Bobby Gordon - Plays Bing: A Tribute To Bing Crosby (1997)

Clarinetist Bobby Gordon, his cohorts in the Orphan Newsboys (Marty Grosz, Peter Ecklund and Greg Cohen) and other top pre-bop players are heard on this CD performing a variety of songs made famous by Bing Crosby, most of which date from the 1930s. Although Gordon gets top billing, he does not take much more solo space than the other horn players (Peter Ecklund or Randy Reinhart on trumpet, trombonist Dan Barrett and Scott Robinson on tenor, baritone and bass saxes), and the most important participant is actually pianist Keith Ingham, who provided the arrangements. Since Bing Crosby made literally hundreds of songs famous, Ingham had plenty to choose from, and to his credit, he does not stick exclusively to standards; "The Waiter and the Porter and the Upstairs Maid" from the underrated 1940 movie Birth of the Blues gets a welcome revival. The charts are often a bit tame, and nothing all that unique occurs, but the music (which includes "Where the Blue of the Night," "I'm an Old Cow Hand," "From Monday On" and "Just One More Chance" among others) is melodic and quite pleasing.