NAT "KING" COLE – 1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 1031 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Nine volumes into the Classics Nat King Cole chronology, it is the summer of 1947 and the King Cole Trio is in the process of mutating into pop singer Nat King Cole "at the piano with rhythm accompaniment." Capitol was a growing enterprise, business was brisk and the 23 tracks on this compilation were recorded during a relatively short span of time -- between July 3 and August 13. Irving Berlin had composed "What'll I Do" in 1924; soon after Cole revived it with this recording, Frank Sinatra came out with a cover version on Columbia. Cole's warm and personable rendering of Richard Whiting and Johnny Mercer's "Too Marvelous for Words" is as magical and intimate as those recorded for producer Norman Granz by Billie Holiday and Lester Young. A wordless "Rhumba Azul" is an excellent example of the King Cole Trio's cool approach to early modern jazz. The final eight tracks are also entirely instrumental. This is a special treat for those who love the way this man handled the piano. Eventually he would practically abandon the instrument in order to focus entirely upon the art of crooning. arwulf arwulf
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