Customer Reviews

Four Dead Batteries

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I don't know anything about the movie this soundtrack is from, but the music sure is sweet! An album full of music from one of the finest western swing/stringband revival bands, the now-defunct Hot Club Of Cowtown, with five new tracks from HCCT co-founder Whit Smith's new group. It's fine stuff from start to finish, a very listenable, very pleasant set, roaming through various acoustic jazz, blues and country styles, with a healthy dose of classic western swing tunes. This is a well-programmed album, and a fine testament to the Hot Club's freewheeling, joyful style. Recommended!

The soundtrack to this indie film features ten songs from Austin, TX's Hot Club of Cowtown, along with five new sides by ex-HCOC guitarist Whit Smith. Smith formed his new combo, Whit Smith's Hot Jazz Caravan, after the 2004 dissolution of HCOC, and presents their first recordings here. Both bands pair the sounds of Gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt and Western Swing pioneer Bob Wills.

Where the core of HCOC was a trio, Smith has expanded his new group to a quintet, retaining HCOC bassist Jake Erwin, and adding second guitarist JD Pendley, clarinet/saxophone player Jon Doyle, and violinist Mike Montgomery. The result is a bit fuller than some of the Cowtown recordings, but given that his former group occasionally added players on, the difference hinges more on the presence of Pendley's clarinet, which adds a flavor of trad jazz to the group's arrangements.

The Caravan's five sides include chestnuts from Irving Berlin ("I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket") and Johnny Mercer ("I'm an Old Cowhand"), as well as Reinhardt and Grappelli's "Douce Ambiance." The vocal numbers are a particular treat, with Smith's singing with a swinging nonchalance. A departure and a new beginning for Smith add up to a refined album of Western gypsy swing country jazz! [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

The Reinhardt influence is definitely here, but with that western swing. HCOC are always a treat and this soundtrack fits the film just fine.