Black Pumas' Mighty Roar

The Austin duo surprise even themselves with the retro-soul magic that happens when they team up — and the Grammys agree

- DAVID BROWNE

A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO, no one had huge expectations for Black Pumas, including its two founding members. Guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada had left the Grammy-winning Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma and needed a singer for instrumentals he’d cut in his home base of Austin. A friend turned him on to Eric Burton, a busker from L.A. who had grown up with gospel and was 13 years Quesada’s junior. Neither man had heard of the other, and it took Burton a few days to return Quesada’s call. “I was talking to my friends, and they said, ‘Dude, hit that guy back up,’ ” Burton r