News

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

Award-winning guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tommy Castro will release his turbo-charged new album, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, on Tuesday, January 21. Castro is famed for his signature brand of tough, rocking rhythm and blues, thrilling fans around the world with his incendiary live performances. With his eyes and ears firmly on the future, Castro has stripped his music down to its raw essence as he rockets into the next phase of his storied career. "I'm always moving forward, going outside of my wheelhouse, listening to new music and incorporating new ideas," says Castro. "The contemporary blues scene is full of fresh, new sounds. It's an exciting time."

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, recorded in the Bay Area with his fiery new band The Painkillers, and produced by Castro and Bonnie Hayes, is a contemporary blues tour-de-force. The album is an untamed, high-energy set of 13 songs, including nine written or co-written by Castro. "For the new album I challenged myself to add different sounds and new rhythms to my style while remaining true to my roots. I wrote using ideas for songs and ideas for sounds together in a way I'd never done before," explains Castro, "using drum rhythms to drive the lyrics." The tracks -- melodic and biting, energetic and fun -- are brought to life with sonic authority by bassist Randy McDonald (from the original Tommy Castro Band), keyboardist James Pace and original Painkillers drummer Byron Cage.

In addition, many of Castro's friends and admirers, including Alligator label-mates Marcia Ball and The Holmes Brothers, add their talents to the proceedings. Other guests include guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Mark Karan, guitarist/vocalist Tab Benoit, vocalists Samantha Fish and Tasha Taylor, and harmonica player Magic Dick. Each song comes loaded with emotional depth and muscular hooks courtesy of Castro's soulful singing, insightful lyrics, and dynamic, potent guitar playing. With THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, Castro -- The Painkillers blazing behind him -- unleashes an instant classic. According to Blurt, "Castro is one of the greatest blues guitarists, songwriters and entertainers in the world today."

After years of playing guitar-driven blues and R&B backed by a tight horn section, Castro introduced The Painkillers live in 2012, creating a lean, mean four-piece lineup, with the drum chair now held by David Tucker. Fueled by Tommy's voice and guitar plus bass, drums and keyboards, the band released the 45rpm single Greedy / That's All I Got later that year (both songs are included as bonus tracks on the new CD). Greedy quickly became one of Castro's most-requested songs. An attention-grabbing video for Greedy has already received over 150,000 views on YouTube. The Chicago Sun-Times calls his music "fiery and soul-drenched."

Castro views the harder-edged sound of The Painkillers as a natural extension of the music he's been making since he was a teenager. "The Painkillers really get me back to my roots. It feels to me a lot more like it did when I first started playing with my friends as a kid. Bands were always just three or four guys playing for the fun of it," Castro recalls. Now, Tommy Castro And The Painkillers are pushing the music to another level.

Tommy Castro And The Painkillers are anxious to bring THE DEVIL YOU KNOW to life on stage night after night, personally connecting with their fans all over the world. "A lot of folks are having hard times these days," Castro says, "and they need something to lift them up and make them smile. Our music kills the pain." With THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, Castro, along with The Painkillers, will unquestionably be easing pain, lifting spirits and filling dance floors the same way he's been doing for decades - only now he's packing a far more feral punch.

Confirmed tour dates are below (more dates to be announced shortly):

TOMMY CASTRO AND THE PAINKILLERS THE DEVIL YOU KNOW TOUR:

 

1/17/2014 Boca Raton FL, Funky Biscuit
1/18/2014 DeLand FL, Café DaVinci
1/19/2014 - 1/26/2014, Ft. Lauderdale FL, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise
1/31/2014 Bay Shore NY, YMCA Boulton Center
2/4/2014 New York NY, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
2/5/2014 Northampton MA, Iron Horse Music Hall
2/6/2014 Sellersville PA, Sellersville Theater
2/7/2014 Falls Church VA, State Theatre
2/8/2014 Annapolis MD, Rams Head On Stage
2/9/2014 Blawnox PA, Moondog's
2/12/2014 Cleveland OH, Beachland Ballroom
2/16/2014 Evanston (Chicago) IL, SPACE
2/21/2014 Milwaukee WI, Shank Hall
2/22/2014 Minneapolis MN, Famous Dave's
2/27/2014 Regina SK CANADA, Mid-Winter Blues Festival
2/28/2014 Saskatoon SK CANADA, Mid-Winter Blues Festival
3/7/2014 Modesto CA, State Theatre
3/8/2014 Petaluma CA, Mystic Theatre
3/13/2014 Agoura Hills CA, Canyon Club
3/14/2014 San Juan Capistrano CA, The Coach House
3/15/2014 Solana Beach CA, Belly Up
3/16/2014 Hermosa Beach CA, Saint Rocke
3/21/2014 Sacramento CA, The Assembly
3/22/2014 San Francisco CA, Great American Music Hall
3/27/2014 Chico CA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
3/28/2014 Eureka CA, Redwood Coast Music Festival
5/8/2014 Austin TX, One World Theater
5/10/2014 San Angelo TX, Simply Texas Blues Festival

"Curtis Salgado's range and power as a vocalist are a tour-de-force...hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced R&B, phat and funky."
--Billboard

Soul singer Curtis Salgado received the 2013 Blues Blast Award for Soul Blues Album Of The Year for his 2012 Alligator Records debut CD, Soul Shot. The awards ceremony, presented by Blues Blast Magazine, was held in Chicago at Buddy Guy's Legends on Thursday, October 31. Salgado recently won The Blues Foundation's Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year, Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year, and Soul Blues Album Of The Year for Soul Shot. He also won a Muddy Award for Best National Blues Album from Oregon's Cascade Blues Association.

Soul Shot speaks loud and clear to contemporary audiences, carrying on the timeless spirit of 1960s and ‘70s R&B. The album features four Salgado originals and seven carefully chosen covers. Songs by Johnny "Guitar" Watson, George Clinton, Otis Redding and Bobby Womack flow into and out of Salgado's own compositions. Each track -- the slow-burning ballads and the driving rockers -- is delivered with the vocal power and passion of a musical master. According to Salgado, "Soul Shotis the solid best thing I've ever done. That's a fact."

Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer accepted the honor in Curtis' behalf. Iglauer also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Delmark Records founder and president (and Iglauer's former boss and mentor), Bob Koester.

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 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.

"Anders Osborne plays fiery anthems and tumultuous, confessional songs punctuated with glorious, raw guitar."
--USA Today

"Jesse Dee delivers authenticity with every note. The young neo-soul and R&B singer from Boston has put out an album of self-penned songs that are so well-written, so amazingly arranged and performed, you'll wonder why this guy doesn't just own the music business."
--San Francisco Chronicle

CBS-TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation featured Anders Osborne's Black Tar in an episode which aired on October 30. The song originally appeared on Osborne's 2011 Black Eye Galaxy CD. Osborne's new album, Peace, was released last month.

ABC-TV's Criminal Minds will feature Jesse Dee's original song Fussin' And Fightin' in an episode set to air on November 13. The song originally appeared on Dee's 2013 Alligator Records debut CD, On My Mind / In My Heart.

"More fun than a barrel of funky monkeys. Ball's awesome mélange of keyboard styles sets the tone: call it the Zydeco boogie-woogie blues. Horns chug faster and faster, guitars drop by for a rock ‘n' roll interlude."
--NPR

Singer, pianist, songwriter Marcia Ball makes her major motion picture debut in the film Angels Sing, premiering in theatres and On Demand on Friday, November 1. The film stars Henry Connick, Jr. and features Grammy-winning musicians including Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Kris Kristofferson. In the film, Marcia plays Great Aunt Jocelyn. Ball's latest release is the Grammy-nominated Roadside Attractions.

JJ Grey, leader of JJ Grey & Mofro, has teamed with Florida's Rock Brothers Brewery to create a custom craft beer. Grey, a Florida native, worked with the brewery to develop JJ Grey's Nare Sugar Brown. The beer will make its debut on November 1 at the JJ Grey & Mofro concerts in St. Petersburg at Jannus Live and in Ft. Lauderdale at Revolution Live on November 2. The beer, an ale named after JJ's grandfather's preferred way to drink his coffee ("nare sugar"), will only be available in Florida at the present time.

Grey was actively involved in the beer's creation. "We sat down and talked about it for a while," says Grey, "and during that conversation I was educated on how artful brew mastering really is. We all put our heads together and then these guys went out and created the beer from scratch. The whole process was amazing and I feel really lucky to have been a part of it. In the end I think they made a beer that somehow matches my music sip for sip (or chug) and note for note."

Grey and Rock Brothers Brewery will donate five percent of net proceeds of Nare Sugar Brown sales to The Snook and Gamefish Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation that serves as a platform for anglers and conservationists to preserve, protect and enhance game fish populations.

Acoustic blues master Corey Harris' version of Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel will air during the PBS television series The African Americans: Many Rivers To Cross on October 29. The song was originally released on Harris' Alligator Records collaboration with New Orleans pianist Henry Butler, Vu-Du Menz.

 

 

 

JJ Grey & Mofro, whose latest CD This River was described by Relix as "a classic, tantalizing slab of funky Florida-fried swamp rock, old school R&B and Southern-rock crunch," will appear in performance on the American Public Television music program Front & Center. The show, which was filmed in front of a sold-out crowd at New York's Iridium Club in June 2013, will begin airing on October 5 in the New York metropolitan area at 11:00pm on WLIW21. Airdates and airtimes will vary per market. For airdates in other markets check local listings here.

Since the release of This River, Grey has toured the U.S. and Europe, garnering the greatest reviews, the most radio airplay and largest audiences of his career. Grey's first video from the album, the single 99 Shades Of Crazy, has become an instant fan favorite.

The Oxford American says Grey is "the swami of swamp rock....Grey is a North Florida sage and purveyor of the funkiest swamp rock the world has ever heard." MOJO says Grey's music is "warm, horn-rich, and soulful. The quality of Grey's songwriting and delivery elevates the material."

 

JJ Grey & Mofro are currently getting ready to kick off the next leg of their tour, with shows across the East coast, the South and Midwest. Full tour dates are here:

http://www.alligator.com/on-tour/artist.cfm/aid/155/t/JJ-Grey-%26-Mofro/.

Award-winning guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Anders Osborne is set to release his new CD, Peace, on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. OffBeat magazine will exclusively premiere the song Sentimental Times at OffBeat.com beginning on Tuesday, September 3. Relix.com premiered the title track on August 30.

"It was a sunny day in New Orleans, spring of 2011," says Osborne of Sentimental Times. "I picked up my J45 with old rubbery strings on it. It had been ten years since my mother passed away. I strummed slowly and gently on my guitar and started to sing about two events (the other being Hurricane Katrina) that broke my heart. These are my sentimental times."

With Peace, Osborne continues the journey started by his previous Alligator Records releases, American Patchwork and Black Eye Galaxy, emerging from a whirlwind of emotional chaos and moving toward a sense of inner peace. Recorded at Dockside Studios in Louisiana and produced by Osborne and Warren Riker, Peace looks at the title subject from all angles. According to Osborne, "Peace is light from darkness. The songs are written from the outside looking in. They are not making any judgments. I'm just stating facts. I'm writing from a brighter perspective. There's less dusk and dark, and much more sunlight. The results are greater than I expected. The driving tones and sounds are free and natural. This is one of the coolest records I've ever made."

Between the potency of his richly detailed songwriting, his intensely emotional, soulful vocals and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans' Anders Osborne is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Guitar Player calls him "the poet laureate of Louisiana's fertile roots music scene." New Orleans' Gambit Weekly recently honored Osborne as the Entertainer Of The Year. OffBeat named him the Crescent City's Best Guitarist for the third year in a row, and the Best Songwriter for the second straight year. Osborne also won Song Of The Year for his composition, Louisiana Gold.

Since the release of his 2010 Alligator Records debut, American Patchwork, his 2012 follow-up, Black Eye Galaxy, and his critically acclaimed 2013 EP, Three Free Amigos, Osborne has earned hordes of new fans. He has toured virtually non-stop, either with his road-tested trio, as a solo artist, or as a guest with his countless musical admirers, including Toots and The Maytals, Stanton Moore, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. He's appeared on Galactic's Ya-Ka-May album, and in 2011 produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone and Mike Zito.

Osborne will bring his music to major markets this fall, including stops in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Colorado. Full tour information can be found here.

For more information, go to www.AndersOsborne.com.

Award-winning guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Anders Osborne is set to release his new CD, Peace, on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. Relix magazine will exclusively premiere the title track at Relix.com on Wednesday, August 14.

With Peace, Osborne continues the journey started by his previous Alligator Records releases, American Patchwork and Black Eye Galaxy, emerging from a whirlwind of emotional chaos and moving toward a sense of inner peace.

Recorded at Dockside Studios in Louisiana and produced by Osborne and Warren Riker, Peace looks at the title subject from all angles. According to Osborne, "Peace is light from darkness. The songs are written from the outside looking in. They are not making any judgments. I'm just stating facts. I'm writing from a brighter perspective. There's less dusk and dark, and much more sunlight. The results are greater than I expected. The driving tones and sounds are free and natural. This is one of the coolest records I've ever made."

Between the potency of his richly detailed songwriting, his intensely emotional, soulful vocals and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans' Anders Osborne is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Guitar Player calls him "the poet laureate of Louisiana's fertile roots music scene." New Orleans' Gambit Weekly recently honored Osborne as the Entertainer Of The Year. OffBeat named him the Crescent City's Best Guitarist for the third year in a row, and the Best Songwriter for the second straight year. Osborne also won Song Of The Year for his composition, Louisiana Gold.

Since the release of his 2010 Alligator Records debut, American Patchwork, his 2012 follow-up, Black Eye Galaxy, and his critically acclaimed 2013 EP, Three Free Amigos, Osborne has earned hordes of new fans. He has toured virtually non-stop, either with his road-tested trio, as a solo artist, or as a guest with his countless musical admirers, including Toots and The Maytals, Stanton Moore, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. He's appeared on Galactic's Ya-Ka-May album, and in 2011 produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone and Mike Zito.

For more information, go to www.AndersOsborne.com.

On Monday, August 5, Living Blues magazine announced the winners of the 2013 Living Blues Critics' and Readers' Awards. Four Alligator Records artists received a total of five awards. Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials won both the Critics' and the Readers' Awards for Best Live Performer. Joe Louis Walker won the Critics' Award for Best Blues Album of 2012 for his Alligator Records debut CD, Hellfire. Readers' Awards went to Janiva Magness for Blues Artist Of The Year (Female) and Marcia Ball for Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards).

LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS: Critics' Award Best Live Performer Readers' Award Best Live Performer JOE LOUIS WALKER: Critics' Award Best Blues Album Of 2012 (New Recordings): Hellfire   JANIVA MAGNESS: Readers' Award Blues Artist Of The Year - Female   MARCIA BALL: Readers' Award Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard)