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 a clear declaration of his creative lineage. The album is a contemporary bluesman´s nod to the Cajun and Zydeco elements embedded in the Louisiana blues story. Backed by the solid accompaniment of drummer Darryl 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. Benoit demonstrates his reverence 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, and the Boozoo Chavis tribute Dog Hill. Otis Redding, one of Benoit´s primary vocal influences, gets a special salute with an impassioned reading of Redding´s timeless These Arms of Mine. Benoit´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, he even extracts the irresistible Zydeco groove of accordion and rubboard from his six-stringed instrument. His vocal attack, meanwhile, is consistently heartfelt and convincing Ñ a fusion of the historical with the personal.