1. Twenty-Four Hours a Day
2. One More Night
3. Oh, Baby
4. Goodbye, Liza Jane
5. All the World and I
6. Run Away with Me
7. Eva's Waltz
8. Down the Line
9. I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good)
10. Silver Bells
11. The Little Green Valley
12. Memories of You
13. I Don't Mind
Amazon.com
As a featured instrumentalist (then known as Elana Fremerman) within the Hot Club of Cowtown, the violinist helped bridge the Parisian jazz of Django Reinhardt and the western swing of Bob Wills. When the Hot Club disbanded after touring with Bob Dylan, she served a stint in Dylan's band. On her solo debut, Elana James continues to impress as an instrumentalist, though her original material is pretty slight and her voice lacks range. Uptempo fare such as "Twenty-Four Hours a Day," "Oh, Baby," and "Run Away with Me" mainly serves as a springboard for sprightly instrumental interplay, with bassist Beau Sample and guitarist Dave Biller among those providing superb support, while Texas Playboy alum Johnny Gimble guests on a couple of other cuts. The stately "Eva's Waltz" instrumental and the Appalachian strains of "All the World and I," with doubled-tracked vocal harmonies, suggest that her songs are stronger when she slows things down, as does her rendition of Dylan's "One More Night." Covers of a couple Ellington tunes--"I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" and "I Don't Mind"--are passably torchy, but the violin remains her most compelling voice. --Don McLeese
Product Description
This the debut CD from the Hot Jazzy Fiddle-ist and vocalist from the westen swing power trio Hot Club of Cowtown and Bob Dylan's touring band. 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
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Elana James
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2007-02-27)
- Publisher: Snarf Records
- Label: Snarf Records
- Studio: Snarf Records
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 12 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #109000
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Elana James's music is great! 2007-11-01
Comment: I've seen Elana James twice at the Continental Club in Austin, TX, and her performances were incredible! On one of her posters it says she plays, "hot Texas fiddle music for the 21st century", and how true that is!
At the Continental Club, she plays with an upright bass player, a drummer, and a fellow who plays electric guitar, and Elana plays (electric) violin. She's a powerful violin player and she has a nice, sultry voice. I didn't think there's anything negative about her voice at all in the live performances, so I'm not sure what Ann Joyce means when she says that James "is just not a strong enough vocalist to sing lead". Her voice was plenty strong at the Continental Club, and I think she has a great voice.
Her live music is a mix of genres, but all tuned towards a Texas swing style. If you've ever heard "Asleep at the Wheel" playing Bob Wills' covers, Elana James is reminiscent of them as she, too, plays some Bob Wills' covers. The difference is while Ray Benson is "Asleep at the Wheel" (and, BTW, I think "Asleep at the Wheel" is a great band), Elana James, by contrast, is alive and kicking at the wheel - in fact, she can be highly-caffeinated at the wheel! She plays some slow pieces, and she plays quite a few faster pieces at the Continental Club, and her fast pieces can really kick a**. When she plays "Orange Blossom Special", she plays it way FAST - faster than I have ever heard before and faster than I thought possible - without losing the musicality of the tune! She is a high-energy performance with a great stage presence, a good voice for her style of music, and plays great music!
I got a chance to talk to her at the Continental Club last night for a minute and told her that I'd be back to every performance at the Continental Club and when she eventually stopped playing there, I'd just have to track her down so I could listen to her music again! I liked her music so much I bought two of her CDs - the one being reviewed here, and "Continental Stomp".
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Elana James is excellent! 2007-10-30
Comment: This new recording is absolutely fabulous, so much that I am going to seek out her previous recordings. A very musical blend of swing, jazz, country and folk, she crosses genres with ease and makes it seem so effortless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fiddeling around with Elana 2007-09-07
Comment: Wow, was I in for a pleasant surprise when I happened on to Elana James. I took a chance on this album only because of a Austin connection. Having spent a little time in that storied town, I felt that criteria was enough to spend the thirteen or so dollars on this new (to me) talent. She had me from the second cut on. Her rendition of "One More Night" made me forget Bob Dylan for two minutes and thirty-five seconds that Elan wove her magic on his standard. If you are looking for an exciting new talent - that does not follow the same worn-out patterns that we are bombarded with on most new c.d.'s. Now, the exciting part, this woman can fiddle and I mean fiddle! I have played this album about six times so far and find myself more engaged with the music on every succeeding playing.
The mixing by Mark Hallman gives a very forward presence to the music. His style of mixing is a very comfortable fit with this group of musicians, as it is composed mostly of strings with a nice mix of Joe Kerr's Piano and Bruce Blackman's Clarinet. You will have to wait until the last cut to hear a wonderful interpretation of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "I Don't Mind," a tune worth waiting for. The nice thing here is that you are not wasting your time playing all of the twelve previous songs, for when you arrive at the end of number thirteen - more than likely you will start number one all over again!
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC FIDDLIN' 2007-08-31
Comment: This is a superb fiddling album of western swing and swing in general. Voice is just as fantastic. Would love to see her in concert.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Elana James 2007-08-12
Comment: Even if you only buy this album for one track the purchase price is more than worth it.
Elana James has a brilliant singing range and is a performer of immense talent.
What more is there to say other than this album is a hugely enjoyable experience.
Sit back and experience a truly fabulous singer.
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Elana James
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