Customer Reviews

Swingin' Stampede: The Hot Club Of Cowtown Playing Hot Jazz & Western Swing

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I caught this trio at an outdoor concert in Culver City, California, recently, and they were keeping a big crowd of people of all ages happy, toe-tapping, clapping, and dancing in the aisles. Don't think I've ever seen a stand-up bass player have so much fun slappin' bass. Fiddler Elana Fremerman was dressed in basic black, but the two guys in the group wore retro 40's, with pleated pants, dress shirts and wide ties. The sound they made was straight out of mid-20th century Texas, by way of Bob Wills, with hints of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. I passed on the tee-shirts and posters, but took home what turned out to be their debut CD, "Swingin' Stampede," which I love even more than the concert.

Compared to the material they do now, the songs on this CD sound more authentic as Western swing, and come complete with the trademark "Ah-haaa" thrown in at unexpected intervals. They also have the advantage of additional musicians for a fuller sound on some cuts. The lead singers' voices are plain and unvarnished; the guitar picking is not especially flashy; and the tunes are short 3-minute versions without a lot of fancy stuff. But all the songs are upbeat, good-time 4/4 dance music, with a couple fast waltzes for good measure. Best songs: "Somebody Loves Me" and "Chinatown, My Chinatown." Sure to put a smile on your face and make you wish it was Saturday night.

Roaming the pubs and Knight of Columbus Halls of Texas is a trio which stamps its own talent on arguably the most American idiom - Western Swing. These folks are not conservationists or musical librarians -they're talented musicians who have chosen a genre that kept two generations dancing to a music for which no rubric applies but to which everybody can shuffle. Jazz, blues, R&B, country, Mexican, hillbilly - it's all there in every song, and it all makes musical sense. Any band which, as I've seen, can get four generations off their folding metal chairs and on to the dance floor is definitely worth a listen.

We were lucky enough to see the Hot Club in concert outdoors in Winchester,Virginia. Despite travelling around the country in a tiny van, their sound was wild and expansive. One of my favorite records, this album pumps me up with energy and keeps me dancing at any hour. Great musicianship! I hope they come back to Winchester again!

You won't hear guitar playing like Whit Smith's very often, nor fiddle playing like Elana Fremerman's. They are wonderful in person, and I love their CD's! Simply great, joyful music!

You won't be disappointed!

This album has everything going for it: The band's got a great moniker, their playing is tight, and the music is right. The Hot Club of Cowtown hails from Austin, Texas---which is about as far as you can get from Paris, France, in everything but hot music. This trio plays classic western swing with traces of its namesake, the Hot Club of France, thrown in. Consider this Bob Wills with a beret or Django Reinhardt in cowboy boots. It's hot stuff.

Great group with consistantly nice music coming out. But Tall Tails is the best album for this group so far.

Unlike some modern hot jazz, they aren't trying to set any speed records, and instead take the tunes at their proper pace. The songs have a nice country tinge without being TOO country. Overall, the album has a great old timey sound, only without the low-fidelity. The best tracks are the songs, as opposed to the instrumentals, because although they are not technically great singers, they all have an appealing way with a vocal.
This is stripped down, very fun album of hot jazz by way of Texas.

We've been waiting for a band like "The Hot Club of Cowtown" to finally arrive on the scene. They sizzle. All three musicians are outstanding and Whit is the most aggressive guitar player in western swing.

I was very pleased with the fresh upbeat bluegrass sound of this young group of musicians.

This album is wonderful. No pretention, no irony, just old-fashioned good ol' country swing. Each of these instruments sound great on their own, but also play nicely off each other.