J.D. Short

Gifted having a stunning and almost immediately identifable vocal design characterized by an incredible vibrato, J.D. Brief was also an extremely flexible musician. He performed piano, saxophone, acoustic guitar, harmonica, clarinet and drums. Developing up in the Mississippi Delta, Brief learned acoustic guitar and piano. He was a regular performer at home celebrations before he relocated to St. Louis in the ’20s. Brief used the Neckbones, Henry Spaulding, Honeyboy Edwards, Douglas Williams, and Big Joe Williams from your ’30s before early ’60s. He documented for Vocalion, Delmark, Folkways, and Sonet. Brief is at the 1963 documentary The Blues, but passed away before it had been released.