Bing Crosby and Some Jazz Friends

Bing Crosby | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 8, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve
• ASIN: B000003N38
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,528 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars * BING SWINGS *, April 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bing Crosby and Some Jazz Friends (Audio CD)

Bing Crosby doesn't get a lot of acknowledgment for his achievements these days, and perhaps what is most forgotten is that he began his career as a jazz singer and innovator. The early evidence for this can be found on great discs such as Bix N' Bing and 1926-1932, however, Bing Crosby And Some Jazz Friends deals with Bing's jazz chops AFTER he's joined the Decca label. His swing is much more laid back and cool, and his confidence and humor are plentiful. The tracks are from 1934-1951, and feature some true jazz luminaries such as Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, Connie Boswell, Joe Sullivan & Bobby Sherwood, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Eddie Condon, Lionel Hampton, Lee Wiley, Woody Herman, and Bob Crosby's Bob Cats. Of course Bing's smooth voice, brilliant phrasing, and preternatural cool abound.

It's a real treat to hear Bing backed by some talented bands and soloists, and with some worthy material, rather than coasting along with the plodding studio orchestras and lackluster material he was often saddled with. The duets with greats such as Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, and the woefully neglected Connie Boswell (check her out) are pure manna from heaven. The instrumental backings Bing receives on gloriously swinging numbers such as Moonburn and After You've Gone are fantastic, and the recordings themselves are showcases for how good jazz can be when one is hearing the perfect combination of singer, band, and tune.

Bing is truly inspired by the musicians he joins for these sessions, and he subsequently turns in some of his finest recordings ever. This disc is BY FAR the greatest collection to deal with Bing's jazz work in his Decca years, and is one of the finest collections of Bing out there, regardless of style or period. Anyone looking to get into Bing, classic jazz, or simply hear some joyous and refreshing music, should pick this one up without delay.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "What makes a legend great?" The answer's on this CD., September 13, 1998

By 

[e-mail] "Liz A." (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bing Crosby and Some Jazz Friends (Audio CD)

Often we forget how great they really were. Bing Crosby performed with the best of his era. Here are a few of them.

When the recording industry and that new fangled microphone took hold of the music world in the mid-1920's, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong's incomparable free-and-easy style was tailor-made, as is Crosby teaming with saxman, Louis Jordan, shown here with "Your Socks Don't Match."

Satchmo influenced Crosby in jazz rhythms, and Bing went on to influence the crooners who came after him; some took jazz further, others sang so straight there was no sense of pontaneity. Similarly, other performers on this CD influenced upcoming singers. Connee Boswell, who has a lively give-and-take here with Crosby in, "Basin Street Blues," spiced her songs with strong jazz flavoring, as did Lee Wiley, here with "I Still Suits Me," and she still suits old and new fans long after her death. A fun tune came up with "The Waiter and the Porter and the Upstairs Maid" by songwriter/singer, Johnny Mercer, and if you want to know what the good noise was all about, Lionel Hampton's "Pinetop's Boogie-Woogie" tells it all, Bing narrating.

This CD features the early jazz greats, smokin' and simmerin', Woody Herman and Bob Crosby, Jack Teagarden and Eddie Condon. All with cool Crosby tossing asides and floating over the energy.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bing outclasses them all, December 26, 2000

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bing Crosby and Some Jazz Friends (Audio CD)

It grieves me to give a Crosby CD a paltry three stars, but Bing completely outclasses his duet mates in these recordings. One wishes all of these records would have made with just one voice, the superior voice, and make no mistake that is Bing Crosby's voice. The only exception is the classic "Gone Fishin'" with Satchmo- now there is a rousing blending of musical styles, phrasing and talents. The duets with Lionel Hampton are also interesting and exciting. But Woody Herman? Bob Crosby? Come on, these guys can't hold a candle to Bing and their contributions actually doom those tracks.

Bing was a jazz vocal pioneer and those who drool over Mel Torme's tortured scat singing need to listen to how Bing did it: he was first and he was infinitely superior to any other white jazz singer who followed him. This disc offers the novice convincing evidence of Crosby's genius and the fact Bing could really *swing,* effortlessly and innately. Those who want to delve further should pick up some of the tracks Bing did with Paul Whiteman and the Rhythm Boys, as well as his unparalleled 1932-1936 recordings - his golden age!