Filipino singer-songwriter Aireene Espiritu churns out Americana roots on the tenor ukulele.

It went down at a San Francisco bookstore about 10 years ago: Alan Lomax’s 500-page cultural odyssey of the blues serendipitously dropped to the floor next to Aireene Espiritu’s right heel.

Today the Oakland-based musician credits the work of nonfiction – along with the Carl Reiner film The Jerk, poetically enough – as the two elements that molded her into the musician she is today.

“It was like I was meant to read that book,” she says.

At that time, Espiritu had been trying her hand as a singer-songwriter but claims because she “sucked” as a guitarist, she stopped writing songs and stuck to singing in other people’s bands. But after devouring Lomax’s seminal work of ethnomusicology, Espiritu was inspired to expand her musical horizons: She joined a gospel choir and world music band, which taught her about African rhythms and Latin American music. There was a new world presenting itself to Espiritu, one in which the blues was more than one of America’s purest art forms – it was a personification of faith and anguish.

As a Filipino, Espiritu’s understanding of the blues runs deeper.

“Even though most of the Philippines is poor, there’s always a perpetual sense of hope that things will get better tomorrow,” she says.

Shortly after reading The Land Where the Blues Began, Espiritu had another musical moment of clarity while watching the absurdist classic, The Jerk.

“It took Steve Martin playing the ukulele to Bernadette Peters to get me curious about the ukulele,” she says.

Espiritu promptly scored a vintage Montgomery Ward Airline model uke. She began writing songs again. It got even better when she scored a 1950s Martin tenor ukulele, which she felt yielded a sound that better accompanied her voice. Armed with her trusty little instrument, Espiritu has spent the past decade channeling the hope and despair that fuels the blues.

The unforced and minimal “Lullaby of War,” inspired by an article about children soldiers in Africa, is a reminder that there are always hardships somewhere in the world.

Meanwhile, Espiritu wrote “Fortune Lady” after an astrology reading many years back. It’s about remaining hopeful even when you already know your destiny. Espiritu’s vocal range tells the story, eliciting the invincibility of a young Dolly Parton and blue-collar work ethic of Loretta Lynn.

AIREENE AND THE HOBOS perform at 9pm Saturday, Dec. 21, at Fernwood, 47200 Highway 1, Big Sur. Free. 667-2422, www.fernwoodbigsur.com