ELANA JAMES, Fiddle & Vocals
WHIT SMITH, Guitar & Vocals
JAKE ERWIN, Bass & Vocals
WHIT SMITH, Guitar & Vocals
JAKE ERWIN, Bass & Vocals
DISCOGRAPHY
Wishful Thinking (Gold Strike/Thirty Tigers/Proper/Shock) 2009,
Produced by Hot Club of Cowtown with Mark Hallman
The Best of The Hot Club of Cowtown (Shout!Factory) 2008
Four Dead Batteries Soundtrack (HighTone) 2005
Continental Stomp (HighTone) 2003, Produced by Lloyd Maines
Ghost Train (HighTone) 2002, Produced by Gurf Morlix
Hot Jazz (Buffalo) 2002 (Japan only)
Hot Western (Buffalo) 2002 (Japan only)
Dev'lish Mary (HighTone) 2000, Produced by Lloyd Maines
Tall Tales (HighTone) 1999, Produced by Dave Stuckey
Swingin' Stampede (HighTone) 1998, Produced by Hot Club of Cowtown
TELEVISION & FILM
Later With Jools Holland and the Jools Holland New Year's Eve Hootenanny (UK), $40 a Day with Rachael Ray (US), Grand Ol' Opry Live (US), Good Morning Azerbaijan (AZ), BBC Live From Glastonbury broadcast (UK)
Songs in film and on soundtracks: Four Dead Batteries, In Search of a Midnight Kiss
RADIO
Mountain Stage, Etown, World Cafe, A Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Sirius Sattelite, XM Sattelite, ABC live (Australia), BBC live (UK)
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Cambridge Folk Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival, National Folk Festival (US and AU), Stagecoach Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Waiting for Waits Festival (SP), Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN, Barns at Wolftrap, Rochester Jazz Festival, Strawberry Festival, Jazz at Lincon Center, US State Department Musical Ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame (inducted 2004), Tours with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, the Mavericks.
QUOTES
"Unfussy and unpretentious, their blend of down-home melodies and exuberant improvisation harks back to a lost era of so-called western swing. When they plunge into Orange Blossom Special your thoughts turn not so much to runaway trains as to a B-52 tearing up a runway."
-Clive Davis, The Times (London), 2008
"One of the finest performances by a visiting American country act I've witnessed for a very long time... they pretty much lifted the roof [off of the Black Box in Belfast] a couple of months back...a pretty much perfect country trio at the very top of their game."
-Ralph McLean, The Belfast Telegraph, 2008
"Perhaps the first thing one notices when listening to the Hot Club of Cowtown is its lack of irony, self-consciousness and forced hipness in embracing a style of music that so easily lends itself to such things...Stylistically, the band steps out from the shadow of its influences to become more than a faithful retro band that likes to raise its tempo every now and then. It's writing more of its own songs and varying its delivery... conscious always that above all else, the music is for dancing and an old-fashioned good time."
-Neil Strauss, New York Times
"...Spirit, originality and skill that would surely have impressed Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt back in the 1930s."
-Robin Denselow, The Guardian (London), 2009
"Cynics could say that they play hick-jumping with jazz sophistication, or jazz sweetness with hoedown grit. Either way, they scoop off the best parts of both styles, and are a supremely entertaining combo."
-Martin Longley, Coventry Telegraph (UK), 2008
"This Austin-based western swing/jazz trio--violin, guitar and upright bass --will bring even the tamest audience to its feet. Plus, instrument aficionados will drool over the 1925 Gibson acoustic, 1937 Gibson amp and all the other classic gear that helps to keep Cowtown hot and hoppin'."
-Chicago Tribune
"Would that any night of hot jazz and western swing could be as satisfyingly entertaining as this minimally outfitted (there are but three of them) party band par excellence.
-Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), 2009
"Without a trace of smirky retro irony....a refreshingly sweet-natured, accomplished, old-school treat."
-The Onion
"The young band distinguishes itself by its technical musicianship and vast acreage of diverse styles alone, but it seals the deal on stage, subtly and methodically casting aside the audience's daily worries and levitating the room into a dreamy salon of carefree abandon. Even the heartbreak songs are served sunny-side up."
-Derek Raymaker, Toronto Globe & Mail
"I doubt that many rock bands expend more energy in their playing, but what I admire most here is the unified point of view: a nostalgic love of western swing, big-band crooning, ragtime, even jazz improvisation."
-Marc Mickelson, Soundstage.com
"Smith's fretwork conjures up Reinhardt's energetic stint with Duke Ellington, while [James] exudes pure countrified fiddle goodness."
-David Lynch, Austin Chronicle
"Working in such tradition, the Hot Club of Cowtown can burn, playing fast and furious driving rhythms at break-neck pace, and the wild abandon of Whit's fleet-fingered solos improvised over dangerous changes can leave a listener slack-jawed and winded."
-Baker Rorick, Guitar Magazine
"Their sly mix of hot licks and cool vocals remains equally driven by the twang of Texas roadhouses as the gypsy string jazz of Reinhardt and Grappelli."
-Eli Messenger, Country Standard Time
"...Infusing classic pop and jazz tunes with plenty of string-band verve."
-Mike Joyce, Washington Post
"If rosin were flammable, violinist Elana [James] would be charged with arson."
-ink19.com
"While its repertoire and style draw from classic western swing and hot violin/guitar jazz of the Parisian 1930s and '40s, it's one of the most original groups on the Americana circuit, deserving of attention both live and on record."
-Craig Havighurst, Nashville Tennessean
The Best of The Hot Club of Cowtown (Shout!Factory) 2008
Four Dead Batteries Soundtrack (HighTone) 2005
Continental Stomp (HighTone) 2003, Produced by Lloyd Maines
Ghost Train (HighTone) 2002, Produced by Gurf Morlix
Hot Jazz (Buffalo) 2002 (Japan only)
Hot Western (Buffalo) 2002 (Japan only)
Dev'lish Mary (HighTone) 2000, Produced by Lloyd Maines
Tall Tales (HighTone) 1999, Produced by Dave Stuckey
Swingin' Stampede (HighTone) 1998, Produced by Hot Club of Cowtown
TELEVISION & FILM
Later With Jools Holland and the Jools Holland New Year's Eve Hootenanny (UK), $40 a Day with Rachael Ray (US), Grand Ol' Opry Live (US), Good Morning Azerbaijan (AZ), BBC Live From Glastonbury broadcast (UK)
Songs in film and on soundtracks: Four Dead Batteries, In Search of a Midnight Kiss
RADIO
Mountain Stage, Etown, World Cafe, A Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Sirius Sattelite, XM Sattelite, ABC live (Australia), BBC live (UK)
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Cambridge Folk Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival, National Folk Festival (US and AU), Stagecoach Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Waiting for Waits Festival (SP), Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN, Barns at Wolftrap, Rochester Jazz Festival, Strawberry Festival, Jazz at Lincon Center, US State Department Musical Ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame (inducted 2004), Tours with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, the Mavericks.
QUOTES
"Unfussy and unpretentious, their blend of down-home melodies and exuberant improvisation harks back to a lost era of so-called western swing. When they plunge into Orange Blossom Special your thoughts turn not so much to runaway trains as to a B-52 tearing up a runway."
-Clive Davis, The Times (London), 2008
"One of the finest performances by a visiting American country act I've witnessed for a very long time... they pretty much lifted the roof [off of the Black Box in Belfast] a couple of months back...a pretty much perfect country trio at the very top of their game."
-Ralph McLean, The Belfast Telegraph, 2008
"Perhaps the first thing one notices when listening to the Hot Club of Cowtown is its lack of irony, self-consciousness and forced hipness in embracing a style of music that so easily lends itself to such things...Stylistically, the band steps out from the shadow of its influences to become more than a faithful retro band that likes to raise its tempo every now and then. It's writing more of its own songs and varying its delivery... conscious always that above all else, the music is for dancing and an old-fashioned good time."
-Neil Strauss, New York Times
"...Spirit, originality and skill that would surely have impressed Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt back in the 1930s."
-Robin Denselow, The Guardian (London), 2009
"Cynics could say that they play hick-jumping with jazz sophistication, or jazz sweetness with hoedown grit. Either way, they scoop off the best parts of both styles, and are a supremely entertaining combo."
-Martin Longley, Coventry Telegraph (UK), 2008
"This Austin-based western swing/jazz trio--violin, guitar and upright bass --will bring even the tamest audience to its feet. Plus, instrument aficionados will drool over the 1925 Gibson acoustic, 1937 Gibson amp and all the other classic gear that helps to keep Cowtown hot and hoppin'."
-Chicago Tribune
"Would that any night of hot jazz and western swing could be as satisfyingly entertaining as this minimally outfitted (there are but three of them) party band par excellence.
-Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), 2009
"Without a trace of smirky retro irony....a refreshingly sweet-natured, accomplished, old-school treat."
-The Onion
"The young band distinguishes itself by its technical musicianship and vast acreage of diverse styles alone, but it seals the deal on stage, subtly and methodically casting aside the audience's daily worries and levitating the room into a dreamy salon of carefree abandon. Even the heartbreak songs are served sunny-side up."
-Derek Raymaker, Toronto Globe & Mail
"I doubt that many rock bands expend more energy in their playing, but what I admire most here is the unified point of view: a nostalgic love of western swing, big-band crooning, ragtime, even jazz improvisation."
-Marc Mickelson, Soundstage.com
"Smith's fretwork conjures up Reinhardt's energetic stint with Duke Ellington, while [James] exudes pure countrified fiddle goodness."
-David Lynch, Austin Chronicle
"Working in such tradition, the Hot Club of Cowtown can burn, playing fast and furious driving rhythms at break-neck pace, and the wild abandon of Whit's fleet-fingered solos improvised over dangerous changes can leave a listener slack-jawed and winded."
-Baker Rorick, Guitar Magazine
"Their sly mix of hot licks and cool vocals remains equally driven by the twang of Texas roadhouses as the gypsy string jazz of Reinhardt and Grappelli."
-Eli Messenger, Country Standard Time
"...Infusing classic pop and jazz tunes with plenty of string-band verve."
-Mike Joyce, Washington Post
"If rosin were flammable, violinist Elana [James] would be charged with arson."
-ink19.com
"While its repertoire and style draw from classic western swing and hot violin/guitar jazz of the Parisian 1930s and '40s, it's one of the most original groups on the Americana circuit, deserving of attention both live and on record."
-Craig Havighurst, Nashville Tennessean
________________________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE FOR "WISHFUL THINKING":
Internationally renowned American swing trio releases new album, WISHFUL THINKING, USA street date August 18, 2009 (Gold Strike/Thirty Tigers) - International Tour Dates Announced
NEW YORK, NY: August 18, 2009 - From the bright lights of the Grand Ol' Opry to the UK's Glastonbury Festival, to regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion and festival stages worldwide, the Hot Club of Cowtown has ascended from its unlikely beginnings in NYC's East Village a decade ago to become the premier ambassador of hot jazz and Western swing through sheer tenacity, virtuosity and the unstoppable power of their breathtaking live show.
On WISHFUL THINKING (Gold Strike/Thirty Tigers), Elana James (fiddle, vocals), Whit Smith (guitar, vocals) and upright bassist (Jake Erwin) finally get a chance to ignite all that smoldering energy they've pent up in the five years since their last album (2003's Continental Stomp). Back with more virtuosity and imagination than ever, this time out the Hot Club have amped up the "Hot Club" to match the long-established "Cowtown" in their sound and the result is mesmerizing.
NEW YORK, NY: August 18, 2009 - From the bright lights of the Grand Ol' Opry to the UK's Glastonbury Festival, to regular appearances on A Prairie Home Companion and festival stages worldwide, the Hot Club of Cowtown has ascended from its unlikely beginnings in NYC's East Village a decade ago to become the premier ambassador of hot jazz and Western swing through sheer tenacity, virtuosity and the unstoppable power of their breathtaking live show.
On WISHFUL THINKING (Gold Strike/Thirty Tigers), Elana James (fiddle, vocals), Whit Smith (guitar, vocals) and upright bassist (Jake Erwin) finally get a chance to ignite all that smoldering energy they've pent up in the five years since their last album (2003's Continental Stomp). Back with more virtuosity and imagination than ever, this time out the Hot Club have amped up the "Hot Club" to match the long-established "Cowtown" in their sound and the result is mesmerizing.
With WISHFUL THINKING the Hot Club of Cowtown unveils it's most satisfying work yet by showing off an immensely appealing cross-section of it's disparate influences. From the combustible "Can't Go on this Way" by Western swing godfather Bob Wills, to the creepy gypsy violin of James's "Reunion," the Hot Club of Cowtown taps an unexpected montage of characters and perspectives to create WISHFUL THINKING. Throughout, the music is elegant and imaginative: James's spring-fingered violin solos and Smith's effortless, liquid guitar lines are anchored with power and grace by Erwin's masterful upright bass playing. Perhaps the first thing one notices about WISHFUL THINKING is that while the Hot Club contines to enthrall with it's playful virtuosity and genuine excitement (the "Magic Violin"), the album also reveals a gorgeously darker, more ruminative side not normally associated with the band (Smith's ballad "Carry Me Close," Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia," and the album's stark closer, Elana's "little girl lost" turn at George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me").
WISHFUL THINKING is also the band's first-ever inclusion of drums, courtesy of Damien Llanes, a welcome addition. This new element is especially effective in James's "Cabiria," (inspired by one of Fellini's most famous characters), a song who's noir sophistication could land it on the soundtrack of a European art film as easily as late-night country radio. The shuffling brushwork on the instrumental "Heart of Romain," also adds a new dimension to this song, written in the style of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt's Quintette du Hot Club de France.
With WISHFUL THINKING, the Hot Club of Cowtown continues to build on its global successes: lauded on NPR, darlings of international stages from Japan's Fuji Rock Festival to Stagecoach and all points in between, the band continues to evolve in its own unique way since the release of its first album more than ten years ago (1998's Swingin' Stampede). Some things have not changed however, most crucially, as Neil Strauss wrote about them in the New York Times, the band's "lack of irony, self-consciousness and forced hipness in embracing a style of music that so easily lends itself to such things...conscious always that above all else, the music is for dancing and an old-fashioned good time."
WISHFUL THINKING is also the band's first-ever inclusion of drums, courtesy of Damien Llanes, a welcome addition. This new element is especially effective in James's "Cabiria," (inspired by one of Fellini's most famous characters), a song who's noir sophistication could land it on the soundtrack of a European art film as easily as late-night country radio. The shuffling brushwork on the instrumental "Heart of Romain," also adds a new dimension to this song, written in the style of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt's Quintette du Hot Club de France.
With WISHFUL THINKING, the Hot Club of Cowtown continues to build on its global successes: lauded on NPR, darlings of international stages from Japan's Fuji Rock Festival to Stagecoach and all points in between, the band continues to evolve in its own unique way since the release of its first album more than ten years ago (1998's Swingin' Stampede). Some things have not changed however, most crucially, as Neil Strauss wrote about them in the New York Times, the band's "lack of irony, self-consciousness and forced hipness in embracing a style of music that so easily lends itself to such things...conscious always that above all else, the music is for dancing and an old-fashioned good time."
The Hot Club of Cowtown has been invited to collaborate (Bryan Ferry), tour with (Bob Dylan) and work alongside (Willie Nelson) several more contemporary artists. These invitations--by Bryan Ferry to interpret his work into a Western swing format (unreleased), as well as more high-profile international tours, have led the Hot Club of Cowtown to dip a toe into the modern mainstream. Rachel Ray even put them in her cookbook! Appearances at mega-festivals from Byron Bay (Australia) to Fuji Rock (Japan) to Glastonbury (UK), Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2009 fall season to Jools Holland's hit BBC TV show "Later" have also helped bring the Hot Club of Cowtown growing acclaim and a little closer to the millions waiting to fall in love with their music.
The Hot Club of Cowtown has just returned from spring and summer tours in Australia and the UK where they have been capturing daily 4-star reviews both for their live shows and for album reviews (Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Independent, The London Times). The Hot Club will be alternately touring the US and abroad in support of WISHFUL THINKING.
