Today (March 17) is the birthday of my favorite jazz singer, Nat "King" Cole (1919-1965). Although best remembered today as a pop singer from the 50's and 60's and as the debonair figure in the black and white video singing "Unforgettable" with his daughter, Natalie, Cole was, in fact, a wonderful jazz pianist (and later jazz vocalist). He was influenced by Earl Hines and Art Tatum, and in turn elements of his style can be heard in the music of Oscar Peterson, Ray Charles, Diana Krall and Harry Connick, Jr. among many others.  In addition to recording with his own piano-guitar-bass trio, which was unique in its time for not having a drummer, he also recorded with such jazz greats as Lester Young, Buddy Rich and Dexter Gordon.  In the mid-50's, Cole became the first African American to have his own network TV show (on NBC), which was groundbreaking for the number of black artists who appeared as guests and for the frequent pairing of Cole with white singers and musicians. Despite good ratings, the show was cancelled after one season, leading Cole to crack "Madison Avenue must be scared of the dark." Check out the albums "The Lester Young Trio"; and "The After Midnight Session."

 

These 2 versions of "Tea for Two" provide a great example of Cole's swinging, percussive playing.  Trademarks of his style include the block chord episodes  at the 1:15, 1:35 and 3:10 marks and the clever interpolations of other songs into his solos ("Comin' Through the Rye" at 0:55 and "A Foggy Day" at 2:07) (although unlike other quote-masters such as Sonny Rollins or Phil Woods, these quotes were often pre-planned and repeated routines and not truly improvised).  Another bit of Cole "business" that I only became aware of after the advent of YouTube was his penchant to throw in Chico Marx-inspired pistol shots (here at 1:20 and 3:00)...he may have been doing these in his sound recordings, but who would know?