The J.B.'s
The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., The First Family, and The Last Word. In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, and performed and recorded as a self-contained group. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Career
The "original" J.B.'s
The J.B.'s were formed in March 1970 after most of the members of Brown's previous band walked out on him over a pay dispute. (Brown's previous bands of the 1950s and 1960s had been known as The James Brown Band and The James Brown Orchestra.) The J.B.'s initial lineup included bassist William "Bootsy" Collins and his guitarist brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins, formerly of the obscure funk band The Pacemakers; Bobby Byrd (founder of the original Famous Flames singing group) (organ), and John "Jabo" Starks (drums), both holdovers from Brown's 60s band; three inexperienced horn players, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison, and Robert McCollough; and conga player Johnny Griggs. This version of the J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Super Bad", "Soul Power", and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing". They also accompanied Brown on a European tour (during which they recorded the long-delayed live album Love Power Peace), performed on the Sex Machine double LP, and released two instrumental singles, the much-sampled "The Grunt" and "These Are the J.B.'s".
JB
JB or J.B. may refer to:
Entertainment
Sports
Justerini & Brooks
Justerini & Brooks is a fine wine business selling wines to merchants, restaurants, hotels and private clients. It is known for developing the J&B blended Scotch whisky. The company is owned by multinational Diageo plc.
Products
J&B Rare Blend, the standard J&B whisky brand, is a blend of forty-two Scottish malt and grain whiskies. Single malts Knockando, Auchroisk and Glen Spey are at its heart. In terms of flavour, its closest competitor is Cutty Sark.
Furthermore, J&B's portfolio includes:
It is aimed mainly for the export market and is available in a few different variants in Europe, America and Korea among other places. The company, originally called Johnson & Justerini, was founded in 1749 in the City of London delivering fine wine and spirits to various aristocratic households, as well as supplying King George III. In 1831, Johnson & Justerini was bought by Alfred Brooks and renamed Justerini & Brooks.
J.B. (play)
J.B. is a 1958 play written in free verse by American playwright and poet Archibald MacLeish and is a modern retelling of the story of the biblical figure Job — hence the title: J.B./Job. The play went through several incarnations before it was finally published. MacLeish began the work in 1953 as a one-act production but within three years had expanded it to a full three-act manuscript.
There are two versions of J.B. available: the original book, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the script which MacLeish revised substantially for Broadway, published by Samuel French Inc.
Plot summary
The play opens in "a corner inside an enormous circus tent". Two vendors, Mr. Zuss (evoking the chief Greek god Zeus; zuss is also German for "sweet") and Nickles (i.e. "Old Nick," a folk name for the Devil) begin the play-within-a-play by assuming the roles of God and Satan, respectively. They overhear J.B., a wealthy New York banker, describe his prosperity as a just reward for his faithfulness to God. Scorning him, Nickles wagers that J.B. will curse God if his life is ruined. Nickles and Zuss then watch as J.B.'s children are killed and his property is ruined and the former millionaire is left to the streets. J.B. is then visited by three Comforters (representing History, Science, and Religion) who each offer a different explanation for his plight. J.B. declines to believe any of them, instead asking God himself to explain. Instead he encounters Zuss and Nickles. Nickles urges him to commit suicide in order to spite God; Zuss offers him his old life back if he will promise to obey God. J.B. rejects them both, and instead finds comfort in the person of his wife Sarah. The play ends with the two building a new life together.
