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| The Essential Nat King Cole - The King of Cool (2CD) |
| Nat King Cole |
| első megjelenés éve: 1953 |
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| (2008)
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2 x CD |
| 3.837 Ft
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| 1. CD tartalma: |
| 1. | Nature Boy
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| 2. | Unforgettable
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| 3. | I Love You For Sentimental Reasons
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| 4. | You Call It Madness
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| 5. | Mona Lisa
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| 6. | Sweet Lorraine
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| 7. | Meet Me At No Special Place
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| 8. | Tenderly
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| 9. | This Will Make You Laugh
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| 10. | I've Only Myself To Blame
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| 11. | My Flaming Heart
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| 12. | I Realise Now
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| 13. | Can You Look Me In The Eyes?
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| 14. | Blues In My Shower
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| 15. | Pretend
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| 16. | I'm Lost
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| 17. | Those Things Money Can't Buy
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| 18. | All For You
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| 19. | Come In Out Of The Rain
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| 20. | In The Cool Of The evening
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| 21. | My Fair Lady
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| 22. | It's The Sentimental Thing To Do
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| 23. | Everyone's Saying Hello Again
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| 24. | Too Young
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| 2. CD tartalma: |
| 1. | Walkin' My Baby Back Home
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| 2. | Route 66
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| 3. | Straighten Up And Fly Right
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| 4. | Frim Frim Sauce
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| 5. | I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again
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| 6. | Honeysuckle Rose
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| 7. | If You Can't Smile And Say Yes
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| 8. | Little Girl
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| 9. | What Does It Take
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| 10. | It's Only A Paper Moon
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| 11. | Oh, But I Do
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| 12. | Come To Baby Do
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| 13. | I Feel So Smoochie
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| 14. | Makin' Whoopie
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| 15. | That's What
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| 16. | Slow Down
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| 17. | That's My Gal
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| 18. | Cole Capers
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| 19. | You Don't Learn That In School
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| 20. | I've Got A Way With Women
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| 21. | The Geek
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| 22. | I'm Never Satisfied
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| 23. | Are You For It?
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| 24. | Calypso Blues
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| 25. | Sweet Georgia Brown
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Jazz
Nat King Cole was highly respected as a distinctive singer of superior love songs and as a supremely gifted jazz pianist. The Essential Nat King cole presents an unrivalled picture of both sides of his genius, remarkably showing him as a relaxed crooner and as a great instrumentalist.
No musician in the history of popular music has commanded such respect and affection for two entirely separate aspects of his art. As a jazz pianist in the popular piano-guitar-bass combo the King Cole Trio, Nat Cole was among the most swinging, inventive and influential players of the 1940s. As a popular singer, he was among the best-selling, best-loved entertainers of the 1950s. Indeed, so distinct were the two phases of his career that (notoriously snobbish) jazz enthusiasts regarded his move into comme rcially successful vocalising as little short of a betrayal while fans of his singing were often unaware that he could even play the piano.
A genial, self-effacing man, Nat couldn't bring himself to take his own vocalising too seriously simply because it came naturally. Compared to the work he put into mastering the piano, his singing was just something that happened when he opened his mouth. Yet millions of listeners were entranced by his unusual baritone, a sound that seemed simultaneously light and dark, smooth and sandy. And if the quality of the songs he sang was a little variable here and there (in both phases of his career), the present ation and musicianship was never less than expert and elegant.
Here we present 49 classic tracks, divided into a disc of ballads and a disc of upbeat numbers. Carefully selected from the early years of the fabulous King Cole Trio to the flowering of his 1950s mainstream popularity, this collection capture the essence of both chapters of the Cole career.
SMOOTH NAT
1. Nature Boy
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass); Frank De Vol (arranger/conductor). 22nd August 1947.
Delivered by composer and proto-hippie Eden Ahbez to Nat's valet while Cole was appearing at a Los Angeles theatre in 1947, the song so impressed Nat, his management went on a hunt for the composer and found him living under the 'H' on the famous Hollywood sign. A haunting piece that could be about Ahbez himself, or Jesus, or anyone who believes love is the answer, the recording was a monster hit in 1948 for Nat and probably the final deciding factor in his evolution from pianist-singer to romantic ballade er.
2. Unforgettable (Gordon)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Nelson Riddle (arranger/conductor). 17th August 1951.
One of Nat's biggest and most memorable hits when he was becoming firmly established as a pop balladeer, Nelson Riddle's tight-knit George Shearing-style instrumentation (vibes and piano) sells the record almost as much as Nat's vocal. The song itself is notable for its almost imperceptible key change midway through, a device that catches many a musician out when they try to busk it.
3. I Love You For Sentimental Reasons (Best/Watson)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 22nd August 1946.
A sweet, slight ditty given resonance by Nat's distinctive textured voice. The song was written by 14-year-old William Best who later became an actor and member of the Brown Dots vocal group. Somewhere along the way Ink Spot Deek Watson got his name on the credits, though apparently had nothing to do with the song's composition. Best sold the rights in 1945 of the song for $2500, before the King Cole Trio had a number 1 hit with it in 1946 and it went on to be recorded by dozens of artists. Best's estate f inally had the right of the song returned to them in 2000.
4. You Call It Madness (Du Bois/Gregory/Conrad/Colombo)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1st May 1946.
A hit in 1931 for Russ Columbo, a contemporary of Bing Crosby, both Nat and Billy Eckstine (another 'Sepia Sinatra', as black balladeers were sometimes called) revived it in the mid 1940s, with Nat reaching number 10 with his version. Note Oscar Moore's sensitive but inventive 8-bar guitar solo.
5. Mona Lisa (Livingstone/Evans)
Nat Cole (vocal); Les Baxter (conductor); Nelson Riddle (arranger). 11th March 1950.
No one in the Cole camp wanted Nat to record this paean to an old painting, but the singer was convinced that the song introduced by Alan Ladd in the movie Captain Carey USA would be a hit. He was right; it sold over 3 million copies, but its Trio-free success spelled the inevitable demise of the King Cole Trio. Featuring an especially tender vocal from Cole, it's notable also for Nelson Riddle's string arrangement, the instrumental passage of which hints at the modernistic glories of his work with Sinatra a few years later.
6. Sweet Lorraine (Burwell/Parish)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 6th December 1940.
The legend says "Sweet Lorraine" was the number that a drunk insisted Nat once sung in a bar, thereby launching his semi-reluctant career as a vocalist. If the story is true, the drunk did the whole world a favour. One of the trio's earliest recordings, their reading of the Cliff Burwell/Mitchell Parrish evergreen has already got that intimate yet rhythmic style, a signature quality of the groundbreaking combo.
7. Meet Me At No Special Place (At No Particular Time) (Pyle/Robinson/Terker)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 21st January 1947.
A rich bluesy ballad with unusually aggressive lyrics, this outstanding break-up song was written by J. Russell Robinson, the pianist with the Original Dixieland Jazzband and was a number 3 hit for the King Cole Trio in 1947.
8. Tenderly (Gross/Lawrence)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Nelson Riddle (conductor/arranger). 28th January 1953.
A million-seller for Rosemary Clooney in 1952, Cole and Riddle's version of the 1947 Walter Gross/Jack Lawrence waltz is archetypal of their work of the period. Lush, romantic and warm. While the singer is clearly the same man who sang "Sweet Lorraine" thirteen years earlier, his voice has blossomed into something richer, deeper and quite irresistible.
9. This Will Make You Laugh (Higginbotham)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 16th July 1941.
Composed by Irene Higginbotham whose main claim to fame was as the composer of Billie Holiday's "Good Morning Heartache", the rarely performed "This Will Make You Laugh" has a similar downbeat, fatalistic tone as the Lady Day classic. A lovely example of Nat and Oscar Moore's urbane and appropriate instrumental abilities.
10. I've Only Myself To Blame (Evans/Mann)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 5th November 1947.
A modest but touching song, "I've Only Myself To Blame" remains a relatively underperformed song compared to other songs the composers would be involved in (Redd Evans's "Frim Fram Sauce" or David Mann's "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning"). Irving Ashby replaced Oscar Moore in the King Cole Trio in September 1947 and, as this beautiful solo demonstrates from one of his first recording sessions, the new guitarist filled Moore's shoes more than adequately.
11. My Flaming Heart (Robin / Brodsky)
Nat Cole (piano/vocal); Jack Costanzo (bongos). Nelson Riddle (conductor/arranger). January 1953.
A marvellously passionate piece of kitsch from Russian-born Hollywood composer Nicholas Brodszky and lyricist Leo Robin, famous for his Hollywood songs with Ralph Rainger. Riddle and Cole turn it into a minor masterpiece of orchestral jazz noir.
12. I Realise Now (Miller-Cowan)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 6th March 1944.
13. Can You Look Me In The Eyes (Herrick/McMichael)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 30th December 1946.
A pair of extremely obscure songs, "I Realise Now" was co-written by Count Basie singer Taps Miller and has been recorded only by Nat here and Etta Jones in 1987. Etta Jones also recorded "Can You Look Me In The Eyes" in 1962 though the Ink Spots also sang it. Neither song is a classic, but the King Cole Trio treat both to their customary delicate perfection.
14. Blues In My Shower (Cole)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 13th August 1947.
A delightful blues instrumental featuring Nat's elegant, crisp piano improvisations.
15. Pretend (Douglas/Parman/La Vere)
Nat Cole (piano/vocal); John Collins (guitar); Charlie Harris (bass); Nelson Riddle (conductor/arranger). December 30th 1952
A big obvious tune made even more insistent by the melodic echo in the arrangement, this is by no means the subtlest of the Riddle/Cole efforts but it hit the spot of his mainstream audience and charted healthily in 1953. Those who thought Cole had leant too far in the direction of commercialism in this period might point at songs like this as evidence.
SWINGIN' NAT
1. Walkin' My Baby Back Home (Turk-Ahlert)
Nat Cole (vocal); Billy May (arranger/conductor). 14th September 1951
This big hit for Cole indicated it wasn't going to be all soft strings and exotic ballads in Nat's vocal years. The distinctive slurping sax sound of Billy May heralds a wittily swinging chart, a hip updating of the 1931 Layton and Johnson hit. Nat delivers a vocal that is the perfect blend of insouciant cool and rhythmic vitality.
2. Route 66 (Troup)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 15th March 1946.
Bobby Troup's simple 12-bar paean to the American highway that was a number 11 hit for the King Cole Trio in 1946 and became a rhythm & blues perennial thanks to the Rolling Stones (via Chuck Berry) 1964 rock 'n' roll version. It continues to be bashed out by pub rock bands all over the globe who have little idea where Kingman or San Bernadino is.
3. Straighten Up And Fly Right (Cole/Mills)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 30th November 1943.
Sometime in the late 1930s, when Nat was a struggling piano player ("I played at every beer joint from San Diego to Bakersfield," he once said), he wrote a tune incorporating a phrase his preacher father used to use. Desperate for money, he sold it outright to publisher Irving Mills for $50 (hence Mills's 'co-composing' credit). A few years later, the King Cole Trio recorded it at their first date for Capitol Records and it became one of the biggest hits of 1944. Mills made over $25,000, Cole made nothing.
4. Frim Fram Sauce (Ricardel/Evans)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 11th October 1945.
An attractive piece of gastronomic nonsense that was a hit for established purveyors of surreal baloney Slim (Gaillard) and Slam (Stewart) as well as for the King Cole Trio. There was even talk of a Frim Fram sauce being marketed by food companies with the Trio's picture on the bottle but it never transpired. And don't bother looking up the recipe for 'chefafa'; on the side or otherwise, it doesn't exist.
5. I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again (Harry Woods)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Joe Comfort (bass); Jack Costanzo
(bongos); Lee Young (drums); The Starlighters: (vocals). 9th February 1950.
Harry Woods was responsible for tunes like "When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" and "I'm Looking Over A Four Leafed Clover" in the 1920s, though "I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again" dates from the mid 1930s and was recorded by many a dance orchestra of the day. In 1950, the King Cole trio - augmented by a drummer and vocal group (a rare occurrence for Cole) - turn it into a solid swinger, with the interplay between the Starlighters and Nat's blocked piano obligatos especially pleasing.
6. Honeysuckle Rose (Waller/Razaf)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 6th December 1940.
An early example of the Trio's musical prowess on a fantastic instrumental arrangement of Fats Waller's classic. Bright, tight and exciting, Nat's virtuoso piano is a blend of Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson and his own thrilling rhythmic attack while the ensembles have a unity and power that inspired many a similar combo to form in the 1940s.
7. If You Can't Smile And Say Yes (Jordan/Rodgers)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 30th November 1943.
A cheekily humorous love song, it was written by comedy singer Timmie Rogers and Tympany Five star Louis Jordan, an artist who recorded more than his fair share of jokey romance pieces himself. Here, it's given a robust reading by the King Cole Trio on their first date for Capitol, with a particularly effective and strong vocal from Nat.
8. Little Girl (Hyde/Henry)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 3rd November 1947.
Business as usual for the King Cole Trio. An attractive, throwaway ditty, a swinging tempo and some top-drawer jazz improvisation - another perfectly formed two-and-a-half minutes. The song itself, written by the otherwise obscure team of Francis Henry and Matt Hyde, was also a hit for a young Vic Damone and has subsequently been covered by John Pizzaralli, Oscar Peterson and others in Nat Cole tribute projects.
9. What Does It Take (Burke/Van Heusen)
Nat Cole (vocal); Billy May (arranger/conductor). September 1951
An undeservedly obscure, dapper little Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke number from the early 1950s, it utilises the same distinctive descending chord sequence that Van Heusen would use for two other songs (later recorded by Frank Sinatra) "I Could Have Told You" and "You'll Get Yours". Here Billy May and Nat make wonderful swinging work of it.
10. It's Only A Paper Moon (Rose/Harburg/Arlen)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 15th December 1943.
A King Cole Trio classic, this light-hearted music glows with a breezy wit and easy musicality that is irresistible. Nat's gloriously relaxed vocal, the gentle swing and the sumptuously decorative unison passages played by Nat and guitarist Oscar Moore exemplify what was so attractive about this group.
11. Oh, But I Do (Fitzgerald/Watts)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1946.
Co-written by the great jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, "Oh, But I Do" is one of several novelty rhythm numbers that Ella had a hand in after her 1938 self-penned smash hit "A-Tisket A-Tasket". Though she appears not to have recorded it herself, the King Cole Trio have terrific fun with it, eschewing the unusual, asymmetrical design of the song itself during the improvisation section, replacing it with a reliable 12-bar blues.
12. Come To Baby Do (James/Miller)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 11th October 1945.
"Come To Baby Do" was the result of a collaboration between actor-director-songwriter Sidney Miller and composer Inez James and was recorded by Duke Ellington, Doris Day and the Andrews Sisters in the mid 1940s, but the King Cole Trio bring their own particular brand of cool to the unusually sophisticated rhythm number.
13. I Feel So Smoochie (Moore)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 4th November 1947.
Composed by pianist Phil Moore, "I Feel So Smoochie" is very similar to the 1936 Mack Gordon/Harry revel song "You Hit The Spot". However, its stop-start syncopations negotiated with ease by the King Cole Trio, give it a period charm all of its own.
14. Makin' Whoopee (Donaldson/Kahn)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 7th August 1947.
Introduced in the late 1920s by Eddie Cantor, "Makin' Whoopee" was nearly 20 years old when the King Cole Trio got a hold of it, and Messrs Cole, Moore and Miller transform Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn's song into a swinging gem for a new generation of hipsters.
15. That's What (Cole/Moore)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1946.
This super hip Nat Cole/Oscar Moore variation on the chords of "Just You Just Me" features a rare example of Nat scat singing, mostly in harmony with Moore's guitar lines. Replete with droll musical asides, the King Cole Trio were absolute masters of this kind of urbane novelty number.
16. Slow Down (Evans)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Wesley Prince (bass). 14th March 1941.
An early composition by Redd Evans who contributed several numbers to the King Cole Trio repertoire ("Frim Fram Sauce" and "I've Only Myself To Blame" among them), it's performed by an early incarnation of the group featuring Wesley Prince on bass. Moore's and Cole's contributions are already sparkling.
17. That's My Girl (Ellington/Tobias)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Joe Comfort (bass). Pete Rugolo (arranger/conductor). 1st February 1951.
Composed by British bandleader Ray Ellington, Nat had come across "That's My Girl" when touring Britain in 1950 and recorded it on his return to Capitol studios in early 1951. Stan Kenton arranger Pete Rugolo gets in some fat brassy stabs and the trio swing on, unperturbed.
18. Cole Capers (Cole)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1947.
Cole's own vehicle based on George Gershwin's chord sequence to "I Got Rhythm" is an excuse for a dazzling display of pianistic fireworks. Vibrant and exhilarating but also skittish and light, it was performances like this that inspired many piano players, notably Oscar Peterson, to reach for similarly swinging heights.
19. You Don't Learn That In School (Alfred/Fisher)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 30th December 1946.
A naughty little rhythm novelty that was also recorded by Louis Armstrong, but is here given the definitive understated treatment by the King Cole Trio.
20. I've Got A Way With Women (Alfred/Wise/Silver)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1947.
Perhaps only someone as naturally self-effacing as Nat could get away with such a bold boast. Even before the rug-pull comeuppance of the final line, he strikes just the right tone of twinkling humour.
21. The Geek (Cole/Fisher)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 1947.
One of the most overtly boppish of the King Cole Trio performances, "The Geek" abounds with chromatic cadences, flatted-fifth intervals (on the title line), a Charlie Parker-style melody and a Dizzy Gillespie-style introductory riff, all faddish signatures of the revolutionary jazz style. The solos too, from Cole and Moore, are more self-consciously 'modern' than many of their other recordings. Further evidence, if any were needed, that Cole could have comfortably operated at the forefront of the current j azz movement, had he wanted to.
22. I'm Never Satisfied (Perry)
Nat Cole (vocal); Ray Anthony (arranger/conductor). 1951
An infectious bongo-frenzy of a track which appeared on the flip side of the 1951 hit "Because You're Mine".
23. Are You For It (Cole/Sigman)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Wesley Prince (bass). 1941.
One of the irresistible King Cole Trio unison vocal novelties whose very irreverent attitude disguised much subtlety and detail; for instance note the 'floating' piano chords during the 8-bar scat interlude before the razor sharp solos.
24. Calypso Blues (Cole/Clifford/George)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Jack Costanzo (bongos). 9th September 1949.
A unique item in the Cole canon. With only Jack Costanzo's bongos for accompaniment, Nat sings an original calypso-style story and creates a genuinely mysterious, colourful atmosphere.
25. Sweet Georgia Brown (Casey/Pinkard)
Nat Cole (vocal/piano); Oscar Moore (guitar); Johnny Miller (bass). 18th December 1945.
Simply one of the King Cole Trio masterpieces. The 1925 warhorse is taken at a thrilling tempo and paraphrased, reharmonised and generally swallowed up in a cavalcade of unison whole-tone licks and glittering improvisations. It's performances like this that had Metronome magazine stating in 1944, "Man for man, this is the trio, the great small unit."
Chris Ingham
Chris Ingham plays jazz piano and writes about popular music. He contributes to Mojo and is author of Rough Guide To The Beatles and the forthcoming Rough Guide To Frank Sinatra. |
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