Michael Coleman

Michael Coleman's rise as one of Chicago's premier electric blues guitarists had its roots in nearly a decade of sideman work beside James Cotton. He entered Cotton's band during 1979 while still twenty-three years old. After remaining with the harpist for the following seven years, Coleman next lent his services to Eddy Clearwater, Syl Johnson, and additional bandleaders before striking out on his own. His first American album under his own name, Do Your Thing!, appeared on Delmark Records in 2000. The set consisted chiefly of covers—Jimmy Reed's "You Don't Have to Go," Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay," Isaac Hayes' "Do Your Thing," Robert Geddins' "Tin Pan Alley," and several others—plus a pair of original pieces written by Coleman himself. On the recording he handled both lead guitar and vocals, producing a statement that stood squarely on his own strengths and confirmed his stature among the finest blues guitarists of his generation.