Double Bass Western Swing

[Gearhead43]

Reviving this thread to post a great clip of Hot Club Of Cowtown. Jake Erwin is one of the best slap players around today. He's a one-man rhythm section:

 

[eggfan]

You need to check out the original Western Swing guys:
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
Guitar player Eldon Chamblin of Tulsa made Guitar Players list of best jazz guitarists.
Tiny Moore is excellent on mandolin.
The Country radio stations wouldn't play them as they were too jazzy. The Jazz stations wouldn't because they were too
country.

Also the house band at Bob Wills' club in Sacramento, "Wills Point," fronted by Bob's brother Billy Jack. Tiny had come off the road with Bob at that point and was running the club. Vance Terry is on pedal steel. (Tiny was of course later rediscovered by Merle Haggard as an original contributor to the "Bakersfield sound.") There are some smokin' radio checks of the group available on CD.

 

[Gearhead43]

Yeah, Wills Point was just up the 80 freeway from me, back in the day. (before my time, haha)

My wife's grandmother told me stories about dancing the night away up there. My wife's grandpa was a huge Bob Wills fan, as was my grandma. Pretty cool that my area is part of that history, because I am a huge fan also and a fledgeling (wannabe) Western Swing bass player.

I still need to get the Tiffany radio transcriptions CDs.

 

[MR PC]

Skip Simmons Tube Amp Service over in Dixon has the original all tube PA used on those gigs. Imagine that.

Wills used to play in Oakland in the late forties into the fifties at least. Radio station KPFA originaly forbid it's programmers to play his recordings Funny, because KPFA is a station that plays a good amount of Wills' stuff on Sun afternoons these days.

 

[Gearhead43]

Wow, might have to pop in there and check out that PA.

 

[deaf pea]

Talkbass's Dave Martin has something to do with their recordings . . .

 

[Nuno A.]

Also the house band at Bob Wills' club in Sacramento, "Wills Point," fronted by Bob's brother Billy Jack. Tiny had come off the road with Bob at that point and was running the club. Vance Terry is on pedal steel. (Tiny was of course later rediscovered by Merle Haggard as an original contributor to the "Bakersfield sound.") There are some smokin' radio checks of the group available on CD.

Billy Jack Wills radio transcriptions are in my opinion one of the best western swing recordings, brilliant stuff.
They play a lot of jazz tunes with a great western swing flavor.

Nuno