The Hot Club Of Cowtown - Tall Tales (1999/2020)

From the first visceral instant when Elana Fremerman drags bow across fiddle, you know Tall Tales is already an improvement over Hot Club of Cowtown's fine debut Swingin' Stampede. New producer Dave Stuckey (formerly of the Dave and Deke Combo) charges every scratch, twang, and pop from this swingin' fiddle-guitar-doghouse bass trio with the tactile punch of a live gig. The result is that the band's virtuoso mix of old-time fiddle tunes, hot jazz, Western swing, and early-century Tin Pan Alley--everything from "Sally Goodin'" to the Burke and Van Heusen standard "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"--finally comes off as gritty as it is sweet and, consequently, better than ever. Tall Tales confirms that this Hot Club is the only emerging swing-revival band to compare favorably to the masters of swing. And, most impressively, when the group expands beyond a trio by adding trumpet and piano (particularly on an original torch song called "When I Lost You"), its bright future comes into clear focus. --David Cantwell