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Elana James
Elana Swings
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.
Reviews and Quotes
A beautiful voice, a fantastic musician, with the heart and soul of an angel.
-Willie Nelson
"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
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Elana James
Formerly the driving force behind the hot jazz/Western swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown, violinist and singer Elana James is an internationally acclaime...