Somewhere over the last 40 years or so, this purple wig-wearing R&B pioneer dropped his slavish Wynonie Harris imitations and became his own man, learning how to play piano to boot. His long-overdue debut album joyously recalls the heyday of jump blues via salacious rockers like “Meatloaf” and “Shake Your Apple Tree.” Ferguson’s young band, the Medicine Men, do a fine job of laying down exciting grooves behind the singer. – Bill Dahl