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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting & mesmerizing CD from a proficient raconteur, February 27, 2007
Playing Time - 40:24 -- Elana Fremerman is originally from Kansas. In search of her muse, she's now living in Austin and is known as Elana James. Beaming with irresistible, savory music, Elana's debut comfortably presents original songs alongside classic jazz and western swing standards. All have straightforward stories and simple declarations. The ten-year member of the Hot Club of Cowtown was invited to join Bob Dylan's group shortly after the former disbanded. She covers Dylan's hit that was originally released in the 60s, "One More Night," and she's clearly ready for the light to shine on her. Building off her previous body of recorded work, Elana's music radiates with plenty of seductive charm, confidence and composure. It's nice to see the skillful musician making the big leap to being a full-fledged soloist in the spotlight. It's obviously a kind of liberating experience for her. Six of the CD's cuts are her own self-penned original songs demonstrating her proficiency as both musician and lyricist. Her challenge is to make the set sound both new and old alike, and Elana has that special knack that will surely bring much continued success. One of the youngest inductees into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, Elana is happening probably because she sings and plays with so much fervor and infatuation. She's got it bad, and luckily for us that's good!
Whether bowing her "Eva's Waltz" or vocalizing Eubie Blake's big 1940s hit "Memories of You," she connects the dots from past to present. She's blessed with a Midas touch on her violin that moves effortlessly from note to note throughout the album. Actually, she prefers to be known as a "fiddilist." With a standard like "Silver Bells," she and Johnny Gimble do some expressive twin fiddling in harmony before embarking on some brief but fiery improvisations. Recording with James on his 80th birthday, Gimble also plays his electric mandolin on "Goodbye Liza Jane." Besides Gimble, other instrumental support on the album comes from Beau Sample (bass), Dave Biller (guitar), Luke Hill (guitar), Joe Kerr (piano), Bruce Brackman (clarinet), and Mark Hallman (brushes). Sample also contributes some harmony vocals.
James' voice is lovely, limpid and even somewhat exotic on her leisurely rendition of Duke Ellington's "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" and "I Don't Mind." The latter is a very pleasant song that we just don't often hear covered as frequently as Duke's bigger hits. While some may perceive her lyrics as a tad novice ("Run Away With Me") when laid out alongside words from the likes of famous lyricists, I feel that Elana holds her own with some splendid musical vignettesŠ."oh baby, take me by the hand, help me understand." She writes with more traditional sensibility than with some contrived or modernistic approach that attempts to push boundaries of the genre she's playing. "Twenty-Four Hours A Day" opens the project with a jumpin' groove, and her own harmonies on "All The World And I" are more winsome, old-time and folky. The latter song was inspired from a biography about A. P. Carter as she sings "when all the flowers grow up, it's you they want to be." What a feather in her cap that her own plain but thoughtful messages can stand up side-by-side to those of Bob Dylan (One More Night), Billy Strayhorn (I Don't Mind), Andy Razaf (Memories of You), Paul Webster (I Got It Bad), and Carson Robison (The Little Green Valley). You may recall that the last song was a hit for Marty Robbins, and Elana does seems to have an affinity for elements of nature as she observes "I hear a mockingbird down in the little green valley / he's singing out a song of welcome just for me." Elana is very comfy singing about babbling brooks and shady nooks, or searching (in "I Got It Bad") for sweet, gentle love as she feels "like a lonesome weeping willow lost in the wood."
Elana James' debut album is enchanting and mesmerizing. It shows that she's both accomplished and witty -- a proficient swinging and jazzy raconteur if you will. Be sure to catch her own trio (with Sample and Hill) when they come to town. This album reinforces her belief that the key to success is just a matter of getting out there and doing it. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you thought the CD was great, hear her live!, April 8, 2007
It was my first visit to Gruene Hall, south of Austin, on a Saturday afternoon in Dec. '06, and I was amazed to find that Elana and her band was playing there for tips. What a day! On the break, I bought my CD from her. I admit, on the CD, I thought her fiddling comes across a bit better than her vocals on the CD. On the other hand, when she was live, I really enjoyed her voice more than the fiddle--go figure. Regardless, I enjoy the total package!
At any rate, I'll buy her next CDs as fast as they come out. I'm also planning on catching her live in the future.
After listening to fiddle music most of my life, I know good fiddle. She's got good fiddle! I'm guessing Johnny Gimble enjoyed playing with her as much as she was honored playing with him. They both are in my top five fiddlers. Great First CD after HCC!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hot Club of Cowtown fiddler steps up for strong solo debut, March 20, 2007
Fiddle virtuoso Elana James (nee Fremerman) steps out front following the dissolution of her gypsy-jazz-meets-western-swing band, Hot Club of Cowtown. In addition to handling the lead vocals, James wrote nearly half the tunes and carefully selected the rest from the catalogs of Bob Dylan (with whom she recently toured), Duke Ellington and Eubie Blake. Her voice is not quite the seasoned instrument of her violin, but its qualities - at times thin and whispery -- are compelling. Upbeat tunes like "Oh, Baby" sport the jazzy sass of Annie Ross, and the multitracked vocal of "Goodbye Liza Jane" echo The Andrews Sisters.
James' fiddle is supported by the propulsive bass playing of Beau Sample, the superb guitar of Dave Biller and Joe Kerr's smooth, late-night piano. James duets with the legendary Johnny Gimble on a mid-tempo arrangement of "Silver Bells" and shows off the fluidity of her playing on the original "Eva's Waltz." Her songwriting and singing confidently bridge her jazz and country influences, slowing for the Appalachian-stained harmonies of "All the World and I" and realizing Ellington's "I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good)" as a thoughtful daydream.
This is a delightful release whose charms bow to swing ancestors without devolving into costumed revivalism. As a leader, James is g as a western swinger, but surprising on the jazzier ballads; she's always been spunky, but her slinky takes as a chanteuse are exhilarating. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]
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