James COTTON - Cut You Loose! 1968

James COTTON - Cut You Loose! 1968

Blues

Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are of my father making Breakfast for the family on a Saturday morning while singing along to Blues albums he had cranked up on the stereo so loud that everyone in the house was woken up. This album was on frequent rotation on those mornings and that is what has framed my opinion of it. I don't think it is a real good showcase for Cotton's amazing Harmonica skills, nor is it full of significant songs. What it is is a whole lot of fun and perfect music for those times when you need a distraction from the task at hand or just want something to listen to while you sit on the porch drinking a beer. So toss aside the belief that music has to mean something, sit back, grab a brew and enjoy.
**
The second solo album by James Cotton, the one time harp disciple of Sonny Boy Williamson and former Muddy Waters sideman, is a loose, enjoyable mixture of urbane and gutbucket blues styles. Among the former, Cotton phrases like a sax player (but gets a sound like Little Walter) on Percy Mayfield's classy ballad "River's Invitation," while on Jimmy Reed's standard "Honest I Do" he goes (appropriately) all country harp squeaky.
Cotton's vocals have all the swagger necessary for the material. The fairly large back-up band here is fluent enough to pull off a slow, jazzy, ballad version of Little Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin'."
**
James Cotton- (Vocals, Harmonica);
Guitar Junior, Peter Malick, James Cook- (Guitar);
Martin Fierro-(Tenor Sax, baritone Sax);
Mike Fender- (Bass Trumpet, Bass Trombone);
Wayne Talbert- (Piano, Organ);
Michael Tschudin- (Piano);
Jeremiah Jenkins- (Organ);
Joe Rodriguez- (Drums).
**
01. River's Invitation 2:44
02. Honest I Do 2:51
03. Got To Get You Off My Mind 2:06
04. Coast Blues 7:21
05. Next Time You See Me 2:51
06. Cut You Loose 2:56
07. Ain'T Nobody's Business 3:26
08. Set A Date 2:18
09. Slippin' And Slidin' 4:32
10. Negative 10-4 6:49
**

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James COTTON - Live At Antone's Nightclub - 1988

James COTTON - Live At Antone's Nightclub - 1988
Recorded in July of 1987 at Antone's Night Club
Produced by Antone's Records & Tapes

Blues  

I am so glad I bought this CD when I did--when the used prices weren't so ridiculous! This CD is some classic Chicago blues, presented in a way only James "Superharp" Cotton could. Any Cotton album naturally has high expectations, seeing how Cotton played with Muddy Waters for a number of years before pursuing his long and successful solo career, but this album is up there with Cotton's best studio effort, "100% Coton".
Even though James Cotton has had a spectacular solo career, this live album consists most of blues standards. Three of the songs come from Muddy (Blow Wind and Gone to Main Street by Muddy, Hoochie Coochie Man being a Dixon-penned Muddy classic). Also an additional three songs come from Little Walter (Juke, It Ain't Right, and Oh Baby). Those six songs out the way, we are left with two more: Eyesight to the Blind, a Sonny Boy Williamson tune, and Midnight Creeper, the only Cotton original on the album. All are unique in their own way like only James Cotton could do.
By J. Cohen.
**
James Cotton- Harp, Vocals,
Matt "Guitar" Murphy- Guitar,
Luther Tucker- Guitar,
Calvin Jones- Bass,
Willie Smith- Drums,
Pinetop Perkins- Piano.
**
01. Blow Wind
02. Juke
03. It ain't right
04. Gone to mane street
05. Oh, Baby
06. Hoochie Coochie Man
07 Eyesight to the blind
08. Midnight Creeper
**
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James COTTON - Mighty Long Time 1991

James COTTON - Mighty Long Time 1991

Blues

Although the titles are all familiar (most of them a little too much so), Cotton and his all-star cohorts (guitarists Jimmie Vaughan, Matt Murphy, Luther Tucker, Hubert Sumlin, and Wayne Bennett, with the omnipresent Perkins on keys) pull the whole thing off beautifully. Cotton's cover of Wolf's "Moanin' at Midnight" is remarkably eerie in its own right, and he romps through Muddy Waters' "Blow Wind Blow" and "Sugar Sweet" with joyous alacrity.
By Bill Dahl, All Music Guide.
**
Derek O'Brien- Guitar, Producer
Pinetop Perkins- Piano
Red Rails- Sax (Tenor)
George Rains- Drums
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith- Drums
Luther Tucker- Guitar
Jimmie Vaughan- Guitar
Reese Wynans- Piano
Larry Eisenber- Bass
Mel Brown- Piano
Denny Freeman- Piano
Calvin "Fuzz" Jones- Bass
Sarah Brown- Bass
Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff- Sax (Tenor)
Michael Kindred- Piano
James Cotton- Harmonica, Vocals
Matt "Guitar" Murphy- Guitar
Hubert Sumlin- Guitar
**
01. Straighten Up, Baby 3:10
02. Everything Gonna Be Alright 3:16
03. Black Nights 5:19
04. Blow Wind Blow 3:48
05. Sugar Sweet 4:19
06. Moanin' at Midnight 3:09
07. Baby Please 5:38
08. Hold Me in Your Arms 4:06
09. Call It Stormy Monday 6:47
10. Three Hundred Pounds of Joy 3:38
11. Northside Cadillac 4:14
12. Mighty Long Time 5:16
**
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James COTTON - Deep In The Blues 1996

James COTTON - Deep In The Blues 1996
Label: Verve/Polygram

Blues

Deep in the Blues is a fascinating *** jam session between James Cotton, guitarist Joe Louis Walker, and jazz bassist Charlie Haden. *** The trio runs through a number of classic blues songs written by Muddy Waters, Percy Mayfield, and Sonny Boy Williamson and a few originals by Walker and Cotton. The sound is intimate and raw, which is a welcome change from Cotton's usual overproduced records.
By Thom Owens.
**
This is a sad work! The combination of the great harmonica performance of Cotton's deep blues style,with the jazzist style of the two other men,Haden on bass and Joe Louis on guitar,only could result on this really sad work! But this work must be understood as a conceptual downhome blues,and the sad sensation that seems to be at all the tracks reveals how hardly were that days of slavers and workers at cotton picks along the Mississipi River borders!This is an excelent way to feel that sentiments,only a giant like James Cotton could bring to us! Really a gem,a masterpiece of this old bluesman! Thank you James for this class of blues and it's roots!
By  Ricardo Neves Gonzalez.
**
"Deep In The Blues" is an acoustic jam session between master harp-player James Cotton, guitarist Joe Louis Walker and Jazz bassist Charlie Haden, with pianist Dave Maxwell sitting in on a few tracks. Walker, Haden and Maxwell make a perfect supporting band to James Cotton's gruff vocals and spontaneous harp playing. The band performs James Cotton classics, and new material (mostly written by James Cotton and Joe Louis Walker), and covers a few songs by Big Maceo, Muddy Waters, Percy Mayfield and Sonny Boy Williamson.
Cotton's playing is breath-taking with emotion ; in addition to his own solos, he tastefully drops in a few notes at perfectly felt moments, during Walker and Haden's own parts. Haden brings a jazzy feel to the album, and appears alone with his upright bass on "Ozark Mountain Railroad". Walker also gets his moment of exposure, with his performance on National Steel Guitar in his own "Vineyard Blues".
Put this CD on, sit back, close your eyes, and be prepared for a few chills down your spine. "Deep In The Blues" is a Blues masterpiece, performed by experienced players, that have the ability to join their talents, in addition to their technical skills, to record with such a level of feeling.
**
01 - Down At Your Buryin'    4.32
02 - All Walks Of Life    3.34
03 - You Got My Nose Open    4.17
04 - Dealing With The Devil    3.34
05 - Strange Things Happen    4.19
06 - Country Boy    3.20
07 - Vineyard Blues    3.29
08 - Worried Life Blues    3.29
09 - Two Trains Running    4.54
10 - Ozark Mountain Railroad    3.44
11 - Sad Letter Blues    4.13
12 - Play With Your Poodle    3.39
13 - Blues In My Sleep    6.09
14 - Everybody's Fishin'    3.18
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James COTTON & Billy BRANCH & Carey BELL & Junior WELLS - Harp Attack! 1990

James COTTON & Billy BRANCH & Carey BELL & Junior WELLS - Harp Attack! 1990
Label:  Alligator
Recorded at Streeterville Studios, Chicago, Illinois

Blues

Highpoints include the Junior Wells solo track "Keep Your Hands Out of My Pocket," which is a terrific showcase for his distinctive harp style (he has a deliberately cleaner tone than the other three) and the opening "Down Home Blues," which is a sort of cutting contest where all four get a vocal verse, and an instrumental solo. Terrific stuff.
**
If there is one sound that says "Chicago Blues" to the world, it's the sound of a harmonica blown through a hand-held microphone blasting through an amplifier. The pressurized, distorted sound of the electrified blues harp was there from the earliest days of post-World War II Windy City blues, and Chicago's harp players have always been the standard against which all others are judged.

This album brings together four of Chicago's finest. Three of them have occupied the hottest harmonica spot in the blues world: the featured soloist in the Muddy Waters Band. Junior Wells, Carey Bell and (for a decade) James Cotton have all held that coveted slot. Carey and Billy Branch were chosen by Willie Dixon for the featured spot in Willie's Chicago Blues All Stars. All four men have been fast friends for years. They've jammed with each other's bands in the city's blues clubs and on concert stages around the world, but they've never recorded together before.

Joining the harp players is an all-star rhythm section hand picked by James and Junior. Michael Coleman grew up in a Chicago blues family and played with Cotton for much of the '80s before starting his own band. He made his debut as a leader on Alligator's New Bluebloods album. Lucky Peterson has been playing blues keyboards since he was three years old. He grew up in a "chitlin' circuit" roadhouse in Buffalo and was discovered by Willie Dixon, who produced his first album (when Lucky was five). He went on to work as a teenage sideman with Bobby Bland and Little Milton. Now 26, Lucky leads his own band and has cut two albums for Alligator. Johnny B. Gayden is generally considered one of the best blues bass players in the world. He's toured with Albert Collins for the last ten years, but returns to Chicago to gig when Albert's off the road. Johnny has cut with Johnny Winter, Son Seals, A.C. Reed and of course, Albert Collins. Ray Allison came out of Buddy Guy's band to join the Muddy Waters Band in the late '70s. After Muddy's death, he was recruited by James Cotton and continues to tour with Cotton. Ray has recorded not only with James, but also with Koko Taylor, Buddy, Michael Coleman and many others.

Besides the four great harp players on the album, Alligator wishes to acknowledge the depth of blues harp talent in Chicago, from first generation veterans like Snooky Pryor, Little Willie Anderson and Big Wheeler to innovators like Sugar Blue. We also would like to pay tribute to the excellent young generation of players nationwide who are dedicated to preserving the sounds of classic '50s Chicago blues harmonica.

This album is dedicated to the four men who virtually invented modern blues harmonica: John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson; Rice "Sonny Boy Williamson II" Miller; Little Walter Jacobs and Big Walter Horton. Directly or indirectly, they were the teachers of every harp player who followed them, and their music will never be surpassed.
**
James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Billy Branch- (Vocals, Harmonica)
Michael Coleman- (Guitar)
Lucky Peterson- (Bass)
Ray “Killer” Allison- (Drums)
**
01. Down Home Blues 6:23
02. Who 4:05
03. Keep Your Hands Out Of My Pockets 5:56
04. Little Car Blues 3:33
05. My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble 5:30
06. Broke And Hungry 4:30
07. Hit Man 2:36
08. Black Night 8:54
09. Somebody Changed The Lock 3:54
10. Second Hand Man 4:01
11. New Kid On The Block 4:30
**


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James COTTON - 3 Harp Boogie 1967

James COTTON - 3 Harp Boogie 1967
Label: Rhino / Wea / Tomato,2005
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois between 1963 and 1967

Blues

A schizophrenic, if ultimately highly listenable album by James Cotton, the ex-Muddy Waters sideman and disciple of Sonny Boy Williamson. About half the cuts are acoustic tracks from 1963, recorded in a South Side Chicago living room. Backing comes courtesy of the then little-known Elvin Bishop on guitar and Paul Butterfield on harmonica, along with Billy Boy Arnold on third harp, hence the title. The rest of the album is big band stuff with horns, from Cotton's '67 solo debut, with contributions by Butterfield drummer Sam Lay and honking saxophone king Gene "Daddy G." Barge, better known for his wild solos on Gary U.S. Bonds' "Quarter to Three."

The music featured here is actually all right, but the set suffers due to its odd patchwork assembly. Five of the tracks come from a 1963 acoustic session recorded at an apartment on the South Side, featuring Elvin Bishop on guitar, Cotton on vocals and harmonica, Paul Butterfield on harmonica, and Billy Boy Arnold on harmonica (hence the title 3 Harp Boogie). The other four selections are taken from his 1967 Verve album James Cotton Blues Band, available in its entirety on the Best of the Verve Years compilation. That means you probably only want this for the rarer acoustic cuts, which are good, but a short value for a CD purchase unless you're a very big Cotton fan. Again, though, there's nothing wrong with the music itself.
By Richie Unterberger. AMG.
**
James Cotton- (Vocals, Harmonica);
Luther Tucker- (Guitar);
Elvin Bishop- (Guitar);
Paul Butterfield- (Harmonica);
Billy Boy Arnold- (Harmonica);
Delbert L. Hill- (Tenor Saxophone);
McKinley Easton- (Baritone Saxophone);
Louis E. Satterfield- (Trombone);
John M. Watson- (Trombone);
Alberto Gianquinto- (Piano);
Robert Anderson- (Bass, Vocals);
Sam Lay- (Drums).
*
01. Jelly Jelly  5.37
02. South Side Boogie  2.33
03. So Glad You're Mine  3.06
04. Good Time Charly  2.27
05. Diggin' My Potatoes  2.06
06. There's Something On Your Mind  3.41
07. V-Ford Blues  3.57
08. Turn On Your Love Light  2.23
09. Dolly Put The Kettle On  1.45
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James COTTON & BILLY Branch & CHARLIE Musselwhite & Sugar Ray NORCIA - Superharps 1999

James COTTON & BILLY Branch & CHARLIE Musselwhite & Sugar Ray NORCIA - Superharps 1999

Blues

Superharps is almost an understatement when you’re talking about James Cotton, Billy Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, and Sugar Ray Norcia,. The presence of such revered masters on this 11-track recording provides a world of insight into what blues harp has been about since the 1950s.

One of the last surviving links to the glory days of Chicago blues, harp legend James Cotton still commands a huge following because of his exuberant performances and exciting collaborations. From his childhood apprenticeship with harp ace Sonny Boy Williamson to the freewheeling gigs he played with Howlin’ Wolf, Cotton’s fame as a showman and player has never stopped growing. In 1955, Muddy Waters invited him to join his band, and he went on to spend twelve years touring and recording with the man who would become his mentor. Cotton has also worked with rockers Steve Miller, Johnny Winter, Elvin Bishop, and others.

Chicago blues great Billy Branch’s harmonica playing is known for its added jazz and R&B touches. Born near the Windy City, Branch grew up in Los Angeles, then moved back to go to school. He first made a name for himself in Willie Dixon’s band and later blew harp for the great, unsung Jimmy Walker. Deeply committed to shaping the future, Branch started a "Blues in the Schools" program for children in Chicago.

A skillful instrumentalist, Charlie Musselwhite made his mark leading bands in Chicago and San Francisco. He first learned the blues playing behind the likes of Robert Nighthawk and Homesick James. His debut LP, Stand Back! Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite's Southside Band, remains a standard on underground radio, while his critically acclaimed Continental Drifter and a busy touring schedule promise to further broaden his influence and appeal.

Fresh from a five-year stint as lead singer and harpist for Roomful of Blues, Sugar Ray Norcia is as respected for his vocal proficiency as he is for his harmonica mastery. He was also frontman for the venerable East Coast-based Sugar Ray & the Bluetones (which featured Kid Bangham, Ronnie Earl, Anthony Geraci, and Mudcat Ward).

Superharps separates itself from the usual pack of blues releases by its bold playing and high quality production. Listen to the powerful “I Put My Baby Out” or “Blues, Why Do You Worry Me?” or Cotton’s soulful reading of “The Hucklebuck.” These are the sounds of master players in top form.
**
Four great blues harmonica players (James Cotton, Billy Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, and Sugar Ray Norcia) are featured in various combinations on this spirited disc, backed by a four-piece rhythm section (with guitarist Kid Bangham and pianist Anthony Geraci). Cotton and Norcia have solo pieces, seven numbers feature two harmonicas, and the lengthy low-down blues "Harp to Harp" has all four of the harmonica players taking turns soloing. Much of the material is jazz-oriented, including "The Hucklebuck," "TD's Boogie Woogie," and "Route 66," and the majority of the selections are instrumentals. Each of the harmonica players sounds inspired and the results are consistently exciting and swinging.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, Sugar Ray Norcia- (Vocals, Harmonica)
Kid Bangham- (Acoustic & Electric Guitars)
Anthony Geraci, David Maxwell- (Piano)
Michael “Mudcat” Ward- (D. Bass)
Per Hanson- (Drums)
**
01. I Put My Baby Out 4:34
02. The Hucklebuck 5:30
03. Blues, Why Do You Worry Me? 8:29
04. Life Will Be Better 5:18
05. Mean Little Mama 3:18
06. T.D.'s Boogie Woogie 4:35
07. If I Should Have Bad Luck 5:26
08. I'm Gonna Steal Your Baby 4:23
09. Route 66 5:14
10. You're So Fine 5:08
11. Harp to Harp 11:37
**
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