MAY 2013: James Cotton On NPR's Weekend Edition And In Rolling Stone - Trombone Shorty Recently Featured On NPR's Talk Of The Nation
James Cotton was featured on one of NPR's flagship programs, Weekend Edition, on Saturday, May 11, 2013. The interview came just four days after the release of Cotton Mouth Man - Cotton's brand new autobiographical album which features special collaborators Gregg Allman, Keb' Mo', Delbert McClinton, and Rosebud artist and 2013 Blues Music Award winner (for Best Traditional Blues Female Artist), Ruthie Foster, telling his story. The program is now avilable online at NPR Weekend Edition: James Cotton: 'The Voice Is Gone, But The Wind Is Still There'. In addition to Weekend Edition, watch for Cotton on NPR again on an upcoming episode of World Café. For more details on that click here.
On reviewing the new album, Rolling Stone proclaimed that Cotton is "A world-class harmonica-playing bluesman... boasting fine musicianship and the same undeniable spirit Cotton has displayed for close to 60 years now," while Chicago Tribune stated, "Listen to Cotton's harmonica playing on the album - gritty, gutsy, ferociously uninhibited - and you're hearing what great blues harp work is all about. No wonder they call him 'Superharp.'" To read Rolling Stone's review click here, and to read Chicago Tribune's full article and interview click here.
Also on NPR, Trombone Shorty was featured on Talk of the Nation on May 7, 2013 in an interview along with WWNO correspondent, Gwen Thompkins. The program focused on the state of New Orleans since its struggle with the recession, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and multiple hurricanes since Katrina. In addition to discussing the Trombone Shorty Foundation and Shorty's recent prestigious performance closing the 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the program also highlighted the unique experiences of visitors to the city of New Orleans with host Neil Conan asking listeners to join the conversation and share their "post card from New Orleans." To listen to the full show click here.
APRIL 2013: USA Today Streaming James Cotton's New Star Studded CD, Cotton Mouth Man
USA Today is streaming James Cotton's new CD, Cotton Mouth Man, in it's entirety and it is available to listen to online now. The CD will be officially released on May 7. The USA Today exclusive includes an interview with the legendary Blues harmonica player who is also widely known as "Mr. Superharp." To hear the album in full, check out USA Today: Album premiere: James Cotton's 'Cotton Mouth Man'.
Cotton Mouth Man follows Cotton's 2009 Grammy-nominated album, Giant, of which USA Today proclaimed, "Since 1966 James Cotton has been carrying the Chicago sound to the world. On Giant, he pours 75 years of living into that harmonica and out comes devastating and powerful blasts of notes undiminished by age." On Cotton Mouth Man, the thirteen tracks continue to cover subjects taken from Cotton's storied history and almost 70 year career in music. The CD contains seven songs co-written by Cotton with Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Joe Louis Walker, Susan Tedeschi) and features guest appearances from renowned Blues, Rock, and Roots musicians including Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Rosebud artist and 2013 GRAMMY-nominee Ruthie Foster, Joe Bonamassa, Delbert McClinton, and Keb Mo.
As Cotton garners wide spread attention for his forthcoming CD, including the 10 page cover story feature in Living Blues Magazine's April issue, Cotton continues to tour extensively both nationally and internationally with his band. To catch James "Mr. Superharp" Cotton perform live, see Tour Dates >>
APRIL 2013: James Cotton Living Blues Magazine Cover Story
Harmonica legend and Rosebud's most recent signing, James Cotton, is featured on the cover of the April issue of Living Blues Magazine. The in-depth cover story and interview takes a thorough look at Cotton's life. Starting from his humble beginnings as the ninth child of a rural Mississippi sharecropper family, the article recounts Cotton's legendary meeting with Sonny Boy Williamson (II) at the age of nine. This meeting, where the young Cotton performed the theme song to Williamson's radio show note-for-note, led to Williamson's mentorship of Cotton for the next six years. The feature also highlights Cotton's days playing the Memphis Blues scene, recording at Sun Records with Howlin' Wolf as well as under his own name, plus his twelve year tenure on the road with the late Muddy Waters, a Rosebud artist until his passing. Cotton said of Muddy, "I love Muddy... I loved every minute of it. If I had to do it all over again, I'd be glad to do it... I watched him for 12 years and noticed everything he did." The article then covers Cotton starting his own Blues band in Chicago, where he secured their first gig with help from Paul Butterfield and Rosebud artist, Elvin Bishop. Touring constantly and performing with acts such as Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Santana, and Steve Miller throughout the next several decades Cotton became, as Rolling Stone proclaimed, "among the greats of all time."
Living Blues notes that Cotton is still dishing out "his legendary multi-octave harmonic prowess (to say nothing of his hurricane-like wind power) with undiminished force" on his new album, Cotton Mouth Man. Set for release on May 7, 2013, the new album features an impressive lineup of guest collaborators including Gregg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, Delbert McClinton, and Rosebud artist, 2013 Grammy-nominated Ruthie Foster. Cotton will be touring worldwide in support of Cotton Mouth Man.
MARCH 2013: James Cotton's New Album, Cotton Mouth Man, Out May 7, 2013
James Cotton will release Cotton Mouth Man on May 7, 2013 via Alligator Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winning Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Joe Louis Walker, Susan Tedeschi), Cotton Mouth Man features seven new tracks co-written by Cotton and Hambridge. These new tracks were inspired by Cotton's colorful and sometimes perilous life and his memories of the Mississippi Delta, Memphis, Chicago, Sun Records, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Muddy Waters (a Rosebud artist until his passing). Cotton Mouth Man features guest appearances from a number of Blues, Rock, and Roots greats including Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Rosebud artist and 2013 GRAMMY-nominee Ruthie Foster, Joe Bonamassa, Delbert McClinton, and Keb Mo. The core backing band on the new album is composed of Hambridge (drums), Rob McNelley (guitar), Chuck Leavell (keyboards), Glenn Worf (bass), as well as Tommy MacDonald and Colin Linden each adding guitar to one track.
Cotton, who after a bout with throat cancer turned his vocal duties over to others, was inspired during Cotton Mouth Man's sessions to return to the microphone. About his new album and vocal revival he stated, "I feel so happy about the music in this album. The Blues is all about feeling - - if I don't feel it, I can't play it. My hope is that everyone who listens, feels it. I know I sure did!" As of this writing, James has just returned from a series of dates in Japan to begin an extensive worldwide tour in support of Cotton Mouth Man.
FEBRUARY 2013: GRAMMY Award Winning Blues Legend, James Cotton Joins The Rosebud Agency
The Rosebud Agency proudly welcomes GRAMMY Award winning Blues legend and harmonica master, James Cotton, for exclusive worldwide booking representation. Cotton has recorded almost thirty solo albums throughout his career. His long list of awards and accolades includes being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, a GRAMMY win, four GRAMMY nominations, seven Blues Music Awards, and the addition of one of his own harmonicas to the Smithsonian Institution's permanent collection. Cotton has performed and collaborated with Blues giants including Sonny Boy Williamson (who he learned harmonica from as a small boy), Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Freddie King and Muddy Waters (a Rosebud artist until his passing). In fact, he stayed by Muddy's side for over a decade and became the leader of his backing band during that time. Cotton has also shared the stage with rock greats including Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Steve Miller and many others.
Cotton grew up on a cotton plantation and, as a very small boy, he received a fifteen-cent harmonica for Christmas and mastered it almost immediately. He began listening to Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time and learned to imitate the older bluesman note for note. In 1944, after both of Cotton's parents had passed away, his uncle took the nine-year-old to meet Williamson. Cotton's talent amazed Williamson, who took the youngster under his wing. He spent many nights traveling with Williamson to juke joints all over the area; often playing for tips outside, he sometimes drew crowds to rival Williamson's. When Williamson left for Milwaukee in 1950, Cotton, then fifteen, took over his band. Over the course of the next fifteen years Cotton joined Howlin' Wolf's band and toured with him all over the South, cut a record for Sun Records which included the classic "Cotton Crop Blues", and joined Muddy Waters' band. By 1966, Cotton was ready to head out on his own and since has become, as stated by the Chicago Tribune, "a key link on the chain of great Blues harmonica players...".
