The dance floor is open when guitarist and singer Don Burnham and Lost Weekend, his mighty ten-piece all-star Western swing band, celebrate the release of I Dreamed Count Basie Was A Cowboy. This ensemble has kept the flame of "cowboy jazz" burning brightly on the West Coast for over two decades with their great tunes, world-class musicianship, and pulsing tempos.

Popularized in the country dance halls of Texas and Oklahoma in the 1930s and 40s, Western swing music is an infectious combination of old-time country fiddle and cowboy music blended with the rhythmic intensity and improvisational feel of big band swing jazz. This country cousin of urban big band music was brought to the fore by famed bandleaders like Bob Wills and Milton Brown, along with West Coast practitioners of the art, from Tex Williams and Spade Cooley to Asleep at the Wheel and the Bay Area's own Lost Weekend.

Bandleader Don—a member of Western Swing Halls of Fame from Texas to Sacramento—founded the band with Steel Guitar Hall-of-Famer Bobby Black, and bassist Bing Nathan. Joining this awe-inspiring trio in the band's current lineup are fiddle aces Paul Shelasky and Paul Anastasio, guitar wizard Mark Holzinger, pianist Shota Osabe, Kevin Porter on trombone, Bob Schulz on cornet, and veteran swing drummer Rick Alegria. Add to this the knockout vocals of Pam Brandon, and you've got one heck of a swinging evening coming your way.

We are sad to announce that Jim Rothermal, one of Lost Weekend's founding members, passed away on Monday, May 16, 2011. Jim, the arranger for many Lost Weekend tunes and a masterful clarinetist and saxophone player, will be greatly missed.

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