The Official Elana James Site

“If rosin were flammable violinist Elana James would be charged with arson.”

-ink19.com

“An infectious combination of verbal wit and instrumental guile.”

-NPR

“Elana is one of the sexiest, most talented musicians. Her style hints of another era…taking you places you thought were unreachable by today’s standards. And yet, here she is…”

-Raul Malo (The Mavericks)

“James takes her inspiration from former Texas Playboy fiddler Johnny Gimble, but her playing also offers a nod to the red-hot stylings of jazz violin pioneer Stuff Smith.”

-Greg Cahill, allthingsstrings.com

“A welcome, raw, chromatically-fueled intensity”

-New York Music Daily (2014)

“[James’s] inventive violin style can still conjure up the unique image of Bob Wills strolling through Tin Pan Alley.”

-Sean Daly, JazzTimes

“James handles vintage songs with great assurance. “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “Exactly Like You” are all delivered without a hint of tiresome post-modern irony.”

-Clive Davis, The Times (London)

“James has toured with Dylan, not the most laid-back of bandleaders, but one with an insistence on individual nuance and appropriate improvisation nonetheless, lessons James has now transposed to a more purely C&W idiom.”

-Colin Fleming, Jazz Times

“…Sunny, amusing love songs given an added poignancy by her effortless vocal style.”

-j. poet , Pulse

“…Innovative, original lyrics…Elana James’ unaffected vocalizing is infectious.”

-Dorothy Hill , Jazz Now

“Some of [James’] songs seem destined to become classics. Her songs–like the best of Gillian Welch’s–sound like age-old gems unearthed, tunes ripe with sparse but powerful images, rustic phrasing and sweet playing.”

-Marty Jones, Denver Westword

“James exudes pure countrified fiddle goodness.”

-David Lynch, Austin Chronicle

“…James did not allow her cheerful stage presence and aggressive fiddling to overpower her subdued and smoky voice…. By the end of the night, [her] bow was frayed and the crowd was spent.”

-Derek Raymaker, Toronto Globe & Mail

“As a fiddler, singer and writer, Elana James simply glows…She sings with elegant command.”

-Craig Havighurst , Nashville Tennessean

“A beautiful voice, a fantastic musician, with the heart and soul of an angel.”

-Willie Nelson

“The First Lady of the Fiddle”

-Rolling Stone (Australia), May 2009

“Elana James’ throaty violin solos arrived in terse, epigrammatic phrases with a sprint, every so often, into chromatic harmony. She also sang in a breathy, un-self-conscious voice that made every double-entendre seductive.”

-Jon Pareles, New York Times