Great talk about Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings. I think it's a great album. Buddy Bregman always was more loud of a orchestra, kind of like Billy May. Bregman was definitely an improvement over the slow and bland Buddy Cole that backed Bing for most of the mid 1950s. 

The songs were great, and Bing was in great voice. I wish Bing had made more concept albums. I wish he would have signed with Capitol after Decca. He could have been the next Sinatra. LOL

But I guess we can ponder "what should have been" forever, but I am so glad with what Bing left us in musical memories.

Ian Kerstein wrote:

Lobosco wrote:

Great talk about Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings. I think it's a great album. Buddy Bregman always was more loud of a orchestra, kind of like Billy May. Bregman was definitely an improvement over the slow and bland Buddy Cole that backed Bing for most of the mid 1950s. 

The songs were great, and Bing was in great voice. I wish Bing had made more concept albums. I wish he would have signed with Capitol after Decca. He could have been the next Sinatra. LOL

But I guess we can ponder "what should have been" forever, but I am so glad with what Bing left us in musical memories.

Yes, David. Bing at Capitol would have been almost too good to be true. Just the one later reunion there with Rosie on "That Traveling Two-Beat".  Ironically, wasn't he briefly signed to Sinatra's later, own Reprise label. Other than his appearances there on the quartet of Sinatra's Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre  albums (also featuring Frank, Dino, Sammy, Rosie and plenty of others), the soundtrack album of Robin and the Seven Hoods, and his Return to Paradise Island  album, that seemed to have been it. Although he did record his glorious "I Wish you a Merry Christmas" album, along with a couple of others around that time for the soon to be Reprise affiliated Warners label.
 

Both the Bregman and the Scobey albums are firm favourites of mine. They contrast greatly to one another and both successfully demonstrate the breadth of Crosby's jazz stylings. I think both albums could have done with a follow up each. 

Throughout the topic quite a few have said Bregman's arrangements are too brassy. As a trumpet player, I'm not sure what you all mean by that. How can anything be too brassy???  Just to prove my point, listen to Sinatra's Come Swing With Me album. Billy May employs two brass ensembles. One group is on the left, the other on the right in the stereo mix with Sinatra in the middle. Never too brassy!

Picking up on David and Ian's point - when Bing left Decca I do agree it is a pity he didn't move to Capitol. There would have been great opportunites there. Not just for solo albums - but potential duet albums - reunions with Peggy Lee or The Andrews Sisters. Maybe a duet album with Frank or Dean. What about Bing with Nat King Cole - or even better - The Nat King Cole Trio!

However, consider this. How about if Bing had signed to Verve? Maybe another album or two with Bregman. Maybe some albums with the Oscar Peterson Trio with one or two additional horn soloists thrown into the mix. eg Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Ben Webster, etc.

Back to the Bregman album. Years ago an old Big Band player told me not to worry about writing out a part for the drummer. Just give him the lead trumpet part and he'll work the rest out. I reckon that's exactly what Buddy did here with Alvin Stoller. He's right on the money with the brass section and he gives some great lead-ins for the accented brass chords. You could never say the brass chords are ever a surprise shock as Alvin is fore-warning us for every one of them. Next time you listen to the album just focus on Stoller.

Delighted to read two new comments on this revived thread about an album to which I've listened many times. Aaron, I indeed agree over your mentioning Sinatra's extremely, wonderfully brassily May-arranged "Come Swing With Me" and also John's "Come Dance With Me" comment. However, I feel that both albums are, although indeed just as, if not more, brass orientated, sound more skillfully arranged and without the drums sounding as overwhelming as I feel they are on some of the tracks, here. However, I'm nit-picking because I am just so pleased Bing recorded this exciting, swinging work on which he sounds extremely dynamic. I know it must have been quite a surprise to those who followed Bing's progress at the time but what is so lovely, now is that we are able to view his recording legacy as a whole and trace its unique progress from just one year inside the electronic recording age to just over a month away from the first commercially released digital album.

Last edited by Ian Kerstein (Today 7:50 am)