Alligator Records News Briefs March 25, 2013

WXRT'S BLUES BREAKERS TO PREMIERE TWO TRACKS FROM HARMONICA LEGEND JAMES COTTON'S COTTON MOUTH MAN On Monday, March 25, Tom Marker, host of Chicago radio station WXRT-FM's Blues Breakers program, will premiere two new songs from Grammy-winning harmonica giant James Cotton's upcoming CD, Cotton Mouth Man. The CD, to be released on Tuesday, May 7,  is a joyous celebration of Cotton's 69 years as a professional musician (beginning at age nine). 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. Cotton co-wrote seven of the tracks with Hambridge (who co-wrote five additional tracks). The songs were inspired by Cotton's colorful and sometimes perilous life and his memories of the Mississippi Delta, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Memphis, Sun Records, Chicago, and Muddy Waters. Throughout the CD Cotton's blast-furnace harmonica sound and larger-than-life personality are front and center. 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 band for many years. Members of Cotton's road band -- Jerry Porter, Noel Neal, and Tom Holland -- are also on board for some songs. Forming the core of the backing band on the CD are Hambridge (drums), Rob McNelley (guitar), Chuck Leavell (keyboards), and Glenn Worf (bass). Tommy MacDonald and Colin Linden each add guitar to one track. Cotton, who after a bout with throat cancer turned the vocal duties over to others, was inspired by the sessions to return to the microphone, singing his own Bonnie Blue (the name of the plantation where he was born), and making Cotton Mouth Man the most personal, celebratory and just plain fun recording of his seven-decade career. JESSE DEE'S NO MATTER WHERE I AM TO BE FEATURED ON FOX-TV'S BONES ON MONDAY, MARCH 25 Boston soul singer/guitarist/songwriter Jesse Dee's original song No Matter Where I Am will be prominently featured on FOX Television's Bones, in an episode airing on Monday, March 25. The song appears on Dee's Alligator Records debut CD On My Mind / In My Heart, which was declared a "masterpiece" by The San Francisco Chronicle. Since the February 26 release of the new CD, Dee has been featured in USA Today, The Boston Globe, No Depression, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Popmatters, and on WBUR-FM, WXPN-FM, NPR Music and many other outlets and publications. He recently performed, with his full band, on New York's WFUV. Watch the video here: http://wfuv.org/audio/archives/words-and-music-studio/jesse-dee-words-and-music-2013 LIL' ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS' KICK ME TO THE CURB TO BE FEATURED ON CBS-TV'S CRIMINAL MINDS CBS Television's Criminal Minds will feature Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials' Kick Me To The Curb during the episode set to air on Wednesday, March 27. The song, written by Lil' Ed Williams, leader of the Blues Music Award-winning Blues Imperials (now celebrating 26 years together), is from 2012's Jump Start. Living Blues says Jump Start is "high-octane, expressive, fiercely articulated, harrowingly intense and raucous. Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials hit the floor running and accelerate from there." ANDERS OSBORNE TO PERFORM WITH PHIL LESH AND LUTHER DICKINSON AT TERRAPIN CROSSROADS Guitarist/songwriter/singer Anders Osborne, whose new critically lauded EP Three Free Amigos has already become a fan favorite, will perform with Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) and Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) at the Spring Rambles at Terrapin Crossroads on April 11, 12 and 13, in San Rafael, California. The trio will join other guests including Graham Lesh and Tony Leone for three jam-packed nights of music. OffBeat calls Osborne "an artist who continues to grow before our eyes," and says Three Free Amigos is a "beautiful songwriter's digest." ### www.ALLIGATOR.com

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