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Topic: The Real Nat King Cole |
John Steele
From:
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 1:06 am |
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I've always thought that it was one of the musical tragedies of the 20th century that Nat King Cole will be remembered as a singer of pop tunes.
As many of you know, he was a piano player. He wasn't just A Piano Player, in the mid 40's he was THE piano player. Players like Oscar Peterson were heavily indebted to his style, and it was a sad day when Nat walked away from the piano and into the singer's spotlight, imho. Yeah, he was a good singer too, but...
If I had to pick out a track, it'd be this one. Body and Soul, intended as a feature for guitarist Oscar Moore. Bear in mind this was 1944 - dig the #11 descending run in bar 7 & 8 of his solo (2:02)... check out the elegant block chord statement starting at 2:10, with the slight allusion to "Hall of the Mountain King"... the way the chords are wrapped around the original changes. A masterpiece.
Now, that's friggin' genius.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJF-tYB8IJU
Mona Lisa. Pffft. 
- John |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 2:24 am
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| That "Nat King Cole Trio" stuff is great! |
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Guy Cundell
From:
More idle ramblings from South Australia
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 5:30 am
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| That was a treat! Someone who I have overlooked, in error. Just a hint of stride to start with but never revisited. His chordal approach is a precursor to Red Garland and George Shearing. I can hear Peterson strongly, too. Thanks for that. |
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Andy Greatrix
From:
Edmonton Alberta
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 8:02 am
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| Wow! How humbling is that? To think that he did that in 1944. I wonder who his influences were! |
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Jeremy Steele
From:
Princeton, NJ USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 11:08 am
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"it was a sad day when Nat walked away from the piano and into the singer's spotlight, imho. Yeah, he was a good singer too, but..."
The same can be said of George Benson...monster jazz guitarist. |
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Paul Graupp
From:
Macon Ga USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 12:53 pm
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But why would Beermonster47 post the comment on UTube that reads:Rather tame and unoriginal contribution from Nat.
Perhaps his hearing aid was malfunctioning !   
Regards, Paul |
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Rick Schmidt
From:
Prescott AZ, USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 1:30 pm
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Thanks so much John....I haven't heard this in probably over 40 years. I used to sit for hours with my mom's 78's when I was a kid. As a wanna be jazz guitarist I idolized Oscar Moore. Besides Beatle tunes, the very first thing I ever worked out note for note off the record was Nat and Oscars unison bebop line "That's the Geek". It wasn't until years later that it hit me full on regarding the genius of Nat's playing. The man was the King!!! Body and Soul is killer!!!
p.s. does anybody have "That's the Geek" as an MP3 they might wanna share with a grown up kid? |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 1:31 pm
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Thanks for the history lesson there John and guys. He was just a tad before my time, so all I ever really knew about him was the crooning period. I had no idea about his piano musicianship altho I had seen references to the Trio.
Learn something everyday. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 3:09 pm
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Here is Nat and Oscar in NYC, July 1946.
Rick: As near as I can find out, the correct title is "The Geek", from late 1947. Supposed to have Irving Ashby on guitar on the recorded version, I guess just after Oscar left the group. It has been reissued.
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Rick Schmidt
From:
Prescott AZ, USA
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 8:15 pm
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Mitch...oh Man! You've just totally rocked my world! Thanks so much! That is such a great memory of mine...even if I thought it was Oscar Moore all these years.  |
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John Steele
From:
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 29 Nov 2009 10:13 pm
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| Quote: |
But why would Beermonster47 post the comment on UTube that reads:Rather tame and unoriginal contribution from Nat.
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I wondered about that too. Beyond the obvious Beermonster sobriquet, I can only assume that he's smokin' the drapes.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Sometime it's gratifying to know someone else can appreciate the things that you appreciate.
For those just tuning into the Nat Cole piano legacy, I can recommend the recording of the first ever "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert, in which Nat was the house piano player in a wide open swing era jam session atmosphere. His trading fours with Les Paul alone is worth the price of the recording. Lester Young's brother Lee is the drummer.
Another notable recording is one of those All Star sessions from the late 40's. It's been released as "Anatomy Of A Jam". His mastery of subtle use of whole tone movements and diminished scales that don't even sound like the cliched moves of later players is just outstanding.
If you peruse other Nat piano YouTubes, you'll hear his propensity for stabbing out roots and fifths on the bottom end, one of Oscar Peterson's hallmarks in later years.
I could sit enthralled by Nat Cole for a long time before I'd ever want him to sing a note.
The "That's The Geek" link is too cool. Mitch, thanks for that. His articulation on the keyboard is another thing Oscar P. didn't take lightly.
Rick Schmidt, some day the jam will come. I know it.
- John |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 30 Nov 2009 10:36 am
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Thanx for the education John  |
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