...Do Bing & Ella belong on Radio Three?

[scottycelt]

...Well I'm reminded of a shop in London selling jeans next to a quiet Library room. Much as the
latter complained Re loud pop music disturbing their readers,the jeans Shop would aver that
without the loud music NO jeans would be sold!

A somewhat unfortunate real-life juxtaposition of the sublime and ridiculous, Fred ... ?

[Freddie Campbell]

...Plenty of such,Scotty! Have a listen to my Voiceover:- www.fredjamesc.com

[scottycelt]

Very good, Fred ... you are obviously blessed with no mean artistic versatility ... I congratulate you!

[antongould]

In my opinion, as someone has already said, Ella yes Bing no - I find nothing classical about Bing in any sense of the word. Ella to me was one of the voices of the 20th century and the Songbooks are one of the great "boxed sets" of all time. To me always a welcome addition to Breakfast!

[doversoul1]

Bing - no. Ella - yes. :)

I am inclined to agree withyou. Once you start including Sinatra and Bing, where do you stop? Tony Bennett, Dean Martin…Andy Williams, and …Tom Jones

I like them all (some less that others) but I like them as they are and not mixed with Bach and Britten. Also, why is it only Ella and Django Reinhardt when Breakfast wants to play Jazz? I wouldn’t expect, and wouldn’t want to listen to John Coltrane at 7.30am but there is a wealth of light-ish, short jazz pieces that could sit reasonably comfortably with classical works.

Or does the same policy apply to jazz too: the more popular, the better?

[Freddie Campbell]

...Would ayone expect Russel Watson or what's her name(Singer)on R3?

[Freddie Campbell]

...Katherine Jenkins!

[Norfolk Born]

#Message 49: Ella yes, 'Ol Blue Eyes yes, Bing no.

[verismissimo]

My only reason for saying "Bing - no" is that he was just so dull musically. And his acting... :(

[Paul Sherratt]

verismissimo,

Surely not ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiXjbI3kRus

The above song was the last thing Bing ever recorded, down in the BBC's Maida Vale Three studio.

[StephenO]

I don't mind Ella, find Bing rather too schmaltzy and would prefer Duke Ellington or Benny Goodman to either of them. Jazz is fine on R3 - it's the sudden juxtapositon of totally different musical styles and genres which I find jarring. What works on Late Junction doesn't necessarily work on Breakfast or on In Tune. Ella followed by Ellington -yes. Ella sandwiched between, say, Bach and Tchaikovsky - no.

[John Wright]

verissimo,

surely Bing's recordings with Paul Whiteman are not dull musically in the vocal department??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U7O0kJXOSQ

StephenO,

I agree with you, particularly on a Breakfast programme, yet an evening presenter like Desmond Carrington on Radio 2 would get away with it and does (Fridays 7.00pm).

There's more than one Ella. I particularly like her 'American songbook' recordings, for example work she did with Chick Webb and I like her recordings with the Ink Spots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfbwBdaSanw&feature=related

For me her scat is OK for the odd verse of a song but I just cannot stand her version of Flying Home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBJ0vlxHppk

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Ella and Bing were probably better than either Russell Watson or Katherine Jenkins, but that doesn't mean they~<;loklknocf the cat's just jumped on my keyboard should be given air time on Radio 3.

[Freddie Campbell]

...Does anyone remember Swingle Singers-"Sleepytime Bach?" That's the sort of contrast which would do justice to R3's aspirations of all-inclusiveness...

[John Wright]

I bet Rob has played Switched On Bach a la Walter/Wendy Carlos sometime in his career there!