Another Dorsey alumnus, Sy Oliver, came on board adding to the affection praise of such a master musician. Oliver in his own right was a fantastic arranger and musician who also came up the ranks with the help of Dorsey. Oliver was the first of a few African Americans to work on a white band. He guided the Tommy Dorsey band from Dixieland to Big Band. Oliver has several unaccredited swing charts for Sinatra during the Columbia period.
Together with a 36 piece orchestra the result is sensational. The album includes mostly songs that were pieces of the Dorsey’s and Sinatra’s repertoire, furnished with faintly new renditions. The idea of the new renditions seemed like a wise idea, but some may suggest that these recordings failed to compare even slightly better than the original versions.
The album still has merit. Sinatra’s breath control during this recording is mentioned in Gene Lees’ review of the album. He mentions Sinatra’s remarkable control in phrasing the lyrics.
Sinatra fans will praise the album for the existence of a small number of pearls within the album. Those pearls make it all worthwhile to own “I Remember Tommy” – as part an iPod library. A fine example is “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” a pop hit with the Dorsey Band, was the first song that put Sinatra on the charts.
Did I mention nostalgia? Any fan will tell you that the album arouses a longing for the good-old-days of big band music and dancing to the talents of Sinatra, Dorsey and Oliver.




