Jazz Articles about The Old 97s

About The Old 97s

Album Review

The Old 97s: Graveyard Whistling

Read "Graveyard Whistling" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 5, 2017

Much of the evolution occurring within a given genre of music occurs in response to predominant movements within that music. For example, in jazz, bebop was a response to the swing era, the latter emphasizing ensemble charts over individual virtuosity and the former celebrating the individual soloist in improvisation. Bebop stimulated the cool jazz movement, featuring music equally as technical, but with a softer texture and finer arrangements. These trends in jazz occurred between 1945 and 1950. The behemoth that ...

Album Review

The Old 97s: Most Messed Up

Read "Most Messed Up" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
September 20, 2014

How great is it to discover a band that has been here all along? The Old 97s are nothing new. Coming together in Dallas in 1993, the popular quartet led by the aptly-named Rhett Butler has recorded 15 studio CDs since 1994's Hitchhike to Rhome (Idol Records). The band emerged as part of a larger resurgence in alternate-Americana/Country music that included Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and The Bottle Rockets. Imagine my surprise ...