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Artist Spotlight: Nat King Cole

by Ed Shanaphy

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born on St. Patrick’s Day in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919. His dad, Edward Coles, was a grocer, and not long after Nathaniel was born he took his wife, Perlina, and their four children to Chicago where he changed his career to become a full time Baptist minister. In Chicago, Nathaniel and his older brother Eddie were exposed to the music of such stars of the day as Duke Ellington and Earl “Fatha” Hines, Hines being a key role model in young Nathaniel’s approach to the piano. Young Coles started his own group, the Solid Swingers, in the early 1930s. In 1936 he took a job in Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s revue, Shuffle Along, at which time he met and married one of the show’s dancers, Nadine Robinson. The young couple went on tour after the show closed and finally settled in southern California where, in 1937, Nat formed the first King Cole Trio. Cole’s piano playing was highly regarded by such titans of the instrument as Art Tatum, who often dropped in to hear him at clubs where he played, and Oscar Peterson who credits Cole with being his primary source of inspiration. Nat’s single line, melodic approach to right hand soloing, coupled with his left hand ‘comping’ punctuations, formulated a style of jazz piano that was seminal and inspirational for jazz pianists then, as it is to this day.

Cole’s piano playing was highly regarded by such titans of the instrument as Art Tatum, who often dropped in to hear him at clubs where he played, and Oscar Peterson who credits Cole with being his primary source of inspiration.

His first vocals were with his Trio in 1939 when he recorded “Sweet Lorraine.” After having recorded additional hit vocals with his Trio such as “Body And Soul,” “Indiana,” and “I Can’t Get Started,” the Trio broke up and Nat began performing and recording with large orchestras, still hanging onto his roots and often doing small group stints at the piano during the shows and concerts. Although arranger Nelson Riddle is primarily recognized for his work with Frank Sinatra, not many people are aware of his importance in the shaping of Nat Cole’s career as a vocalist. Nat’s first big hit, “Mona Lisa,” was orchestrated by Riddle when he was ghost writing for Les Baxter. Another Riddle ghost job for Baxter was Nat’s beautiful rendition of “Too Young,” which became Nat’s second smash hit. Based on these two huge successes, Nat Cole and Nelson Riddle created a musical partnership that was to last for ten years and produce, incredibly, over 250 recordings and hits including, “Unforgettable,” “Pretend,” “A Blossom Fell,” Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup,” “Answer Me My Love” (in this issue), “Smile,” “Ballerina,” “There Goes My Heart” (in this issue), “Non Dimenticar,” “Haji Baba,” “That’s All,” “Somewhere Along The Way,” “Because You’re Mine,” and a couple of hundred more!

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