Swing Music

The Pratt brothers have put together one heck of a CD that really swings and burns the charts with their music. Roberta sings like an angel and adds a mellow flavor to what is primarily a contemporary big band sound. One of the best CDs in my collection. Can't get enough, I play it all the time. Highly recommended.

A great upbeat & inventive band with great jazz hooks & vituosity. Roberta sings great-- just wish there was more of her. I highly anticipate her own solo
album later in '05, but this will do in the meantime & the Pratt Brs. deserve a lot
of attention too. Fine stuff IMO.

This is big band swinging at its highest level. The New York musicians are first rate and are led by former Buddy Rich bandsmen Dean and Michael Pratt. Roberta Gambarini, who appears on four cuts, is the best vocalist now in jazz and one of the best female vocalists ever. Be sure not to miss the diatribe in the notes by Dean Pratt about the sorry state of today's popular culture and the culpability of music company executives in this sorry mess.

A five star album.

My mother, age 86, loved this CD. She got a CD player and wanted polka music to play while using her treadmill. She was very impressed with the number of songs included.

My mother, age 86, loved this CD. She got a CD player and wanted polka music to play while using her treadmill. She was very impressed with the number of songs included.

My mother, age 86, loved this CD. She got a CD player and wanted polka music to play while using her treadmill. She was very impressed with the number of songs included.

Yes there was a musical world before 1956 and the Elvis explosion. That musical world, however, was the world of the parents, including mine, of the Generation of '68. One of those voices was that of Rosemary Clooney. Then I thought she was square- you know with that smooth voice and `good girl' image and all in a film like White Christmas with Bing Crosby. Then, several years ago, before she died I heard her in an interview on National Public Radio where she admitted to a drug problem and other little indiscretions. Of course, for this reviewer that meant that I might have to reevaluate her work now that I knew she was not really that `good girl'. Now a lot of her sound is still beyond the pale for me and her seeming addiction to bebop novelty songs like Mambo Italiano is off-putting but she certainly is more interesting as a singer to me now. I like the sound of Come On-A My House but what really is nice is Ms. Clooney's way with a ballad. Try Hey There and Tenderly on for size. Then work your way to Half As Much and then a nice little version of Blues In The Night and Too Young. It only took me 50 years to recognize it but Rosemary- you did good.

At the outset let me point out that the cover currently shown above is not the cover for the Rosemary Clooney entry in the series 16 Most Requested Songs. Rather, it comes from her album Love Songs. The correct cover is shown with the cassette version of the release.

As for this volume (the tracks shown above are correct) there is one thing common to the large Columbia series which covers a wide variety of artists ranging from Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis to Robert Goulet, Jim Nabors and Buddy Greco (among many many more), and that is, the otherwise informative liner notes (usually at least three pages) never explain how the producers arrived at what constituted the "16 most requested" for any of the artists concerned. Requested by whom?

Now I know they do not claim to be the "best" or "greatest" hits of those concerned and anyway, when filling out a 16-track volume for a Buddy Greco or Jim Nabors they couldn't find 16 legitimate hits anyway. But when it comes to a Rosemary Clooney, that's a different story because this elegant lady had 33 singles reach the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 from 1951 to 1960.

So, with that much material to choose from, and with many of those hits certainly being at the top of any list of "most requested songs" why would they include these four: When You Wish Upon A Star (never a hit for Rosie); It Might As Well Be Spring - the 1945/46 hit versions from State Fair are more closely associated with Dick Haymes, Paul Weston & His Orchestra with vocal by Margaret Whiting, and Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams); In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening - the 1951 hit versions of this song from the film Here Comes The Groom belonged to Bing Crosby & Jane Wyman, and Jo Stafford & Frankie Laine); and Too Young (there were 5 hit versions of this in 1951 - and none belonged to Rosie, but rather Nat "King" Cole, Toni Arden, Patty Andrews, Fran Allison, and Richard Hayes.

More appropriate tunes than the four mentioned above not normally associated with Rosie would have been: You're Just In Love (her first hit, a duet with Guy Mitchell that reached # 24 in early 1951; Beautiful Brown Eyes (# 11 in spring 1951); Too Old To Cut The Mustard (a duet with Marlene Dietrich that reached # 12 in late summer 1952); and Mangos (# 10 in spring 1957).

But even at that, it's still a nice volume of some of her most significant hits, and with the insert you get six pages of background notes written by Fred Binkley. What you don't get, and this seems to be a hit-and-miss thing with the entire series, is a discography of the contents. So, I have indicated the chart performances hereunder for your information:

Come On-A My House - # 1 for EIGHT weeks in summer 1951 and Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina) - # 2 in summer 1952 - both featuring Stan Freeman on harpsichord; Hey There - # 1 for SIX weeks in summer 1954 with Buddy Cole & His Orchestra; Be My Life's Companion - # 18 in February 1952, Tenderly - # 17 in March/April 1952, and Mixed Emotions - # 22 in September 1951 - the past three with Percy Faith & His Orchestra; Mambo Italiano - # 10 in December 1954/January 1955 with Buddy Cole's orchestra and The Mellomen; You'll Never Know - # 18 in January 1953 with Harry James & His Orchestra; Half As Much - # 1 for three weeks in June/July 1952 with the Percy Faith orchestra; This Ole House - # 1 for three weeks in late summer 1954 with the Buddy Cole orchestra); I Could Have Danced All Night - # 49 in June 1956 with Paul Weston & Hus Music From Hollywood; Blues In The Night - # 17 in October 1952 with the Percy Faith orchestra.

I went to see a play and before the play started they piped in music for the people in the audience to listen to while waiting for the actors to come out and begin the play, one of the songs that was played was Rosemary Clooney's Come on-a My House and I really loved it and thought it was a wonderful catchy song and I thought wow, Rosemary Clooney is a wonderful singer so when I decided to buy a Rosemary Clooney CD this is the one I chose and I love all of the songs, Come On-a My House, Mambo Italiano, etc, and I'm truly pleased with this CD and I highly recommend it!

Rosemary Clooney's most recognizable standards are all here in one collection, which will appeal to novices and die hard fans alike.

Strangely, the recordings don't sound as perfect as they could...perhaps remastering was called for...

Even so, it's an enjoyable compilation sure to get your toe tapping and to leave you humming with a smile in memory of the great chanteuse!

Rosemary Clooney was the greatest pop or jazz singer that the 1950's had to offer, for the pop side, these hits were a mixed blessing. On one hand you had the horrible music hater Mitch Miller, producing, or shoudl I say overproducing her songs. It was Mitch's idea for the harpsicord in Coma on a my house. Clooney wished she hadn't recorded some of these tunes. However there are some gems here like Tenderly, Hey There, In The Cool Cool Coll of the evening, I could have danced al night. However thsi is just the pop side of Clooney try Blue Rose, with Duke Ellington's orchestra, and you'll hear a whole different versitile singer! This cd is the best way to get the 50's pop side of Clooney but don't judge her from this fluff until you've heard her with the Duke! Or any of her earlier Concerd cd's.

Just get it. Don't hesitate. Coltrane does not hold back. Duke keeps pace with his usual cool. They enhance each other.

All of the best versions of the top Duke cuts I have heard over the years. Get it. This combined with the Columbia small band CDs (Dukes Men - both volumes - 4 CDs) make a great Duke starter set.

All I have to say is Duke Ellington is the king of jazz composition. Althought I think this predicular CD is missing some of his best ( my personal fav. is cottontail) It still has those 8 bar blues (such as Take the A train) that are lots of classic fun.

I ordered this CD together with DUKE ELLINGTON-THE PIANO PRINCE AND HIS ORCHESTRA. I wanted these two items to teach my children about Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. I was concerned that the children might find the music old fashioned, especially because most of the tracks are mono. To my relief and surprise, the kids love the CD! Now, they want me to order another CD that has "Brown and Beige."

Some of the ones from the 50s but not the memorable ones. Mostly from her Jazz accompaniment groups and night club gigs. Not worth getting unless you're into lounge acts at the neighborhood bar.

Terea Brewer never has been and never will be a jazz singer, she always will be a middle of the road pop singer. This CD where Brewer tries to a sing a couple of jazz satdards like New Orleans just shows how awful a singer she is, her squeeky Betty Boop like voice is unbearable. Stay away from this if you have any respect for the art of jazz singing.

I disagree with so-called Mr. Music's review . This is a dynamite cd . One of the best female singers of all time.
And the backing band is Outstanding ! Bravo Teresa !!!!!

Some people cannot take Teresa seriously because of some of the novelty songs that she recorded in the fifties. That is their loss - even in the fifties, the novelty songs were only a small part of her repertoire. Teresa has a very expressive voice, adaptable to any type of song in many different genres.

Teresa's earliest recordings were jazz, but she quickly switched to pop music, in which she was very successful during the fifties. Even during her pop career, Teresa demonstrated her versatility by recording covers of country and R+B songs. Eventually, Teresa returned to her jazz roots and it is from her jazz recordings that this compilation was assembled. As such, I cannot believe that these really are her 16 most requested songs but there is a lot of great music so I'm not complaining.

Although this is definitely a jazz album, Teresa's enthusiasm for other forms of music shows in the song selection. Rock'n'roll is represented by School days (Chuck Berry), while Delta Dawn (Tanya Tucker - this was also covered by Helen Reddy who had a huge American pop hit with it), Danny's song (Anne Murray) and The pilgrim chapter 33 (Kris Kristofferson) are all covers of country songs. A cover of Leadbelly's classic Cotton fields is also included. All these songs are re-interpreted as jazz songs.

Some of the choices are more obvious songs for a jazz album, such as Ol' man Mose (Louis Armstrong), Bei mir bist du shon (Andrews sisters), Romance in the dark (originally a hit for Larry Clinton with Bea Wain singing), Together (originally a nimber one hit for Paul Whiteman in 1928 but also a huge hit when revived as a duet by Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes in 1944 - in both those years, other versions also charted high) and Hurry on down (Nellie Lutcher).

There are some very obscure songs here including Cake walking babies (a minor 1925 hit for Clarence Williams' blue five) and You've been a good old wagon but you've done broken down (an 1896 hit for Len Spencer).

This is an excellent selection of Teresa's jazz recordings.

From country yodelling to blasting rock, to soft and smooth ballads, this CD shows that Teresa Brewer can handle all kinds of songs in a very convincing and pleasing way. Most songs are compiled from other releases, and they are a good blend for one CD. For non-Brewer fans, this is also a great intro to her varied repertoire.

Yes there was a musical world before 1956 and the Elvis explosion. That musical world, however, was the world of the parents, including mine, of the Generation of '68. One of those voices was that of Rosemary Clooney. Then I thought she was square- you know with that smooth voice and `good girl' image and all in a film like White Christmas with Bing Crosby. Then, several years ago, before she died I heard her in an interview on National Public Radio where she admitted to a drug problem and other little indiscretions. Of course, for this reviewer that meant that I might have to reevaluate her work now that I knew she was not really that `good girl'. Now a lot of her sound is still beyond the pale for me and her seeming addiction to bebop novelty songs like Mambo Italiano is off-putting but she certainly is more interesting as a singer to me now. I like the sound of Come On-A My House but what really is nice is Ms. Clooney's way with a ballad. Try Hey There and Tenderly on for size. Then work your way to Half As Much and then a nice little version of Blues In The Night and Too Young. It only took me 50 years to recognize it but Rosemary- you did good.

At the outset let me point out that the cover currently shown above is not the cover for the Rosemary Clooney entry in the series 16 Most Requested Songs. Rather, it comes from her album Love Songs. The correct cover is shown with the cassette version of the release.

As for this volume (the tracks shown above are correct) there is one thing common to the large Columbia series which covers a wide variety of artists ranging from Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis to Robert Goulet, Jim Nabors and Buddy Greco (among many many more), and that is, the otherwise informative liner notes (usually at least three pages) never explain how the producers arrived at what constituted the "16 most requested" for any of the artists concerned. Requested by whom?

Now I know they do not claim to be the "best" or "greatest" hits of those concerned and anyway, when filling out a 16-track volume for a Buddy Greco or Jim Nabors they couldn't find 16 legitimate hits anyway. But when it comes to a Rosemary Clooney, that's a different story because this elegant lady had 33 singles reach the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 from 1951 to 1960.

So, with that much material to choose from, and with many of those hits certainly being at the top of any list of "most requested songs" why would they include these four: When You Wish Upon A Star (never a hit for Rosie); It Might As Well Be Spring - the 1945/46 hit versions from State Fair are more closely associated with Dick Haymes, Paul Weston & His Orchestra with vocal by Margaret Whiting, and Sammy Kaye & His Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams); In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening - the 1951 hit versions of this song from the film Here Comes The Groom belonged to Bing Crosby & Jane Wyman, and Jo Stafford & Frankie Laine); and Too Young (there were 5 hit versions of this in 1951 - and none belonged to Rosie, but rather Nat "King" Cole, Toni Arden, Patty Andrews, Fran Allison, and Richard Hayes.

More appropriate tunes than the four mentioned above not normally associated with Rosie would have been: You're Just In Love (her first hit, a duet with Guy Mitchell that reached # 24 in early 1951; Beautiful Brown Eyes (# 11 in spring 1951); Too Old To Cut The Mustard (a duet with Marlene Dietrich that reached # 12 in late summer 1952); and Mangos (# 10 in spring 1957).

But even at that, it's still a nice volume of some of her most significant hits, and with the insert you get six pages of background notes written by Fred Binkley. What you don't get, and this seems to be a hit-and-miss thing with the entire series, is a discography of the contents. So, I have indicated the chart performances hereunder for your information:

Come On-A My House - # 1 for EIGHT weeks in summer 1951 and Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina) - # 2 in summer 1952 - both featuring Stan Freeman on harpsichord; Hey There - # 1 for SIX weeks in summer 1954 with Buddy Cole & His Orchestra; Be My Life's Companion - # 18 in February 1952, Tenderly - # 17 in March/April 1952, and Mixed Emotions - # 22 in September 1951 - the past three with Percy Faith & His Orchestra; Mambo Italiano - # 10 in December 1954/January 1955 with Buddy Cole's orchestra and The Mellomen; You'll Never Know - # 18 in January 1953 with Harry James & His Orchestra; Half As Much - # 1 for three weeks in June/July 1952 with the Percy Faith orchestra; This Ole House - # 1 for three weeks in late summer 1954 with the Buddy Cole orchestra); I Could Have Danced All Night - # 49 in June 1956 with Paul Weston & Hus Music From Hollywood; Blues In The Night - # 17 in October 1952 with the Percy Faith orchestra.

I went to see a play and before the play started they piped in music for the people in the audience to listen to while waiting for the actors to come out and begin the play, one of the songs that was played was Rosemary Clooney's Come on-a My House and I really loved it and thought it was a wonderful catchy song and I thought wow, Rosemary Clooney is a wonderful singer so when I decided to buy a Rosemary Clooney CD this is the one I chose and I love all of the songs, Come On-a My House, Mambo Italiano, etc, and I'm truly pleased with this CD and I highly recommend it!

Rosemary Clooney's most recognizable standards are all here in one collection, which will appeal to novices and die hard fans alike.

Strangely, the recordings don't sound as perfect as they could...perhaps remastering was called for...

Even so, it's an enjoyable compilation sure to get your toe tapping and to leave you humming with a smile in memory of the great chanteuse!

Rosemary Clooney was the greatest pop or jazz singer that the 1950's had to offer, for the pop side, these hits were a mixed blessing. On one hand you had the horrible music hater Mitch Miller, producing, or shoudl I say overproducing her songs. It was Mitch's idea for the harpsicord in Coma on a my house. Clooney wished she hadn't recorded some of these tunes. However there are some gems here like Tenderly, Hey There, In The Cool Cool Coll of the evening, I could have danced al night. However thsi is just the pop side of Clooney try Blue Rose, with Duke Ellington's orchestra, and you'll hear a whole different versitile singer! This cd is the best way to get the 50's pop side of Clooney but don't judge her from this fluff until you've heard her with the Duke! Or any of her earlier Concerd cd's.

If you're new to Benny Goodman, I would recommend a boxed set or double CD in order to get the full flavor of his music. This disc is skimming the surface of his great catalogue and the sound quality is average, at best. The remastering of these songs is sub par, especially on the vocal tracks like "Why Don'tcha Do Right?" The live songs from the Carnegie Hall '38 concert are similarly flawed and sound better on other CD's. It's hard to hear Krupa's magnificent percussion and if you aren't hearing Gene, you aren't experiencing the magic of the man or the band.

A Benny neophyte would be well served by this standard "Greatest Hits" package but again, I caution you on the sound quality.

I was not a Benny Goodman fan, that is, until I heard a program on National Public Radio about the 1938 concert he and his band put on at Carnegie Hall. As a part of that program, they played a cut from the 2-CD release of the concert recording. This was the 12 minute long, "Sing, Sing, Sing".

That cut was one of the best live recording of music I'd ever heard.

I became a Benny Goodman fan that night.

This CD has four cuts from the 1938 concert. These are, arguably, the four best songs played that night. In addition, unlike the 2-CD concert recording, these cuts have been digitally "cleaned up" and most of the noise from the defects in the master are gone. They are, in and of themselves, GREAT STUFF! Listening to these live recordings of the likes of Harry James, Gene Krupa, and Lionel Hampton, all performing on the same stage, is an exciting experience. Knowing that this was recorded 62 years ago adds an element of timelesness and gives me the impression that I'm hearing one of the great chronicles of music.

This CD, however. contains not only these live recordings but, also, some other great music. For me, a new Benny Goodman listener, most of cuts on this CD have been a real source of pleasure.

I can surely recommend this item.

The swing fad of the nineties came and, as everyone knew it would, went. But Benny Goodman reigned supreme in a time when swing was more than just a fad, however, and you can hardly find a more worthwile compilation than this CD. Sing, Sing, Sing is of course the best song from the swing era (with the possible exception of Miller's In the Mood), and the extended version contained on this CD is a treat. Add in Flying Home and How Am I to Know? and you've got a must-have collection for anyone interested in swing. The recordings are live; you can hear the audience react and pull you into their joy. It's hard not to. And if the sound is not as clear and crisp as music recorded today, it's still remarkable for a 1938 recording. Better than you might expect. Turn it up and bop along with the master.

Because otherwise I would have done it with this one. While I recommend that dedicated Goodman fans should get the RCA collections of his works I have to recommend this CD as an excellent overview of what Benny Goodman was all about. There are four tracks on the CD that I absolutely love. Track 4, _Flying Home_ is a beautiful piece of music, Track 5, _Memories of You_ is a wonderful, melancholy piece. Track 12, _Sing, Sing, Sing_ is 12 minutes long, it is a recording from a 1938 concert and it includes a raucous Gene Krupa drum solo that cannot be beat. This song segues into another number called _Christopher Columbus_ and you can hear some audience noise in the background and some laughter, making you wonder what Benny and the band were up to. Track 8 is a neat rendition of _Why Don't you Do Right_ which some may remember Jessica Rabbit singing in _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_. I would have loved to see Benny Goodman and his orchestra playing live, but failing that this CD is probably the next best thing.

There are a few single-CD Benny Goodman "best of" collections available. This one is probably the best for some very good reasons. It has 16 cuts, more than the other popular collections. There are tunes from Goodman's most famous performance, the 1938 Carnagie Hall concert. Selections from this show include Don't Be That Way, the show's opener, and Sing, Sing, Sing, which may be the most famous swing song of all time. This show was performed when the band was at its height, and included Gene Krupa (the most famous jazz drummer of the swing era), Harry James (trumpet), and Lionel Hampton (vibraphone), all stars who eventually started their own bands. Unlike the 11 cut "This is Jazz - Benny Goodman", it also has Let's Dance, another famous Goodman tune. The sound quality of this CD isn't even that bad, considering the age of the performances. Unfortunately, this collection omits King Porter Stomp (included on "This is Jazz"), but arguably makes up for it with Stompin' at the Savoy, a swing standard co-written by Goodman (and performed at the Carnagie Hall show). Even at full list price, this CD would be a bargain. "16 Most Requested Songs" is a great introduction to Goodman's music, as well as the world of swing, and it would also make an outstanding gift for someone who has only heard songs from the current "swing revivial".

Just get it. Don't hesitate. Coltrane does not hold back. Duke keeps pace with his usual cool. They enhance each other.

All of the best versions of the top Duke cuts I have heard over the years. Get it. This combined with the Columbia small band CDs (Dukes Men - both volumes - 4 CDs) make a great Duke starter set.

All I have to say is Duke Ellington is the king of jazz composition. Althought I think this predicular CD is missing some of his best ( my personal fav. is cottontail) It still has those 8 bar blues (such as Take the A train) that are lots of classic fun.

I ordered this CD together with DUKE ELLINGTON-THE PIANO PRINCE AND HIS ORCHESTRA. I wanted these two items to teach my children about Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. I was concerned that the children might find the music old fashioned, especially because most of the tracks are mono. To my relief and surprise, the kids love the CD! Now, they want me to order another CD that has "Brown and Beige."