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by Derek Raymaker Toronto Globe & Mail, October 4, 2002 So how do you take 70-year-old whimsical melodies drawn from the buzzing cafés of Europe and the horn-swoggling barn dances of Texas and make them fresh again? The easy answer is to tart up old standards with slick studio tricks. But Hot Club of Cowtown gets the job done the old-fashioned way: Just have a lot of fun and don't mistake volume for power. The Austin, Tex., trio of violinist Elana Fremerman, guitarist Whit Smith and standup bassist Jake Erwin floated into the rarefied air of Toronto's Top o' the Senator Wednesday to begin a five-night daredevil act in a thrilling exhibition of pep, genre-twisting and pristine musical arranging. The Hot Club tore through two sets of hot jazz from the Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli school, classic laments of the Hoagie Carmichael and Gershwin brothers school and an explosive arsenal of western swing and fiddle power. The Hot Club has just released its fourth album, Ghost Train (HighTone Records), and has struggled in earnest to distance itself from other kitschy retro acts. Until recently, the band relied on covering the overlooked gems from the dawn of jazz and country, some so old that their copyrights had run out. Ghost Train, however, features mostly original songs, all of which stand up well next to the Great American Songbook. The young band distinguishes itself by its technical musicianship and vast acreage of diverse styles alone, but it seals the deal on stage, subtly and methodically casting aside the audience's daily worries and levitating the room into a dreamy salon of carefree abandon. Even the heartbreak songs are served sunny-side up. Hot Club smashed together paradoxical vocal and playing styles and somehow pulled a rabbit out of the hat on every song Wednesday. Fremerman did not allow her cheerful stage presence and aggressive fiddling to overpower her subdued and smoky voice. She trades lead-singing duties with Smith, who brings an element of danger to the mix. On songs like "It Stops With Me," written and sung by Smith, his wry face and noir touches gave off a spooky air that meshed nicely with his breezy guitar breaks fingered on a vintage pre-war Gibson. Bassist Erwin was no mere sideman. He slapped down thumping bass solos through a number of lead breaks while howling out harmony on cue. By the end of the night, Fremerman's bow was frayed and the crowd was spent. |