Jazz
The Hot Club of Cowtown
Billy Horton - Bass (Upright), Vocals
Elana Fremerman - Violin, Vocals
Joe Kerr - Piano
Marty Laster - Violin
Peter Ecklund - Cornet
Whit Smith - Guitar, Vocals
* Dave Stuckey - Producer
* George Brainard - Photography
* Guy Juke - Cover Art, Cover Illustration
* Marybeth Daigle - Graphic Design
* Scott Hollingsworth - Engineer
Kicking in with the instrumental bluegrass fiddle number "Draggin' the Bow," things get hotter when the Hot Club of Cowtown add a heap of period-style originals into their Western swing mix. There's the Bourbon Street sound of "Emily" and "Darling You and I Are Through," and then there are the standards like "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "Always and Always." Old-timey country ("I Laugh When I Think How I Cried Over You" and "Red Hot Mama") is yet another style in the Hot Club's bag of successful tricks, which are authentic yet somehow absolutely fresh -- and something to aspire to for the pack of neo-roots bands.
---Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
The Hot Club of Cowtown
Active Decades: '90s and '00s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Western Swing Revival, Retro Swing
Western swing revivalists Hot Club of Cowtown formed in San Diego in 1996; originally a duo pairing singer/violinist Elana Fremerman and singer/guitarist Whit Smith, a subsequent move to Austin, TX made room for the addition of bassist Billy Horton. Signing to HighTone, the trio issued their debut album Swingin' Stampede! in the fall of 1998; the follow-up, Tall Tales, appeared a year later. New bassist Matt Weiner joined Smith and Fremerman for 2000's Dev'lish Mary. 2002's Ghost Train came two years later, and it showed the group focusing more on original material and cutting back on the amount of covers.
---Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide |
