Nat King Cole (1919-1965) achieved international fame for his romantic crooning in the 1950s and 1960s—he was, in fact, the biggest-selling pop artist of his generation, writes Will Friedwald, music journalist and co-producer of Resonance Records’ retrospective on the artist, Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943), in the liner notes. But “only a few older fans and critics remembered that he had been one of the greatest pianists in the whole history of American music”, Friedwald continued. The new album, released last month in honor of the 100th anniversary of Cole’s birth, helps to redress this oversight.
The album culls a massive amount of music from Cole’s pre-Capitol cannon—183 tracks, to be exact, that fill seven CDs and 10 LPs and provide about eight hours of listening. These tracks include unissued material along with alternate takes, live performances, and original recordings of later remakes, all restored and remastered. A random sampling would find any number of treasures: the Decca track “Bedtime (Sleepy Moan)” on an out-of-tune piano, a bouncy instrumental version of “Don’t Blame Me” featuring Cole’s trio, and a tightly harmonized vocal arrangement of “Blue Skies” from 1938. On these Cole’s primary contribution seems to be as a leader and pianist, with his vocals almost as an afterthought.
All that had changed by the time Cole sang “The Christmas Song: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”, for his 1960 LP, The Magic of Christmas on Capitol Records. Ranked today as the most popular holiday tune ever, according to BMI, “The Christmas Song” remains one of Cole’s most played recordings. (Cole recorded three earlier versions of the Robert Wells/Mel Tormé classic before landing, in 1961, on the rendition most played today.)
Cole’s daughter, R&B and pop singer Natalie Cole (1950-2015), found her own success with holiday material: Twenty-five years ago this year she released the first of her popular holiday recordings, Holly & Ivy (Elektra). To mark this anniversary, last month Craft Recordings debuted the vinyl edition of the album and reissued a remastered version of the CD. On this record she covered three of her father’s traditional holiday tunes, including “The Christmas Song”, and included eight other seasonal favorites; despite this Christmas-heavy track listing, back in 1994 Natalie was keen to emphasize the non-traditional message of the tunes on the record. Traditional or no, the album has fared well over time: After charting the year it released, five years ago it charted for a second time, in the number six spot of Billboard’s holiday albums.
Warm-voiced singer/pianist Freddy Cole, Nat’s younger brother, will be at Birdland with his quartet for their annual visit on Dec. 24-28. (Freddy contributes an interview to the superbly crafted booklet for his brother’s new release.) Before this, though, Harlem-based baritone and guitarist Allan Harris will pay homage to his celebrated elder with A Nat King Cole Christmas at Smoke Nov. 29-Dec 1.
The year after Nat King Cole was born, women gained the right to vote. To mark the 100th anniversary of that historic event, singer Karrin Allyson has joined with an array of stellar musicians to release Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage (Entertainment One). The album’s lineup draws from some the most talented musicians around: Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Mindi Abair, pianist Helen Sung, bassist Endea Owens, and drummer Allison Miller form the sextet backing Allyson and others on this series of long-forgotten “suffrage” tunes from the 19th and early 20th centuries. You can hear Madeleine Peyroux and Denise Donatelli on “The Great Convention”, Veronica Swift on “Anti Suffrage Rose”, and Kurt Elling on “Winning the Vote”—keeping in mind that these are just the guest singers. The list of performing artists contributing to this projects totals in the dozens. A strong statement.
Pianist, writer, and radio journalist Marian McPartland (1918-2013) was among those who helped female jazz musicians to gain acceptance in a male-dominated field. Allyson and pianist Roberta Piket’s sextet will perform some of McPartland’s original compositions in remembrance of this jazz champion on Dec. 6 at Flushing Town Hall in Queens.
Seasonal notes: On Dec. 11 and 18, St. Peter’s offers its annual Yuletide Celebration with about a dozen top-notch NY singers, and Anne Philips’ Bending Toward the Light: A Jazz Nativity plays at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church on Dec. 6.
(Reprinted from the December 2019 issue of The New York City Jazz Record.)