[Harp-L] Cotton

["Mick Zaklan" <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

  James Cotton is one of my favorite players.  I'm always surprised that he
isn't more influential on other harpists than he is.  It's pretty
overlooked; but I love his work on the Johnny Young album "Johnny Young and
his Chicago Blues Band--featuring Otis Spann and James Cotton" on the
Arhoolie label.  Some really nasty, violent harp work going on there!
  Maybe Tom Ellis lll would disagree with me here; but I always felt that I
heard his (Cotton's) influence in Paul Butterfield's playing.  They both
have those kind of slippery, snake-like lines.  Plus, James has a couple
of repetitive riffs he uses that sound to me like they were lifted off a
piano player.  You know, the way a blues pianist will bang away rhythmically
on one note or a simple pattern  At least, that's what I think I hear.
  I was lucky enough to hang out with Pat Ramsey at one of the conventions
and Pat told me an interesting story about James.  Pat said he was working a
club on, I think, Beale Street in Memphis and James and his wife showed up
in the audience on multiple occasions.  I guess James was recovering from an
illness and not gigging at that time.  Naturally, Pat was curious as to why
they were dropping by.  He got an answer from James' wife that floored him.
She said James had told her that Pat's style reminded him of the way he
had sounded as a young man.  Pat told me that he himself didn't hear it,
but he took it as a heck of a compliment.
  Myself, I love the way James will sneak a quote from another song into a
solo.  Like "Flying Home" or that Basie riff he uses.  That's cool!
  Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the man has curbed some of his bad habits.
We're lucky that he's still active and every blues harpist ought to make an
effort to see and hear James while we still can.

Mick Zaklan