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Nat King Cole - Live at The Blue Note Chicago

Tracklist: 00:00:00 Frank Holzfeind Introduction #1 00:00:16 Little Girl 00:02:47 Unforgettable 00:06:31 It's Only a Paper Moon 00:10:01 Love Is Here to Stay 00:13:46 Too Marvelous for Words 00:17:29 What Does It Take? 00:20:03 You Stepped Out of a Dream 00:22:37 Exactly Like You 00:26:36 Sweet Lorraine 00:30:51 Can't I? 00:34:47 Band Introduction 00:34:56 Calypso Blues 00:38:27 Frank Holzfeind Introduction #2 00:38:54 Walkin' My Baby Back Home 00:41:02 Mona Lisa / Too Young 00:44:52 Blue Gardenia 00:47:20 Straighten Up and Fly Right 00:50:38 Funny (Not Much) 00:54:15 Somewhere Along the Way 00:57:02 Nature Boy 00:59:18 Pretend 01:02:40 A Fool Was I 01:06:33 If Love Is Good to Me 01:09:53 I Am in Love 01:12:46 This Can't Be Love 01:15:27 Route 66

Nat King Cole: The Velvet Voice and the Jazz Piano Genius Who Bridged Worlds

Nat King Cole was more than a singer; he was a musician who fundamentally reshaped the landscape of American popular music. With a career that spanned three decades, he first earned renown as one of the most influential jazz pianists of his era, pioneering the piano-guitar-bass trio format. Then, in a move that divided jazz purists but captivated the world, he stepped in front of the microphone and became the first African American male solo artist to achieve true mainstream superstardom. His impeccably smooth baritone, flawless diction, and relaxed, behind-the-beat phrasing made songs like "Mona Lisa," "Unforgettable," and "The Christmas Song" into enduring standards. Beyond the record sales and chart-topping hits, Cole’s legacy is one of artistic evolution and quiet, dignified barrier-breaking.

Nat King Cole sheet music

From the South Side of Chicago to the House That Nat Built

Nathaniel Adams Coles was born on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in the South Side of Chicago, where his father served as a Baptist minister. His early exposure to music came through the church, but his true passion was ignited by the jazz and boogie-woogie pianists he heard around the city. A prodigious talent, he was leading his own band by his early teens. After a stint playing piano in a revival of the musical Shuffle Along, Cole found himself stranded in Los Angeles when the show folded. He decided to stay, honing his craft in the city's vibrant but obscure nightclub scene.

His breakthrough came almost by accident. Hired to play at a Hollywood club, Cole assembled a trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince. The group, initially called Nat Cole and His Swingsters, was unique for its lack of a drummer. The club owner, as a publicity stunt, gave the pianist a paper crown and began billing him as "King" Cole—a moniker that, despite the crown's quick disappearance, would stick for life. This drummerless, piano-guitar-bass configuration was not just a novelty; it was a revolution. The King Cole Trio became one of the most supple and sophisticated small bands in jazz, creating a sound that was both intimate and rhythmically propulsive.

Signing with the nascent Capitol Records in 1943, the Trio’s success was so profound that it literally built the label. Their records were so consistently successful that Capitol’s iconic round building on Vine Street in Hollywood became informally known as "The House That Nat Built". By the late 1940s, however, the trio’s vocal numbers began to eclipse their instrumental work. Urged by his wife and agent, and driven by his own ambition, Cole made the pivotal decision to step out from behind the piano bench and become a stand-up vocalist. It was a transition that would make him a global star, though it would forever change the trajectory of his artistic legacy.

The Architect of Cool: Piano Style, Harmony, and Technique

Before the velvet voice, there was the piano. Nat King Cole was, by any measure, one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1940s, a musician’s musician whose influence on the instrument is difficult to overstate. His style was a unique synthesis of his predecessors, drawing the percussive attack of Earl Hines and the stride influences of Fats Waller, but filtering them through his own sensibilities of clarity, economy, and swing. He made the piano sound like bells, with a pearly touch and a restrained elegance that was the antithesis of the showy virtuosity of some of his contemporaries.

Cole’s technique was defined by two key elements: his gift for linear improvisation and his pioneering use of block chords. His single-note lines were smoothly articulated and harmonically adventurous, running parallel to the bebop innovations of Charlie Parker while maintaining a distinct, singing quality. More significantly, he helped popularize the block chord style (also known as the locked-hands technique), where the right hand plays a closed-position, four-part harmony, often doubling the top two notes an octave below. This created a rich, full, and orchestral sound that became a foundational element of modern jazz piano vocabulary, later adopted and expanded upon by pianists like George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock.

His harmonic language was equally sophisticated. In his solos, particularly in the late 1930s and 1940s, Cole would introduce harmonies that were startlingly modern for the time. He placed these "jarring" and adventurous voicings within highly patterned solos, as heard in his legendary 1944 recording of "Body and Soul". Another hallmark of his style was his unique approach to rhythm. He had a knack for placing his notes slightly behind the beat, creating a relaxed, effortless swing that became a signature of the cool jazz aesthetic and influenced countless rhythm sections. As a vocalist, he carried this rhythmic sophistication into his phrasing, delivering lyrics with a conversational intimacy and an impeccable sense of time that made even the most complex melodies sound simple and natural.

The Sound of a Generation: Defining Songs and Compositions

The catalogue of Nat King Cole is a treasure trove of American songbook standards. His move to a solo vocal career in 1950 was marked by an astonishing run of hits that defined the era. While it is difficult to narrow down his best work, several songs stand as pillars of his legacy.

  • "Mona Lisa" (1950): This was the song that truly cemented his status as a solo superstar, rocketing to No. 1 on the pop charts. Its simple, Italian-flavored melody and Cole’s tender, understated delivery made it an instant classic and won him his first Grammy nomination.
  • "Unforgettable" (1951): An Irving Gordon composition, this song became Cole’s signature. Its elegant melody and the warmth of Cole’s baritone perfectly encapsulate his romantic ballad style. The song achieved a second life in 1991 when his daughter, Natalie Cole, created a virtual duet with her late father, a feat that won three Grammy Awards and introduced his music to a new generation.
  • "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (1946): While originally recorded with the Trio, Cole’s multiple re-recordings of this Mel Tormé and Robert Wells classic made it the definitive version. It is one of the few songs in history to become a perennial holiday standard, returning to the charts year after year, even hitting the Top 40 again in 2017.
  • "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66)" (1946): A quintessential Trio recording, this Bobby Troup tune showcased the group’s infectious swing and Cole’s clever, playful vocals. It became an anthem for post-war American mobility and remains one of his most recognizable up-tempo numbers.
  • "Nature Boy" (1948): This enigmatic song, written by eden ahbez, was a massive hit that sold over two million copies in just two months. Its exotic melody and philosophical lyrics were unlike anything else on the charts, and its success was a major catalyst in Cole’s transition from jazz pianist to popular vocalist.
  • "L-O-V-E" (1964): A later hit that demonstrated his enduring charm, this bouncy, effervescent song, sung in multiple languages, became a staple of his later repertoire and remains a popular standard to this day.

Other essential recordings include the swinging "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (based on a sermon by his father), the tender "Sweet Lorraine," the melancholy "Ramblin' Rose," and his elegant interpretations of standards like "Stardust" and "Smile".

The Silver Screen and the Small Screen

Nat King Cole’s cinematic career was, by his own admission, sporadic, largely due to the racial barriers of the era. He never achieved the sustained film success of some of his peers, but his appearances are memorable and his music became inextricably linked with the medium.

His most significant acting role was as the legendary W.C. Handy in the 1958 biopic St. Louis Blues. The film, which also starred Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, and Ella Fitzgerald, allowed Cole to showcase both his acting and his musical talents. In conjunction with the film, he recorded an album of Handy’s compositions arranged by Nelson Riddle. Other film appearances included The Blue Gardenia (1953), Small Town Girl (1953), Istanbul (1957), and China Gate (1957). His final film role was a posthumous cameo as a "Shouter" in the comedy Cat Ballou (1965).

In the decades since his death, his music has become a ubiquitous presence in film and television, often used to evoke a specific era of elegance and romance. His recordings have been featured in countless soundtracks, including Sleepless in Seattle ("When I Fall in Love," "Stardust"), Watchmen, The Incredibles 2, Green Book, and Mona Lisa Smile (fittingly, "Mona Lisa"). This continued use in modern media is a testament to the timeless quality of his voice.

A World of Collaborators

While Cole is often perceived as a solitary figure at the microphone, his career was defined by rich and varied collaborations. His most important and enduring partnership was with the members of the King Cole Trio: guitarist Oscar Moore and bassists Wesley Prince and, later, Johnny Miller. The intuitive interplay between Cole and Moore, in particular, was a marvel of musical telepathy, with the two trading solos and finishing each other's musical thoughts with a seamless grace.

As a jazz musician, Cole was a sought-after sideman and collaborator. In the mid-1940s, producer Norman Granz brought him together with a who's who of jazz for a series of jam sessions. Cole recorded with tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Dexter Gordon, and also played in all-star groups with luminaries like Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, and Buddy Rich. One of the most celebrated of these collaborations was a 1944 duet with guitar innovator Les Paul, a meeting of two geniuses that created musical history.

Later in his career, as a pop star, he recorded with a wide array of artists. He performed duets with the likes of Dean Martin and Woody Herman, and his 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story featured fresh recordings of his hits in stereo. More recently, his archival recordings have been used to create new duets, most famously "Unforgettable" with Natalie Cole, but also a series of holiday duets with modern artists like John Legend, Gloria Estefan, and Johnny Mathis for the album A Sentimental Christmas with Nat King Cole and Friends. These posthumous collaborations underscore his enduring appeal and his voice's remarkable ability to blend with any style.

Awards and Honors: A Legacy Recognized

During his lifetime, Nat King Cole’s artistry was formally recognized with a Grammy Award in 1959 for Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist for his song "Midnight Flyer". He was nominated for several other Grammys across categories like Record of the Year and Best Vocal Performance. However, the full measure of his impact has been acknowledged posthumously through a long list of honors.

He was awarded the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990, and four of his recordings—"Mona Lisa," "The Christmas Song," "Nature Boy," and "Unforgettable"—have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, a testament to his cross-genre influence. In 1994, the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp in his honor. In 2002, the U.S. Congress passed a law renaming a Los Angeles post office the "Nat King Cole Post Office," citing his status as the best-selling African-American recording artist of his generation and his embodiment of the American dream.

Influence and Legacy: The Quiet Revolutionary

Nat King Cole’s influence on music is twofold. First, as a pianist, he is a foundational figure. His economical, harmonically rich style and his popularization of block chords set a new standard for jazz piano and directly influenced generations of players, from Oscar Peterson and Wynton Kelly to Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock. His trio format became the template for the modern jazz piano trio.

Second, as a singer, he "fathered a flourishing school of jazz-inflected pop crooning". His polished, soft-spoken style paved the way for artists as diverse as Johnny Mathis, George Benson, and Al Jarreau, while his impact can also be heard in the work of Ray Charles and Lionel Richie. He demonstrated that a black artist could achieve massive mainstream success by singing straightforward love songs, a radical notion in a segregated America. As Billy Eckstine noted, "They weren't ready for black singers singing love songs... We weren't supposed to sing about love". Cole broke that barrier.

His legacy is also deeply intertwined with the civil rights movement. He was the first African American to host his own national network television variety show, The Nat King Cole Show, which premiered on NBC in 1956. The show faced immense adversity, ultimately being cancelled due to a lack of national sponsorship, as advertisers were hesitant to back a program fronted by a black man. Despite the show's short life, its very existence was a landmark achievement. Cole also endured racism personally, most infamously when he was attacked on stage by white supremacists during a concert in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1956. He faced these indignities with a quiet dignity and continued to break down barriers, becoming the first African American family to integrate the wealthy Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. His success and his dignified perseverance made him a powerful symbol of possibility and a "talisman for the civil rights movement".

Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole was a singular talent who defied easy categorization. He was a jazz innovator who became a pop idol, a black artist who conquered white mainstream America, and a man of quiet grace who confronted immense prejudice with unwavering dignity. His music—from the intricate, swinging piano of the King Cole Trio to the lush, orchestral ballads of his later years—remains a cornerstone of American culture. His voice, with its warm, reassuring tone and impeccable phrasing, continues to soothe, romance, and inspire listeners around the world. He was, as the inscription on a gift from friends once read, "The Best Friend A Song Ever Had," and his legacy as one of the 20th century’s most important and influential entertainers is truly unforgettable.

Nat King Cole's Discography

Main article on Wikipedia: Nat King Cole discography