Greg Quill, Toronto Star
Roots-May 11, 2006
BEBOP COWBOYS-Canadian Dance Hall
Rating: THREE STARS
Toronto guitarist/arranger/bandleader Steve Briggs and his six-piece Western Swing band never faltered in their
efforts over the past five years to cultivate a taste among Canadian audiences for an essentially American country-jazz
musical form that came to dominate popular radio in North America during the late 1930s and '40s.
Exceptional musicians all, Briggs, singer/harmonica player Howard Willett, steel guitarist Burke Carroll, drummer
John Adames, bassist Dennis Pendrith and fiddler Drew Jurecka have assembled around them on this recording of gems
by Tommy Duncan/Bob Wills, Hoagy Carmichael and Duke Ellington, as well as a number of like-sounding originals,
a stellar set of dedicated camp followers, including Sarah Harmer, Russell deCarle, Chuck Jackson and Alex Pangman,
pianist John Sheard, accordionist Denis Keldie, trumpet player and singer Chris Whiteley, saxophonist Sean O'Connor
and singer/guitarist Wendell Ferguson. Authentic in every detail, this is country swing as it would have sounded
in the best dance halls on a Saturday Night anywhere in Canada 60 years ago-without any condescending kitsch attachments.
