Alligator

After sixty-six years as a working bluesman, Mississippi native James Cotton still sports a big, brawny, distinctively expressive harp sound, which he displays abundantly on Giant, the legendary performer’s first album since 2004’s all-star session Baby, Don’t You Tear My Clothes. Joined by guitarists/singers Slam Allen and Tom Holland, bassist Noel Neal and drummer Kenny Neal, Jr., the 72-year-old Cotton turns in a dozen originals and familiar blues covers. He runs the gamut from rough-hewn opener “Buried Alive in the Blues” to laid-back bruisers “Sad Say Day” and “How Blue Can You Get?” to jumping blues tunes “With the Quickness” and “Going Down Main Street.” “Change” thrives on an infectious funk groove, and closing instrumental “Blues for Koko” is a tribute to the fallen blues belter.