The year was 1994, and a newspaper ad led to the formation of the long-running Western swing band 鈥攊n New York City. You might think it an odd place to hear the songs of Bob Wills, but to hear guitarist Whit Smith tell it, 鈥淕od just put me there,鈥� he says. Smith had answered the call from fiddler Elana James, and it wasn鈥檛 too much longer that bassist Jake Erwin joined.
They鈥檝e been performing steadily for over two decades now, all over the world. 鈥淓ven people who obviously don鈥檛 speak English, they just pick up on the enthusiasm and the sincerity, and the beauty of the harmony and the melodies,鈥� explains Erwin. The band even jokes that they refer to themselves as 鈥淲orld Music,鈥� because for listeners abroad, it is!
Hot Club of Cowtown brought their gently swinging Western sounds to recently, playing original tunes, classics of the Western genre, and even some standards like 鈥淓xactly Like You鈥� and 鈥淧olka Dots and Moonbeams.鈥�
Hear 鈥淟ive at Jazz, TX鈥� Saturday nights at 7:00 on Texas Public Radio, or get a preview by listening to the show in the audio player below.
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