Biography
"A beautiful voice, a fantastic musician, with the heart and soul of an angel." -Willie Nelson
Formerly the driving force behind the hot jazz/Western swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown, violinist and singer Elana James is an internationally acclaimed performer who has been featured at countless major concerts and music festivals worldwide. In 2005 Elana teamed up with Bob Dylan as part of his touring band, the first female instrumentalist to do so in thirty years. In the summer of 2006, after having had her own band for less than a year, she was invited to tour as the opening act for Bob Dylan's summer US tour, beginning in August 2006 . Elana has also been a regular guest on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured on numerous television and radio shows including WSM's Grand Ole Opry, NPR's All Things Considered, World Cafe, Mountain Stage, E-Town Live, Forty Dollars a Day with Rachel Ray, and many others. In the UK she has appeared twice on Later with Jools Holland, and on numerous BBC radio and Television broadcasts, most recently as part of the BBC TV's live coverage of the Glastonbury Festival in 2005. One of the youngest members ever to be inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, Elana makes her home in Austin, Texas.
"What fiddling!...and a beautiful voice."
-Laurie Anderson
"Her fiddle...evokes memories of the wizardry of Stephane Grappelli and the magic of Johnny Gimble....Special, original, and a true treasure. Listen."
-Fred Foster
Producer, Founder, Monument Records
"Elana James is my favorite fiddler hands down! And it looks like I'm not the only one who's noticed (wink wink nudge nudge)."
-Laura Ellen KPIG Radio
Santa Cruz, CA
"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
"[Elana's] 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
"Western Swing was first created in the late 1930's by a generation of country players who adapted string bands to play big band jazz. On Elana James' first solo disc she demonstrates that this musical genre's vibrancy hasn't faded in the intervening years."
- Vintage Guitar magazine
Beginning in 2007 Elana's trio now features the inimitable WHIT SMITH (from Hot Club of Cowtown) on guitar and vocals, and the dazzling BEAU SAMPLE on upright bass and vocals.
Gear
I play a 1962 Mittenwald violin and, when I'm not playing acoustic, use an L.R. Baggs transducer pick-up run straight into an early 1980s "Minibrute" Polytone amplifier with a 15" speaker. I only ever use Dominant strings because they are great. I have four bows on the road at all times -- one fiberglass and three wood -- which I usually get rehaired about every six weeks with Mongolian stallion hair.
Instrumentation
Elana James: Violin, vocals
Whit Smith: Guitar, vocals
Jake Erwin: Upright bass, vocals
Occasional guests: Cindy Cashdollar (Steel, Dobro), Erik Hokkanen (Fiddle, Guitar), Dave Biller (Guitar), Joe Kerr (Piano), Redd Volkaert (Guitar)
Discography
Debut CD "Elana James" USA Distribution release date (Redeye) July 24, 2007.
INTERNATIONAL: Also available in Japan on Buffalo Records and in Australia on Shock Records
Previous recordings (by most recent):
Fiddle, with Johnny Gimble on "Last of the Breed": 2-CD set (Lost Highway) with With WILLIE NELSON, RAY PRICE & MERLE HAGGARD, PRODUCED BY FRED FOSTER (Lost Highway). Released March 2007.
With BOB DYLAN:
North Country Soundtrack "Tell Ol' Bill" (2005)
With HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN:
Continental Stomp (2003) Hightone Records
Ghost Train (2002) Hightone Records
Dev'lish Mary (2000) Hightone Records
Tall Tales (1999) Hightone Records
Swingin' Stampede (1998) Hightone Records
Links
| http://www.elanajames.com |