James Cotton Superharp Band w/ special guest Matt Guitar Murphy at Yoshi's Oakland

Between his huge, blast-furnace sound, his larger-than-life personality, and his massive frame, Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master James “Mr. Superharp” Cotton is a blues giant in every respect. Cotton, who in 2010 celebrates his 66th year as a professional musician (starting at the age of nine), has recorded almost 30 solo albums, including two highly-regarded releases for Alligator in the 1980s and the famed Harp Attack! with Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch in 1990. The New York Daily News calls Cotton “the greatest living blues harmonica player.” The New York Times adds, “Cotton helped define modern blues harmonica with his moaning, wrenching phrases and his train-whistle wails.”...

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Between his huge, blast-furnace sound, his larger-than-life personality, and his massive frame, Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master James “Mr. Superharp” Cotton is a blues giant in every respect. Cotton, who in 2010 celebrates his 66th year as a professional musician (starting at the age of nine), has recorded almost 30 solo albums, including two highly-regarded releases for Alligator in the 1980s and the famed Harp Attack! with Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch in 1990. The New York Daily News calls Cotton “the greatest living blues harmonica player.” The New York Times adds, “Cotton helped define modern blues harmonica with his moaning, wrenching phrases and his train-whistle wails.”

Although he might be best known for playing behind the Blues Brothers (and appearing prominently in their 1980 hit movie), Matt "Guitar" Murphy's jazz-tinged, stunningly advanced riffing behind Memphis Slim elevated the towering pianist's 1950s output for United and Vee-Jay Records to new heights. Murphy was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2012

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