FRANK SINATRA - TOMMY DORSEY
I'LL BE SEEING YOU
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines and
The Pied Pipers.
(No other personnel given ) Recorded 1940 - 1942
RCA 100 YEARS
OF MUSIC RCA 07863 - 66427 - 2
Crotchet
1. I'll Be Seeing You
2. Fools Rush In ( Where Angels Fear To Tread )
3. It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow
4. The World Is In My Arms
5. We Three ( My Echo, My Shadow And Me )
6. Dolores
7. Everything Happens To Me
8. Let's Get Away From It All
9. Blue Skies
10. There Are Such Things
11. Daybreak
12. You're Part Of My Heart
This compilation comes from a five C.D. Dorsey/Sinatra retrospective
set entitled " The Song Is You ". The period covered by these
recordings is 1940 - 1942. As with the Glenn Miller disc in this series
the record company has omitted any personnel details other than the
vocalists. However, on this disc at least the date of recording is listed
for each track.
I must admit to being disappointed by this release. Having heard very
little early Sinatra I was surprised at the general level of his performances.
I had quite expected an accomplished if somewhat immature vocalist with
a certain degree of control and a personalised delivery. Instead I heard
a non-descript baritone voice with no great distinctiveness in terms
of presentation or phrasing. Sinatra was never the most "in tune"
of singers, but on several of the selections here his intonation is
decidedly wayward. He tends to fare better on the numbers with the Pied
Pipers - perhaps at this time he was more comfortable in a group setting.
It seems hard to imagine that this is the singer who recorded so many
classic albums in the fifties and sixties - whilst the voice is instantly
recognisable the stamp of quality is sadly missing. There must have
been many vocalists in the early forties far more deserving of the fame
that Sinatra achieved.
The Dorsey Orchestra was one of the most popular swing bands and, to
my ears, one of the most meticulously rehearsed. Unfortunately this
led to an almost military feel to the way the arrangements were interpreted.
The band seemed to sacrifice warmth and feeling in favour of brashness
and a Teutonic sense of accuracy in terms of dynamics and phrasing.
Tommy Dorsey, whilst not a great jazz soloist, was a wonderful exponent
of a melodic line and this is much in evidence on several tracks. His
control of the instrument and beauty of tone on ballads in particular
was outstanding, not only in comparison to other trombone players,but
to virtually any other instrumentalist at that time. There are good
clarinet and trumpet solos on some of the tunes but no details are given.
The orchestrations are excellent - Dorsey used arrangers such as Mary
Lou Williams and Sy Oliver. It is a pity that the interpretations are
often so wooden. It was enjoyable to hear one or two of the lesser known
standards like " Everything Happens To Me " and " There
Are Such Things ".
There is not much here for the jazz aficionado - Dorsey was the leader
of a band famous for its ballads and dance music. The Sinatra fans would
be better off seeking later recordings unless they are completist in
outlook.
Dick Stafford
D.S. is a professional reed player and teacher living in Coventry.
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