At the very end of his long-standing collaboration with Decca, New Tricks is a pleasant surprise. I greatly enjoy Buddy Cole's sound, and, of course, Bing Crosby's vocals are superb. The selection of songs, remastered from his radio program, is excellent. With Cole's arrangements and accompaniment, Crosby's remarkable voice, and a fine selection of standards perfectly suited for the combination, New Tricks is truly a winning album.

I like Buddy Cole, particularly when he plays the piano. As an organist, he just doesn't sound as good. Yet in any case, I believe he really understood Bing and accompanied him very well. Anyone that enjoys New Tricks should look for the Mosaic set with all the CBS radio recordings. It's one of my favorite Bing sets ever, because I've always believed that a small-group jazz setting works very well for Bing.

New Tricks, Some Fine Old Chestnuts & Buddy Cole in the mid-1950s...  / Bing's vocals on these 1950s albums hardly match his brilliant vocals of the 1930s. Buddy Cole's Trio is somewhat of a cover up of these uninspired performances. Cole's contribution to Bing's 1954 "Musical Autobiography LP", is a botched effort, with Decca failing to use many of the original Crosby originals they owned, but that's another story. (This LP was however an event, in which I still have the original LP and the 45RPM original set.) Cole's backing of a re-recording of "Mississippi Mud" WAS more so something good, which an interested Bing. The 1957 single release of this on (Decca-38031) without chatter, is better.  Cole's 1955 backings of "Christmas Is A Coming ", The First Snowfall", "Is Christmas Only A Tree" & "Moments To Remember" are good enough. "The Possibility's There", "The Next Time It Happens", "Something In Common", "Look To You Heart", "Suddenly There's A Valley" ,"The Longest Walk", "Old Man River", "In A Little Spanish Town" should never had been attempted. Neither were Cole's 1956 contributions to "Honeysuckle Rose", "Swanee", "Love Is A Home". Cole did luck out in October,1956 when he captured a very interested Bing vocal captured on "Around The World" & "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day", are easily their best collaboration -brilliant recordings! Bing's 1957 releases of "Straight Down The Middle" & "Tomorrows My Lucky Day" with Cole on American (Columbia) are ok. Decca renderings "Church Bells" & "Rain" were perhaps not worth it.

Where it cannot be without doubt that the range of Bing's voice was clearly at its height during the 1930's where at full belt it was never as powerful, again - I think there's also something very special and intimate about his interpretations and his hours spent with Buddy Cole. Granted, his organ aside and Cole being no Oscar Peterson, I do think Cole was able to provide a valuable setting for Bing and his Musical Autobiography.

I think this brought out Bing's more casual approach which although not suited to every cut, certainly did so for others. David's choices from "New Tricks" stand with this and also I believe from the same, the beautifully performed "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" and the bouncy "When I Take My Sugar to Tea"  benefit hugely from the more bare bones approach. I feel as if Bing is singing just for me in my living room. "I'm Confessin'"  I am biased, here, as I consider myself blessed as a lucky owner of the seven disc Mosiac "CBS Recordings" box set, where plenty of ducking and diving can be achieved with Bing and Buddy.

As for the Musical Autobiography, yes I do have sympathy over the omission of the sublime Bing and Carmen Cavallaro collaboration - one of Bing's very best. However, I do find that a uniquely cosy symbiotic intimacy is achieved via the combination of Bing's warm, spoken introductions and Buddy Cole's backing during its initial sides. 

Last edited by Ian Kerstein (22/10/2025 10:40 am)