Customer Reviews

Texas Stomp: Hot 'N' Bluesy Fiddle/Guitar and Twin Guitar Duets 1934-1940

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

 

 

These guys are GREAT- the southwest-swing version of Grapelli and Reinhardt! (The main difference between the two great jazz fiddle/guitar duos is that the brothers drew their source material from Americana: traditional country, cowboy, western and fiddle tunes, etc.)

There was a famous conductor, back in the day, who, asked to name who he considered THE best violinist on earth at that time, responded that he would have to divide that "honor" between 2 people- the left hand of Fritz Kreisler (great classical violinist of the day)....and the right bow-arm of "that guy who plays for the Sons of the Pioneers.....!!!!!!! That would be Hugh Farr, of course- both Hugh (fiddle) and his brother Karl (guitar) were among the earliest members of the Pioneers, and played with them for decades. They'd be far (if you'll excuse the inadvertent pun) better known if they had not done most of their work under the auspices of that group- it's a shame they didn't record more, and on their own- and a shame they are not better known and recognized for how amazing they truly were. They couldn't read music, yet knew thousands of tunes...and could improvise entire performances of tunes from scratch and at the drop of a hat.

It just doesn't get any better than this! THE most prized CD in my swing collection...(It should be noted that the brothers recorded many more instrumental duets than what appears on this particular CD, which concentrates on their jazzier works- there are lots of duets scattered among most of the various "Sons of the Pioneers" recordings that they contributed to.)

Hugh and Carl Farr, formers of the legendary "Sons Of The Pioneers" presenting some of their best an unexpected Swing and Ragtime recordings. By listening for the first time these recordings reminded me to three fingers guitar genius Django Reinhard and his violin partner Stephane Grapelli. If you love early Western Swing, this CD is a must in your collection and you'll spin it redhot in your CD-player!

Just to respond to the other comment, before the war Stephane Grapelli had heard some of these recordings and was familiar with Hugh Farr's violin playing.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The Farr brothers, Hugh and Karl, were the instrumental backbone of the early-edition Sons Of The Pioneers. Their sleek, inventive melodic fills grace innumerable Pioneers recordings; on this disc we hear them playing mainly as a duo (with some light backing by another bandmember or two) and it's all pure gold. Their guitar-violin duets are clearly influenced by the work of Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti, as well as Stephane Grapelli & Django Reinhardt, and while the jazzy swing influence is clearly heard, they also have a little rural twang in there as well, keeping us in touch with their country roots. This is a great collection of radio transcript recordings thet they did over the years -- you can also hear them, sometimes as featured soloists, on the copious studio and radio recordings of the Pioneers band. (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue Guide To Country Music)