Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at The Statesman Long Center in Austin, Texas.

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Dear old friend, Steve Miller, stopped by to wish Cotton a Happy 80th Birthday at Jazz Standard in New York City last night, July 2nd,where Cotton is playing through Sunday.

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July 2, Jazz Standard, NYC

James Cotton is the second recipient of the B.B. King Award, created in 2014 for the 35th edition of the Festival to honour and recognize the exceptional talent of an artist who has left an indelible mark on the blues scene. A true blues giant, James Cotton won his stripes armed with the smallest of wind instruments: the harmonica. Over 70 years into his remarkable career, the man nicknamed “Superharp” built his reputation on a fiery stage presence, energetic musicianship and a powerhouse voice. After playing with Muddy Waters for 12 years, he took the plunge in 1966 and launched a career marked by national and international tours and some thirty albums including Deep in the Blues, named Best Traditional Blues Album at the Grammy Awards.

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The absolute cream of James Cotton’s Alligator recordings. With his huge, blast-furnace sound, larger-than-life personality, and massive frame, Grammy Award-winning harmonica master James “Superharp” Cotton is a blues giant in every respect. Cotton has been performing professionally since the age of nine and learned directly from the masters – he toured in the bands of Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. He launched his solo career in the 1960s, releasing almost 30 albums and touring worldwide since then. This collection has over 75 minutes of music, and features studio and live solo material, plus songs from Harp Attack!, Cotton’s history-making collaboration with Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch.

James Cotton won “Best Traditional Male Artist” Award at the 35th Blues Music Awards in Memphis on May 8th.

On December 10, 2013, The Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 2014 Blues Music Awards. Grammy Award-winning harmonica master (and just-announced 2014 Grammy nominee) James Cotton received a total of five nominations including Album Of the Year for 2013’s Cotton Mouth Man, Song Of The Year for He Was There from the same album, Traditional Blues Album, Traditional Male Artist, and Instrumentalist – Harmonica. The 35th Annual Blues Music Awards will be presented in Memphis on May 8, 2014 at the Cook Convention Center.

On December 6, 2013, Grammy Award-winning harmonica master James Cotton received a Grammy Award nomination for his 2013 Alligator CD, Cotton Mouth Man. Cotton won a Grammy in 1996 for his album, Deep In The Blues. Grammy winners will be announced in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 26, 2014. 2014 marks Cotton’s 70th year as a professional musician.

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-deep relationship with the blues. He plays with an authority and energy that belies his age.”

Cotton Mouth Man was recorded in Nashville and produced by Grammy-winning producer/ songwriter/ drummer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Joe Louis Walker, Susan Tedeschi). The album is a trip through sounds and scenes from Cotton’s long and storied career. Helping Cotton tell his stories and showcase his music are guests Gregg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Ruthie Foster, Warren Haynes, Delbert McClinton and Keb Mo. Other vocals are handled by Darrell Nulisch, who has been singing in Cotton’s road band for many years.
Cotton in the press:

Conjure up a list of all-time great blues harmonica players, and high up on it you’ll see the name James Cotton.
–NPR

James Cotton is a world-class harmonica-playing bluesman. Cotton Mouth Man is an upbeat, warm blues album boasting fine musicianship and Cotton’s undeniable spirit.
–Rolling Stone

The greatest blues harmonica player alive today….Riveting, aggressive, rock-ready blues-harp.
–Wall Street Journal

This is one of Cotton’s most rollicking albums, full of spirit and power. Cotton Mouth Man is as good as anything he’s ever done, proving that despite his vocal hardship, James Cotton is still one of the greatest blues communicators of all time.
–No Depression

Bluesman James Cotton has lived the kind of life they make movies about. But Cotton tells that tale more explicitly and eloquently than ever in his newest recording. 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…One of the most dynamic harpist-bandleaders in the business.
–Chicago Tribune