I have reached an age where this kind of thing can put a lump in my throat. You know, the hug and kiss "good job son". That sort of thing is universal, right?
I buy those cheap Hohner harps and give to kids when they show interest in the band..some acually do.
One little boy had his harp with him next time I saw him. You should have seen him light up when I held my mic up for him to play thru...the kindness of the audience will stay with him.
Kid's a star. He "get's it" way more than most one sees at any age. How the hell that can happen at such a young age is a true cosmic mystery. And yes, I suspect he knows full well who James Cotton is. ---------- LSC
Josh is a student of Dennis Gruenling's -his resume is quite impressive,to say the least.
Joshua King is a professional actor, musician and vocalist. Born in North Carolina in 2000, he is a talented young actor with many credits to his name for acting in TV, film, commercial, radio, theatre and print. He has appeared as a principal performer in acting roles on Saturday Night Live, Late Show with David Letterman, Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Kings, Gravity, Z-Rock, All My Children, a Nickelodeon TV pilot, national commercials, film, theatre and music videos. He has modeled in national print ads.
As a young, professional musician and vocalist, his mentors include some of the world’s leading musical artists including Grammy winners. He plays both diatonic and chromatic harmonica. He can improvise and play many styles of music including blues, rock, pop, jazz, R&B, classical, country, etc. He also plays guitar, piano and ukulele. Josh often composes his own music. He particularly enjoys playing chromatic harp in the style of Stevie Wonder. Performing as a guest artist with professional bands at top venues in the US and Canada, Josh has achieved international recognition for his remarkable abilities at such a young age as both a singer and harmonica player.
In 2010, Joshua joined his mentor, 75 year old blues legend James Cotton, on stage to sing and play harmonica at the Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Nova Scotia, Canada. They appeared together before sets by Robert Cray and Jonny Lang in front of an enthusiastic audience of thousands for a performance like none other. At only 9 years old, he had the astonishing ability to reach out and connect with his audience compelling them to stop, listen and feel what he felt in the music he played. He is making great strides vocally under the instruction of his vocal teacher (who also works with Jonny Lang & Steven Tyler). He is influenced by many great musical artists and grateful to each and every one of them for their time, guidance, wisdom and the opportunities to learn from them.
Josh is also one of the youngest members of the musicians union, AFM-Local 802. He co-starred in the role of 'Tay' in a new play at Playwrights Horizons about an African preacher-in-training called 'A Cool Dip in the Barren Sarahan Crick' in New York City. He became the youngest known professional harmonica player to play live in an AEA show when the award winning writer, Kia Korthron, was inspired by him playing Amazing Grace at the audition and decided to write in his harmonica into his character.
Joshua is one of the Blues Foundation's Blues Kids. He is also involved with Harmonikids helping children in need around the world through music therapy. He plays standard and custom Seydel 1847 diatonic harmonicas set up by Ben Bouman of Beta Harps in Holland. Josh also plays Suzuki SCX-64 chromatic harmonicas and Lee Oskar diatonic harmonicas and Fender guitars.
Last Edited by on Sep 14, 2011 2:40 PM
That was a great video, and cool to see how much Cotton really enjoyed the boy. Although, I've got to say that after reading this 10 year old kid's resume, I now feel a bit jaded. All that comes to my mind is the scene from the new-er Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie where Asriel Abyss's mother proclaims: "She's just a driven little girl, I don't know where she gets it!"
I've been watching Josh talk on videos and in forum comments, he seems to be level headed and really in love with harp. I don't think it's a Wonka situation, but I could be wrong.
