Stuart “mojo Stu” Bryant has found a new groove for an old style of music. The singer and guitarist is among a growing number of country blues revivalists.

            Over the years, the style has been labeled everything from deep blues to just plain old folk music. Its history links Delta blues to Chicago blues to Rock’n’Roll, with names like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton serving as signposts.

            Rather than rehashing the licks from the old records, Bryant tries “putting some new in the old”. He sites a long list of influences. Most are old-timers: a few are still alive and still performing. They include everyone from Mississippi John Hurt to John Hammond.

            “Hopefully you’ll hear me in it”, says Bryant, who will perform at the Wildwood Summertime Blues Festival on Friday, Aug 13. “But you might hear a flavor from the past. I’m tipping my hat to those guys…paying tribute. It’s like a martial arts thing. We bow at the beginning of class. Now I’m trying to apply this custom to the music”.

            Bryant, 40, isn’t just playing around with words when he makes this comparison. He owns and operates a martial arts school in West Chester, Pa., and has earned black belts in several systems including Okinawan Kempo, Filipino Arnis, and American Boxing and Kickboxing. He also works as a luthier, repairing and rebuilding vintage instruments.

            His second album, “Good Gravy”, an independent label released in March, received high marks in the July/Aug issue of Blues Review Magazine. It is a set of country blues he performs solo.

            The opportunity to study with legendary “Philadelphia” Jerry Ricks for several years rekindled his desire to play country blues. Ricks, who spent nearly 20 years in Europe, has commanded respect for his talents since the 60’s from a diverse crowd that included the great Skip James and pop star Bonnie Raitt.

            “I didn’t walk away with a pocketful of licks.” Says Bryant who lives in West Chester, Pa. “I learned how to think about playing music and not just be a guitar player.”

            Bryant originally cut his teeth in a Philadelphia-area blues-rock band called Mojo. The group released an album in 1993. His label folded right around the time he broke up with his girlfriend. Discouraged by these, he concentrated on teaching Karate and perfecting his solo act.

            “I kind of re-discovered the awesomeness of the instrument”, he says. “I would climb out of the kitchen window and sing on the roof. The guitar echoed from the back alley: all the notes would seem to hang in the air and just slap me around. Once you get into that groove, it’s hard to stop. It feels too good!”.

            The popularity of acoustical music received a boost from MTV’s Unplugged series in the early 1990’s.

            Since then, country blues players have become increasingly visible at folk and blues festivals and at coffee houses. Keb’s Mo is flirting with stardom, but the group includes Alvin Youngblood Hart, Rory Block, Kelly Joe Phelps, Chris Thomas King and Guy Davis.

            Bryant has performed with Hart, Hammond, Maria Mulkdaur, Johny Winter and Leon Russell. He is already at work on his next album. He prefers not to dwell on the nuances of his style, or any other for that matter. He’d rather look at the different styles of the blues as being part of a continuum.

            “Every decade or so, there’s a new technology or a new artist who pushes the music forward or takes it to its next destination”. He says. “My vision is to express a hundred years worth of blues and cover every genre.”