The Jazz Organ Scene
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Nat King Cole
Nat (*1919 in Montgomery, AL) was a singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Nat's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.
Nat learned to play the organ from his mother, a church organist. His first performance was "Yes! We Have No Bananas" at the age of four. Nat began formal piano lessons at 12, learning jazz, gospel, and classical music. As a youth, Cole joined the news delivery boys' "Bud Billiken Club" band for The Chicago Defender. Nat and his family moved to the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, where Cole attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School. He would sneak out of the house to visit clubs, sitting outside to hear Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jimmie Noone. When he was 15, Nat dropped out of high school to pursue a music career. Nat started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed The King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Nat's trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole led a big band and found work playing piano in nightclubs. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil rights organizations. From 1956 to 1957, Cole hosted the NBC variety series The Nat King Cole Show, which became the first nationally broadcast television show hosted by an African American. Nat recorded several hit singles during the 1960s. He performed in many short films, sitcoms, and television shows. Nat appeared in The Nat King Cole Story, China Gate, and The Blue Gardenia. In January 1964, Cole made one of his final television appearances, on The Jack Benny Program. He was introduced as "the best friend a song ever had" and sang "When I Fall in Love". Cat Ballou, Cole's final film, was released several months after his death in February 1965. from Wikipedia |
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Let's Face The Music! Capitol SW 2008 released 1986 recorded November 1961 |
Nat King Cole, Hammond BC organ, vocals Billy May & His Orchestra |
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The Billy May Sessions Capitol Jazz CDP 0777 7 89545 2 1 released 1993 recorded between September 1951 and November 1961 |
Nat King Cole, organ, vocals Billy May, conductor Gene Cipriani, alto sax Skeets Herfurt, alto sax Harry Klee, alto sax Willie Schwartz, alto sax Willie Smith, alto sax Richard Clay, tenor sax Buddy Collette, tenor sax Fred Falensby, tenor sax Jules Jacob, tenor sax Plas Johnson, tenor sax Ted Nash, tenor sax Jack Agee, baritone sax Fred Falensby, baritone sax Chuck Gentry, baritone sax Robert Dawes, sax, clarinet Charles Deremo, sax, clarinet Milt Bernhart, trombone Karl de Karske, trombone Ed Kusby, trombone Murray McEachern, trombone Dick Nash, trombone Tommy Pederson, trombone James Priddy, trombone Robert Reisiger, trombone William Schaeffer, trombone Tom Shepard, trombone Lloyd Ulyate, trombone Si Zentner, trombone Francis Howard, bass trombone George Roberts, bass trombone Frank Beach, trumpet John Best, trumpet Pete Candoli, trumpet Harry "Sweet" Edison, trumpet Tony Facciuto, trumpet Conrad Gozzo, trumpet Reunald Jones, trumpet Mannie Klein, trumpet Jack Laubach, trumpet Ray Linn, trumpet Leonard Mach, trumpet Vito Mangano, trumpet Robert McKinzie, trumpet Andre Peele, trumpet Uan Rasey, trumpet Red Callender, tuba John Collins, guitar Al Hendrickson, guitar Barney Kessel, guitar Cliff Fishback, piano Bill Miller, piano Jimmy Rowles, piano Paul Smith, piano Frank Flynn, vibes Emil Richards, vibes, percussion Helen Bliss Hutchinson, harp Kathryn Julye, harp Verlye Mills, harp Ann Mason Stockton, harp string section Charlie Harris, bass Joe Mondragon, bass Ralph Pena, bass Phil Stephens, bass John Markham, drums Alvin Stoller, drums Lee Young, drums Jack Costanzo, percussion Stevan Dweek, percussion Frank Flynn, percussion Lou Singer, percussion Alvin Stoller, percussion Carlos Vidal, percussion |
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