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

Hot Club of Cowtown

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 1, 1998)
• Original Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hightone Records
• ASIN: B00000AFXH
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,598 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Jazz > Swing Jazz > Retro Swing

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As their name implies, this Austin-based trio combines buoyant, blithe Western swing with precise small-band hot jazz. Before all you swingsters grab your dancin' shoes, however, be aware that this Hot Club takes its jazz improvisation quite seriously, delivering thoughtful and fluent licks rather than merely stock 4/4 rhythms. That's not to say you can't dance to it---they generate considerable intensity even without the presence of a drummer. Along the way, they cover an ample amount of Bob Wills (plus a Spade Cooley tune) in addition to traditional fiddle tunes, waltzes, and standards from Gershwin and other old-timers. Guitarist Whit Smith shows talent both as a fleet soloist and a propulsive rhythm man (check out Chinatown, My Chinatown) while Elana Fremerman handles her fiddle breaks with conviction; both offer mild-mannered vocals. Texas fiddle legend Johnny Gimble joins in on four cuts, and steel guitar, piano, and accordion also pop up at various points across this engaging debut. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars upbeat, good-time dance music, August 30, 2002

By	Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generation X Meets Bob Wills and American History, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot stuffffff!, February 20, 2000

By	A fan in Virginia (Winchester, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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!