|
What'd you say??
Acoustic
Americana Music Guide
One of the shows at Viva Cantina: COW BOP, acclaimed jazz guitarist
Bruce Forman's always astonishing brand of classic Western Swing
is characterized by a world class mixture of hard bop harmonics
and complexity, affectionate respect for the idiom and an exceedingly
playful approach that, taken with vocalist Pinto Pammy's expressive,
self-assured delivery and the group's superb musicianship, guarantees
a thrilling earful
From Jazz Times:
With cover art that is bound to amuse
fans of cartoonist Gary Larson, Cow Bop’s third release
has a lot going for it even before the band kicks up some dust
with the help of four special guest riders: pianist Roger Kellaway,
saxophonist Allen Mezquida, trombonist Andy Martin and B3 organist
Joe Bagg. Tagging along with guitarist Bruce Forman and his pardners
is as much fun as ever.
That’s because
the affection Forman holds for Western-swing pioneers, Southwest
jazz bands and classic pop vocalists—plus his interest in
seminal bop, country and Latin influences—is every bit as
evident as his six-string finesse, and he’s surrounded himself
with musicians who share his taste and enthusiasms. How else to
explain why Kellaway sounds so engaged on an unabashedly romantic
“Besame Mucho” and a racing “Alabamy Bound,”
and how the horn players and B3 organist add such brilliant luster
and soul to this 12-tune collection?
Forman relies heavily
on his core band, though, to make a strong case for keeping these
sequels coming. Pinto Pammy’s vocals are delightfully evocative,
in English or Spanish, and she often brings out the best in Forman
when he’s required to combine subtle accompaniments with
flowing choruses—on “Comes Love,” for example.
Rounding out the group and, yes, often spurring it on, are bassist
Alex King, drummer Jake Reed and fiddler Phil Salazar, who sometimes
matches wits with the bandleader. For those who relate to Forman’s
passions, Too Hick for the Room is simply too good to pass up.
-Mike Joyce, Jazz times, Sept 2011 issue
Here's a rough translation
of the German Jazz Podium article:
"He calls it “California
Swing”, and anyone who thinks Bruce is lost to jazz is mistaken.
Already with “San Antonio Rose”, it starts with a
solid punch of Cowshed swingin’ music - and the guitar even
quotes Monk? A Tal-Farlow Phrase? Bruce Forman - who succeeded
Joe Diorio at the USC Jazz Department and who years before that
was a “Top-Bopper” - has created an incredible outcome
from his hidden love for C&W. Pinto Pammy sings , Phil fiddles,
Alex is on bass, Jake is on drums. “Besame Mucho”
- an excellent rendition with “Pinto” kicking in as
the best bride of Country music. The great saxophonist Allen Mezquida
performs on “Anytime”, Andy Martin, tbn, on “Comes
Love”, and Joe Bagg roars away on “Sweet Temptation”
- a dreamy blues. For the beginning of the good ol’ “Tennesse
Waltz”, Bruce disguised his L5 as Duane Eddy. “El
Cumbanchero” is a “finger-crusher”, and on “Alabamy
Bound”, the influence of Bruce’s former mentor, Barney
K., is unmistakable on Bruce’s amazing solo. Pinto Pammy’s
singing is fresh and yet remarkably akin to radio shows from the
30s/40s. The whole thing is perfect. Your feet are guaranteed
to love it. These first-class “Hillbillies” will put
even hard core jazz musicians in high spirits. Whoever said that
the closest distance between jazz and C&W had been reached
with Les Paul and Hank Garland, will surely get an eye-opener
with this album. (As in - y’all have found an even closer
tie between jazz/C&W). Bruce is still himself, and how."
(Thank you Kait Dunton for the translation from German!)
This is one of those rare
times when it's impossible to hang a label on a band or pigeonhole
its type of music. Thanks to the incredible talents of four guys
and a gal that make up Cow Bop, the result is the jazziest country
sound since Bob Wills. Taking it one step further, there is a
gutsy irreverence that makes straying from the original tunes
an exciting adventure in every groove.
Western swing, bebop, and
flat-out jazz are tossed together with a sassy delivery, breakneck
instrumental work, and often sultry vocals that conjure images
of big-band days. The 12 tunes are standards that have been worked
over by better-known artists through the years, but never have
they been wrung out so completely and so freshly.
Bruce Forman leads the
way, showing why he is widely known for his prowess as a jazz
and bebop guitarist. Pinto Pammy sizzles as she sings, and Phil
Salazar's fiddle adds a special kind of heat. Alex King on bass
and Jake Reed on drums punctuate the tightness of the quintet.
"San Antonio Rose" opens
the 54-minute package much like it has sounded for many years,
and then in a few bars evolves into a spicy, jazzy opus. There
are several album highlights, including a saucy rendition of "It's
a Sin To Tell a Lie" and a raucous take on "Alabamy Bound." Spectacular
guitar and fiddle playing make "Chinatown" worth revisiting.
-Ken Rosenbaum, ToledoBlade.com
Lately, Texas-born jazz
guitarist Bruce Forman's focus has been on western swing, the
hot 1930s hillbilly subgenre initially proposed by Milton Brown
and Bob Wills. As leader of Cow Bop (who just released their third
album, Too Hick for the Room), Forman, by adopting a traditional
dance-band role as opposed to the cerebral realm of bebop adventuring,
represents a fascinating dichotomy. Bop cats are notoriously allergic
to anything that even faintly resembles entertainment —
by the Bird-'Trane era they all detested Satchmo and his "mouldy
figges" — but Cow Bop embrace the down-home format
without sacrificing any of their complex, communicative musicality.
Taken with the Los Angeles legacy of jazz-country trailblazing
(Jimmie Rodgers and Armstrong recorded together here in 1930;
when the Palomino opened in 1949 it promptly instituted a weekly
jazz night), this ranks as a passionate mutation of dazzling proportions.
With material that draws
from L.A.–based C&W spearheads Sons of the Pioneers
and Merle Travis, plus Tin Pan Alley and Nashville standards,
Too Hick showcases the band's deft knack for musical miscegenation,
an issue that Wills' Texas Playboys aggressively forced; his guitarist
Junior Barnard was neck and neck with Charlie Christian in terms
of amplified '30s swing-to-bop expression. That competitive chain
of custody is exactly where Forman thrives, resulting in a riveting,
legitimate expansion of both forms.
Jonny Whityeside,
LAWeekly
There’ve been
rare cross-pollinations between jazz and country music, but mostly
from the country side of the fence, i.e., Bob Wills, Vassar Clements,
Willie Nelson, and Asleep at the Wheel. Here’s one from
the jazz side, and it’s a dandy. They take standards
from the jazz/classic pop continuum (“Chinatown,”
“Besame Mucho”), country (“Crazy”), and
western (“Cool Water”) and render them with a mix
of hearty, sassy corn-free twang, lean uptown swing and hot bebop
licks. Forman’s got a hefty yet nimble guitar sound, lustrous
and classy. Ms. Pinto has the smoky spunk and range of Patsy Cline,
and the band swings with the panache of Django Reinhardt’s
classic quintets. Most notable track: “Sweet Temptation,”
where soul-jazz organ finds sanctuary in a Louisiana honky tonk.
Great stuff, this, and try to see ‘em LIVE. If this band
doesn’t get your toes a-tapping, call a med-specialist posthaste.
Mark Keresman, Icon
Magazine
From Western Swing Monthly:
This
latest CD from the top-flight Southern California outfit carries
a pair of dedications, to Drew Daniels and Jimmy Wyble . Both
are apt. Respected West Coast jazz figure Daniels recorded the
disc, and Wyble could easily be its spiritual godfather. Western-swing
fans know the late guitarist for his sizzling work in Bob Wills’
early ‘40s California bands, while many jazz aficionados are aware
of Wyble’s prowess as a straight-ahead jazz musician .
Bruce
Forman, founder of Cow Bop, comes squarely out of the Wyble mold.
He’s an accomplished, fluid guitarist equally at home playing
bop-style jazz and western swing – in fact, from the beginning
he and his band have mixed the two styles to excellent effect.
Every disc by Cow Bop is as much Bop as it is Cow, and Too
Hick for the Room is no exception.
Led
as always by Forman and his vocalist wife, Pinto Pammy , Too
Hick for the Room also features excellent work from
fiddler Phil Salazar, bassist Alex King, and drummer Jake Reed,
a man who’s not afraid to employ a few percussive effects now
and again. Although it’s a jazz – and, to a lesser extent, western-swing
– tradition to take very well-known songs and give them a unique
spin, Cow Bop is fearless in its selection of material this time
around, recording fresh takes on the signature songs of Patsy
Cline (“Crazy”), Patti Page (“Tennessee Waltz”), the Sons of the
Pioneers (“Cool Water”) and Mr . Wills himself (“San Antonio Rose”).
In each case, the band brings something new and even beautiful
to those familiar numbers, whether it's the breathtaking guitar
and fiddle tandem work in “San Antonio Rose” or the wistful, haunting
vocal of Pinto Pammy on “Cool Water,” sung over a bassline that
throbs like a fatigued heartbeat.
As
befits a band made up of stellar musicians, the guest players
are all excellent as well, contributing piano, sax, trombone,
and organ on different tracks. Roger Kellaway’s keyboard fills,
for instance, provide neat extra propulsion for “ Alabamy Bound,”
which – intentionally, I’m sure – evokes Les Paul and Mary Ford,
who had a memorable version of the song out in the mid-‘50s.
I’ve
been a Cow Bop fan from the beginning, and, like its two predecessors,
this 11-cut CD is going to get plenty of air time on my radio
show. In any discussion of the top acts on today’s western-swing
scene, Cow Bop had better be in the conversation.
--
John Wooley, host of Swing on This ,
7 p.m. Saturdays on KWGS (89.5 FM) in Tulsa , streaming at kwgs.org
From New Zealand:
When F.
Scott Fitzgerald said that there were no second acts in American
life he had not foreseen the second act on Friday night. This
was cheeky, sassy, swinging, bop-infused countrified music and
against all odds it was seriously hip. American life was re-branded
that night and as we witnessed it in disbelief, we participated
in the fun. Bruce Forman is a Jazz legend, at the forefront of
Jazz
education and has accompanied some of the musics icons. Bruce
is a natural comedian and he really pushed the envelope with his
in-your-face Cow Bop humour. It is hard to describe adequately
in words, as the context was everything, but suffice to say it
worked. There were musical jokes of the highest order and some
home grown corn; delivered from under a stetson hat with a twinkling
eye...more
John Fenton, Jazz
Local 32
Have I lost my mind?
Well...There are actually several schools of thought on that.
If you take a look at
my "About Me" page you will notice I mention that I
am not here to promote one specific artist, label, or genre of
music and have often referred to jazz as a musical melting pot.
Now my words are coming back to haunt me...and I have never had
more fun!
Cow Bop is the brain
child of guitarist Bruce Forman who is indeed the swingin' statesman
of west coast jazz. To begin you need a musical frame of reference
- think Kenny Burrell meets Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
According to Forman,
"Too Hick For The Room" is announcing the official repeal
of jazz snobbery. As a card carrying member of the jazz elite
I had my doubts but found this to be one of the most entertaining
and well thought out musical projects I have heard in some time...more
Brent Black, Digital
Jazz Reviews
Music has a grand tradition of borrowing, whether you consider Mozart inserting
snippets of popular tunes in his original compositions, jazz musicians
inserting bits of Mozart into their improvised solos, or hip-hop
artists sampling jazz solos as the backdrop for some radio single...
The musicians on Cow Bop: Too Hick for the Room
fit nicely into this canon by mashing up a line dancer's dream
ensemble with arrangements that wouldn't be out of place on Woody
Herman's bandstand. The outcome is joyful, virtuosic, and unexpected.
The only disappointment is the cartoon designs that grace the
CD packaging, making this look most like a compilation for children
rather than a batch of impressive musical talent.
The track listing on
Too Hick for the Room shows a bevy of classics,
matched to the band's solid vocalist, Pinto Pammy. Judging by
the photo of Cow Bop from the CD's inside
flap, half the band looks under 30 and the other half can't
be far into their 40s. We mention this because the songs chosen
for Too Hick for the Room are more likely
to have emotional ties for folks over 50. Dance bands in the
olden days probably never ended a night without at least one
run through "Tennessee Waltz," and tunes like "San Antonio Rose"
and "Besame Mucho" found their audience back in the sock-hop
days. Vocal classics like "Crazy" and "It's a Sin to Tell a
Lie" bring back memories of Patsy Cline and vocal groups like
The Ink Spots, plus the band pulls out a few instrumental numbers
along the way.
This sounds like a golden
oldies roundup, but Cow Bop: Too Hick for the Room
is nothing like that. The band will be chugging along in typical
form and then break away into some extended riffing, with solos
that especially showcase the talents of fiddle player Phil Salazar
and guitarist Bruce Forman. It's obvious that these two aren't
limited in their scope of musical appreciation, and that they
have a considerable amount of jazz, country, bluegrass, and
probably three other genres at their disposal. The entire group
rallies nicely around the original arrangements and manages
to make old chestnuts like "Alabamy Bound" sound new and fresh.
That's a minor miracle. Singer Pammy sounds full of life and
enthusiasm, and has also obviously studied the performances
of the great vocalists that performed these numbers. At the
end of the day, Cow Bop: Too Hick for the Room
is an original effort, a combination of some disparate styles
that absolutely works. Jazz and country music can be packed
neatly into the same room, one that Cow Bop
proves can be enjoyed by hipsters and hicksters alike.
-Matt Paddock, GameVortex
Communications
Speaking of knowing
what you’re doing, consider Cow Bop. Led by the extraordinary
guitarist Bruce Forman, Cow Bop takes old-timey songs and makes
them into something new with an approach that might be called
twang-jazz. The musicianship is beyond superb, which is one reason
they are booked to appear at this year’s Los Angeles Guitar Festival
as well as the Monterey Jazz Festival. Sure, each member of the
group would probably be the leader if they were in any other band,
but the appeal of Cow Bop goes way beyond superior playing.
For the record, the nifty-zesty
rhythm section is comprised of Jake Reed on drums and Alex King
on bass. Sharing lead lines is Phil Salazar on fiddle, and he
can do jazz or country at the drop of a hat. Plus, he sometimes
plays through a wah-wah pedal, making some otherworldly noises
that fit into the mix just fine ‘n’ dandy. Stepping out front
on the tunes is vocalist Pinto Pammy, who connects with the audience
on every note. The gal sings and swings.
But the main thing Cow
Bop has in their favor is simply this: they are an absolute gas
to watch. People whoop and holler and cheer and applaud and dance.
And those of us who have attempted to play or record great guitar
sounds are often transfixed by the fluidity and grace of Forman’s
work.
Chris G, Music
Industry Hotwire
COW BOP/Too Hick for the Room
: When you grow up a mile from Jethro Burns house, an
appreciation for cow jazz gets seeped into your blood stream. Texas
jazzbo guitar man , Bruce Forman mixes his love of jazz and western
swing into the kind of band date that Burns would have certainly
gotten a kick out of as he raced from a session with Dave Holland
to one with Steve Goodman . If you’ve ever gotten a kick out of
Bob Wills passing out “ah-ha”s in the middle of a record, which
he handed out instead of money, then this work out on songs that
should never appear side by side on the same record will grab
you. A solid adult listening treat, the hot chops are on simmer,
the moves precise and the good times are on high. Simply a killer
set.
Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Listeners should be
wary of the self-deprecating impression given by a Gary Larsonesque
cartoon on the cover, the lampoonish attire, or the title of the
CD, Too Hick for the Room. Bruce Forman, legendary jazz
guitarist and founder of the JazzMasters Workshop, put Cow Bop
together with some top notch talent. Their first CD debuted in
2004 and charted in four genres. Joining Forman are fiddler Phil
Salazar, bass man Alex King, drummer Jake Reed, and lead vocalist,
Pinto Pammy. Pammy’s voice is a strong character-filled
instrument that satisfies and turns heads. You have to pay attention.
She’s such a refreshing change from the weak adolescent-sounding
female singers so prevalent on the airwaves today!...more
F.C. Etier, Technorati:
Jazzed Up
I loves me some swing,
some Tex Mex, some hot jazz, and some cool cowboy tunes, but it's
not often ya kin get 'em all rolled up in one sweet lil disc,
hombres. Cow Bop manages the entire package in a be-boppin' 12-cut
chopsfest, 'cause this is even more a showcase of top flight musicianship
than a venue for heel kickin' dance hall partying alongside a
love song or three that can't help but capture a bit of boogie
in all the purtified sweet talkin' (wait'll ya hear what Pinto
Pammy 'n the boys do with Besame Mucho). Sure, ya gets those too,
but, pardner, what Bruce Forman (guitar), Phil Salazar (fiddle),
Alex King (bass), and Jake Reed (drums) can do with this material:
hee-haw!…more
Mark S. Tucker, The
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
Cow Bop, the popular
western bebop band led by USC Thornton faculty guitarist Bruce
Forman , has announced its upcoming release, Too Hick for the
Room . The recording is a quintessentially Thornton effort: Thornton
students Jake Reed (D.M.A., Jazz Studies) and Alex King (B.M.,
Music) are featured members of the band, Thornton alumnus Doug
Gerry (D.M.A., Studio/Jazz Guitar) produced, and Thornton faculty
member Andrew Garver mastered the album. Too Hick for the Room
will be available through the band's website ,
CD Baby, and iTunes.
This Week at Thornton
With the Elko Convention
Center auditorium near capacity for Saturday's final show of the
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, there was much at stake for
ending the annual festival on a high-note. The performers did
not disappoint. The hot cowboy jazz group Cow Bop led off the
final performance with Pinto Pammy channeling Patsy Cline and
jazz guitar virtuoso Bruce Forman picking away on the guitar,
it didn't seem that things could get any better. That's when fiddler
Phil Salazar let loose on the fiddle during a medley of the original
piece, “The Boomer Stampede” and the classic “Orange Blossom Special.”
Although more commonly heard with a harmonica solo, Salazar filled
in on the fiddle, recreating every note with precision, literally
sawing away at his fiddle. When it was all over, the group received
an uproarious applause from the audience, and Salazar's fiddle
bow had shed a few horse hairs. “I think his horse is complaining,”
Forman said jokingly in response to the wild applause.” The
Elko News
The unexpected delight of the evening
was the dance that followed; or rather, the dance band for the
dance that followed! Pinto Pammy of Cow Bop has that smoky barroom
voice of old-time torch singers, and combined with the incredible
musicianship of guitarist Bruce Forman , violinist Richard Chon
, and Mike McKinley on drums, this group is pure gold. I left
with a CD, and I've played it almost non-stop since. " Joe Lynn
Kirkwood, Heber City
Guitarist
Bruce Forman is best known as a bebopper, but, hailing from Texas,
he grew up hearing the sounds of western swing. A few years ago,
he developed a side project called COW BOP , a band that combines
elements of jazz, western swing, honky-tonk and bluegrass. Too
Hick for the Room (B4MAN MUSIC – 101) is the third Cow Bop
album, and it is a pleasurable confection of escapism. The band
is comprised of Forman on guitar, Pinto Pammy on vocals, Phil
Salazar on fiddle, Alex King on bass and Jake Reed on drums. He
has corralled a few ringers with pianist Roger Kellaway added
on two tracks, and saxophonist Allen Mezquida, trombonist Andy
Martin and organist Joe Bagg on one track each. As they proceed
through “San Antonio Rose,” “Beseme Mucho,” “Cool Water,” “El
Cumbanchero,” “Anytime,” “Comes Love,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “It’s
a Sin to Tell a Lie,” “Alabamy Bound,” “Sweet Temptation,” “Crazy”
and “Chinatown,” you will find yourself continuously tapping your
toe, and grinning. Forman is a formidable guitarist who keeps
things fresh. Pinto Pammy is just the right vocalist for the group,
one who finds the right approach to a variety of settings. Cow
Bop’s first two albums are out-of-print, but I intend to scare
up copies from some place. In the meantime, I will satisfy my
western swing Jones with Too Hick for the Room , and
will find excuses to play it for anyone who will listen. ( www.cowbop.com
) - Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz
|