Press

The Groove

At the Americana conference this year I discovered a trio of young musicians who will appeal to fans of Western Swing from the 1930s and 40s as well as the jazz swing of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. They are known as the Hot Club of Cowtown and their latest CD, Wishful Thinking (Gold Strike), really swings. Standards like “Columbus Stockade Blues” and “Someone To Watch Over Me” are given fresh arrangements, while newly composed tunes penned by violinist and vocalist Elana James fill out the 14 tracks of pure enjoyment on the disc. Whit Smith plays guitar and shares vocals and Jake Erwin backs them up on string bass.