Dave Rickert
May 2001

Combing the Catalog
Archive <& /articles/verv_archive.tmp &>

By David Rickert

Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
Bing Crosby and Buddy Bregman
1956/2001

Bing Crosby died after playing the eighteenth hole at Pebble Beach. For what he represented to so many, it seems appropriate that Bing went out swinging.

Crosby's soft, good looks and warm demeanor dominated the entertainment industry in the first half of the 20th century, appearing on the radio and in several popular movies when both technologies were emerging and looking for new stars. He was helped tremendously by the invention of the microphone, which perfectly suited his informal singing style that abandoned classical training in favor of a more natural, informal approach. He virtually created popular singing in the process simply by giving everyone the impression that if they tried, they could warble just as well as him. At the heart of his appeal was the fact that Bing seemed to be just an ordinary guy like the rest of us who represented the best of American values. However, by the mid-fifties Bing was in danger of losing his audience to the boisterous stylings and jet set lifestyle of Sinatra, who proved that the combination of great singing and inventive arrangements existing as equals could create magic. Norman Granz set out to prove there was still some life left in Crosby and hired him for a one time recording featuring the arrangements of Buddy Bregman. The result, though largely unknown until now, is one of Crosby's best records.

In a similar fashion to the collaborations of Sinatra and Riddle, this is as much Bregman's album as it is Crosby's. Crosby, to some extent along for the ride, deferred to Bregman to make the song selections and director's decisions. Bregman wisely abandoned the lush romantic arrangements of Crosby's earlier recordings for peppy big band charts and recruited West Coast heavyweights like Rosolino, Cooper, and Shank to play them. This is at heart a jazz album and Kessel and Edison both get in a few brief and concise solos that fit in comfortably between verses. Everything is superbly paced, bouncy but not overly jumpy, and never threatening to overwhelm the singing.

Crosby was never in danger of being past his prime, but merely a little old-fashioned. He sings "I love to go out fishin'" and the cover suggests exactly that; he looks as if he just popped into the recording studio in between trips to the stream. This is probably the only jazz record which features the artist wearing a baseball cap, but the singing is as elegant and formal as a top hat. Songs like "Blue Room" fit Crosby's strengths perfectly; when he sings about a room in his house designed solely so that he and his wife can enjoy each other's company, we believe him (Sinatra could never pull this song off so earnestly). Bing embodies an era (quickly fading at the time) where dancing cheek to cheek with a woman was the highest tribute a man could offer. For this reason a song like "Heat Wave" doesn't work quite as well because it emphasizes a woman's out front sensuality; when we hear that Crosby will meet Miss Jones again and again for the rest of his life, we suspect something a little more innocent. Other songs, like "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "Jeepers Creepers" work wonderfully; reportedly, this was the first time Crosby had attempted most of these songs.

Surprisingly, this appealing album slipped through the cracks. Ella and Louis' collaboration, released around the same time, dominated the pop chart like no one thought a jazz album ever word, and Crosby moved on to High Society, the soundtrack of which became one of the best-selling ever. Now that the dust has settled, it's time to reassess this album for what it is: a high point of Bing's career.

Viva Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
1964/2001

The rule of thumb in the mid-sixties was that everybody had to record at least one bossa nova album (this is also known as the "Stan Getz Rule".) Some of them were pretty good, while others were downright awful, but the bossa nova craze was too much of a phenomenon for people not to cash in on. The advent of rock and roll changed the pop music field drastically, and many artists used bossa nova as a way to make money in a diminishing market for jazz records. At the very least, it gave guitarists and percussionists plenty of work. Many of these records got a dusting off during the recent lounge music craze, which proved that eventually, everything will become trendy again.

Sarah Vaughan's entry into the field is thoroughly enjoyable, once you get past the initial wince that goes along with the whistling flutes and swelling orchestra that one instantly associates with lite AM radio and doctor's offices. Frank Foster, in his first stint at arranging and conducting an orchestra outside the Basie band, has created accomplished charts with the warmth and sentiment of a tropical breeze and that instantly make you think of palm trees and tiki torches. It all sounds a bit like the Claus Ogerman arrangements for Antonio Carlos Jobim but with a little more punch. The songs follow what would soon become a familiar pattern: a few genuine bossa nova compositions (usually by Jobim) augmented by Latinized versions of old chestnuts and popular songs, all played by an orchestra with a generous helping of Latin percussionists.

What ultimately makes this album work is how remarkably well these songs translate into a new context. Foster has worked hard to transcend the gimmickry of the concept and songs like "Tea For Two" and "Stompin' At The Savoy", which have been recorded numerous times before, sound fresh. Ironically, the songs that work the best are the ones with the sparest accompaniment; "Night Song" is a quiet gem that features murmuring bass, gentle percussion, and icy piano flourishes behind Vaughan's seductive voice. "Quiet Nights", in contrast, starts off with a lone guitar, giving Vaughan plenty of opportunity to wrap her voice around the melody. There are a few missteps; not even Vaughan, who could probably sing the dictionary and make it sound interesting, can redeem the banal lyrics of "Shiny Stockings" (my hosiery is great/and I've got 'em on straight), and "Jive Samba" is just as horrible as it sounds from the title. But overall, this is a record Vaughan should be proud of and one that represents the best of what the kitschy bossa nova period could produce. This album was unfairly ignored at the time of its release, perhaps because there were so many other similar records hitting the stores at the same time. Like Crosby's album, this one occupies a unique, yet worthy slot in Vaughan's discography. This is an album whose charms unfold patiently and reward repeated listening. Those who harbor distaste for Brazilian music are advised to turn elsewhere.

Ella Sings Broadway
Ella Fitzgerald
1962/2001

Back in the heyday of Broadway it was a common practice to mine popular musicals for songs to reinterpret in a jazz context. Virtually every major vocalist of the time recorded an album of Broadway songs, from Frank Sinatra's My Kind of Broadway to Doris Day's Show Time. It's not surprising then that Ella Fitzgerald recorded this album. What is surprising, however, is that this endearing and consistently enjoyable collection has been unavailable for so long.

To be fair, this album may have been lost in the shuffle of the superior achievement Fitzgerald reached on the monumental Songbook collections, which set something of a gold standard for jazz singing. This album was an offshoot from the same time period, focusing not on an individual composer but instead on songs from recent popular musicals. Marty Paich, who arranged the session with typical aplomb with which he approached his other collaborations with Fitzgerald, selected a set of love songs and novelty tunes and avoided the more heavy-handed selections. The result is insufferably light and sweet; songs like "It's Almost Like Being In Love" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are musical sunshine. Fitzgerald revels in the songs, obviously enjoying herself, caressing the lyrics with her sumptuous voice. She has a knack for adopting a hint of the character for whom the song was designed; notice the sass of "Whatever Lola Wants" or the swagger of "Steam Heat." The album closes with the lush lullaby of "Somebody Somewhere", a comforting song to end an impressive album.

At the time of this recording the Golden Age of Broadway musicals would soon be over and this album, focusing mainly on the recent hits, serves as something of an epitaph for the type of music that people like Loerner and Loewe were devising. Andrew Lloyd Webber and others would soon reinvigorate the medium, but no longer would songs from musicals infiltrate popular music tastes like they did in the fifties and sixties. This album happily engineers the return of these fine songs and is enough to make anyone "The Most Happy Fella".

Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
Track Listing: The Song Is You, Mountain Greenery, Cheek to Cheek, 'Deed I Do, Heat Wave, Blue Room, Have You Met Miss Jones?, I've Got Five Dollars, They All Laughed, Nice Work If You Can Get It, September in the Rain, Jeepers Creepers.
Personnel: Bing Crosby - vocal. Buddy Bregman and orchestra: Pete Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson and Conrad Gozzo - trumpets, Milt Bernhart, Francis Howard, George Roberts, and Lloyd Ulyate - trombones, Bud Shank and Maurice Stein - alto saxophones, Bob Cooper and Ted Nash - tenor saxophones, Chuck Gentry - baritone saxophone, Lew Raderman - violin, Virginia Majewski - viola, Edgar Lustgarden - cello, Paul Smith - piano, Barney Kessel - guitar, Alvin Stoller - drums, Bregman - arranger, conductor.

Viva Vaughan
Track Listing: The Boy From Ipanema, Fascinating Rhythm, Night Song, Mr. Lucky, Fever, Shiny Stockings, Avalon, Tea for Two, Quiet Nights, Stompin' at the Savoy, Moment of Truth, Jive Samba, A Taste of Honey
Personnel: Sarah Vaughan - vocal, Wayne Andre, Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland, Paul Faulise, Benny Powell, Bill Watrous, Kai Winding, Britt Woodman - trombones, Richard Hixson - bass trombone, Jerome Richardson - flute, Bernard Eichen, Lewis Eley, Emmanuel Green, Leo Kruczek, Charles Libov, David Nadien, Gene Orloff, and Tosha Samaroff - violins, Harry Lookofsky - tenor violin, Bob James - piano, Barry Galbraith - guitar, George Duvivier and Robert Rodriguez - bass, Bobby Donaldson - drums, percussion, Willie Bobo, Juan Cadavieco, JosÚ Mangual, Willie Rodriguez, and Raphael Sierra - percussion, Frank Foster - arranger, conductor.

Ella Sings Broadway
Track Listing Hernando's Hideaway, If I Were a Bell, Warm All Over, Almost Like Being in Love, Dites-Moi, I Could Have Danced All Night, Show Me, No Other Love, Steam Heat, Whatever Lola Wants, Guys and Dolls, Somebody Somewhere
Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald - vocal, Marty Paich - arranger, conductor, others unknown.

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