. “It started out as a collection of protest songs, but it evolved into an album about peace and freedom.”

Although the sentiments behind “Peace” are still highly relevant in 2007, “Suitcase” has a more laid back and personal feel, with a mix of poetic love songs, jazzy tracks and traditional blues riffs. Some tunes echo the folk style of fellow contemporary blues man Taj Mahal, employing a poppy edge that makes the songs more palatable than the Delta Blues of old. While this broadens the appeal of Keb’ Mo’s music to a wide audience, it may disappoint those seeking for the deep blues of his major influences, such as Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters.  

“The music on this record represents life happening in all of its shades and shapes,” Mo’ says on his Web site. “I hope that spirit is conveyed to the listener.”

Outside the musical arena, Keb’ Mo’ has begun to garner a reputation as an actor, appearing in several recent films and TV shows. He had the distinct honor of portraying Robert Johnson in the 1997 docu-drama “Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl,” and he made a cameo appearance in “All The King’s Men” in 2006. He also sang “America the Beautiful” in the season finale of “The West Wing,” and was featured in Martin Scorsese’s 2003 blues documentary, “Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues.” 

Keb’ Mo’ is currently in the midst of a grueling national tour that brings him from New York to Baltimore, Chicago to Milwaukee and Minneapolis to Denver. He has a total of 21 dates scheduled in March, including a stop at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Thursday, March 22.

Blues musicians have always found simple yet profound ways of expressing heartfelt truths about the human experience, and Keb’ Mo’ has kept that tradition alive. Guests at The Music Hall will have a chance to hear his thoughtful lyrics accompanied by acoustic and slide guitar skills developed over close to 40 years of playing the blues.