Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blu Ja Vu , from Tom Hambridge , and it's potent set of blues rock tracks with plenty of gusto. Opening with Ain't It Just Like Love , Tom Hambridge joins up with Buddy Guy on vocal, (Hambridge on drums and Guy on guitar) with bass by Tommy MacDonald, Kevin McKendree on on keys and featuring an explosive guitar solo by Guy. Strong opener. Rob McNelley on lead guitar really gets things cranking on Wear You Out with a driving beat and solid vocals by Hambridge. Shuffle, Blues Don't Care , features Kingfish on guitar and vocal and this track has great style. Hi power Brother John Boogie features harmonica superman, James Cotton with Glenn Worf on bass, Chuck Leavell on keys, and of course Hambridge on drums. Excellent! Another great boogie, Get Out Of Town features McKendree on vicious keys and Hambridge on vocal. Very cool. Stripped down blues, Johnny Winter , features excellent slide work by McNelley, Hambridg...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent 2 cd release, Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969 from Third Man Records and it's terrific! Opening with Dirty Mother For You , a classic by Roosevelt Sykes, this classic track really gets the ball rolling with his suggestive language and his classic piano style. JB Hutto and his Hawk do a terrific Too Much Alcohol with Hutto's dynamic slide work. An excellent contribution by Jimmy Dawkins, I Wonder Why shows exactly why his nickname was Fast Fingers. Luther Allison and the Blue Nebulae play a super log take on Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy and really gives his guitar a workout... makes you sweat just listening to it. Excellent! Another really fat guitar laden track is Otis Rush and So Many Roads . This is an excellent closer for disc one. Disc 2 opens with Muddy Waters and Long Distance Call . Muddy's vocals are super and he has that crying slide work, backed by Paul Oscher on harp. Very nice. Charlie Musselwhite re...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Cotton, a Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master whose full-throated sound backed such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf, has died at age 81. A statement from Alligator Records, Cotton's label, says he died Thursday of pneumonia at St. David's Medical Center in Austin. The Mississippi Delta native performed professionally since age 9. Cotton backed Muddy Waters in his landmark album "At Newport" on Chess Records. After going solo in the 1960s, Cotton released almost 30 albums, including his 1996 Grammy Award-winning Verve album, "Deep In The Blues." His most recent album, "Cotton Mouth Man" for Alligator Records in 2013, was nominated for a Grammy. James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. ...

SIX ALLIGATOR ARTISTS WIN LIVING BLUES AWARDS Living Blues magazine has announced the recipients of the 2015 Living Blues Awards. Six Alligator Records artists received a total of six awards. In the Critics' Poll, James Cotton won Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica), Joe Louis Walker won Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) and Selwyn Birchwood won for Best Blues Album of 2014 (New Recording/Best Debut) for Don't Call No Ambulance . In the Readers' Poll, Shemekia Copeland (whose new CD Outskirts Of Love will be released on September 11) received the award for Blues Artist Of The Year (Female). Marcia Ball won for Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard) and Elvin Bishop won Best Blues Album Of 2014 (New Release) for his Grammy-nominated Can't Even Do Wrong Right . CRITICS' POLL WINNERS: SELWYN BIRCHWOOD: Best Blues Album Of 2014 (New Recording/Best Debut): Don't Call No Ambulance JAMES COTTON: Most Out...

                                                                                                                                                   MUDDY WATERS 100 featuring  JOHN PRIMER, GARY CLARK, JR., JOHNNY WINTER, JAMES COTTON, KEB' MO', DEREK TRUCKS, SHEMEKIA C...

I just received the newest release, Blind & Blues Bound , from Dr. Izzy Band and it's got spunk. Opening with Matches Don't Burn Memories , featuring Dr. Izzy on vocals and James Cotton ripping some great harp riffs over a solid 60's style guitar rocker. Sounding at times like Nugent or Marino, Robert Morrison cranks on the guitar. Soul Dance has a sultry feel of an 18th century ballad as articulated by the Brits in the 60's. A cool retro style track with violin and a crisp guitar solo. Been Long Time Comin' is built around a standard blues riff but with arpeggios. The Dr. has a clean vocal attack and Morrison over tracks his guitar solo's nicely creating an interesting weave. Earth Bound has a bit more sting with searing electric guitar work. A heavy bottom on this track gives it a Mountain like feel but Morrison's guitar work is succinct and different from Wests. Old Black Crow features Otis Taylor with a more modern but country R&B feel. Int...

JAMES COTTON WINS BLUES MUSIC AWARD FOR TRADITIONAL BLUES MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR On Thursday, May 8, Grammy Award-winning harmonica master James Cotton received the Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Male Artist Of The Year. The Blues Foundation announced the winners of the 35th Annual Blues Music Awards in a ceremony held at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Cotton, who was in attendence at the ceremony, is currently celebrating his 70th year as a professional performer, and is hot off the heels of 2013's Grammy-nominated Cotton Mouth Man.  Cotton Mouth Man is an upbeat, warm blues album boasting fine musicianship and Cotton's undeniable spirit. Living Blues says, "James Cotton is one of the great harmonica innovators of his generation. Cotton Mouth Man is a star-studded affair that makes James Cotton's best recording for Alligator. It is an autobiographical narrative of Cotton's eventful life and soul-dee...

Get ready for a weekend of blues, roots, and rock music at the 17th Annual Doheny Blues Festival on May 17 & 18, 2014 . Enjoy 20+ performances on three different stages, tasty microbrews, local vendors and delicious food. Headlining the 2014 festival are Gregg Allman, The Doobie Brothers, Gov’t Mule, Buddy Guy, and Vintage Trouble. Also joining the line-up are Keb’ Mo’, James Cotton & Friends, Ruthie Foster, Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires, The Mannish Boys Revue, and John Németh & The Bo-Keys. Grab your friends and family and head down to Dana Point’s Doheny State Beach for the Doheny Blues Festival on May 17 & 18, 2014 www.dohenybluesfestival.com

JAMES COTTON RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM MISSISSIPPI ARTS COMMISSION Conjure up a list of all-time great blues harmonica players, and high up on it you'll see the name James Cotton. --NPR The Mississippi Arts Commission presented blues music icon (and Tunica, Mississippi native) James Cotton with the coveted Governor's Award For Excellence In The Arts in a ceremony held February 20, 2014 at Belhaven University in Clarion, Mississippi. The Governor's Arts Awards are presented annually to outstanding writers, artists, performers, craftsmen and educators who have made significant and lasting contributions through their work as well as to corporations or organizations on the basis of their dedication to arts advancement. Previous winners include B.B. King, Little Milton Campbell, and Bo Diddley. Video of the presentation and live performance is here: http://www.alligator.com/artists/James-Cotton/ . Cotton is currently celebratin...

HARMONICA GIANT JAMES COTTON RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM STATE OF MISSISSIPPI Conjure up a list of all-time great blues harmonica players, and high up on it you'll see the name James Cotton. --NPR The Mississippi Arts Commission will present blues music icon (and Tunica, Mississippi native) James Cotton with the coveted Governor's Award For Excellence In The Arts in a ceremony set for February 20, 2014 at Belhaven University in Clarion, Mississippi. The Governor's Arts Awards are presented annually to outstanding writers, artists, performers, craftsmen and educators who have made significant and lasting contributions through their work as well as to corporations or organizations on the basis of their dedication to arts advancement. Previous winners include B.B. King, Little Milton Campbell, and Bo Diddley. Cotton is currently celebrating his 69th year as a professional entertainer. His 2013 CD, Cotton Mouth Man , is an upbe...