NAT "KING" COLE – 1947, Vol. 2 | The Chronogical Classics – 1062 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Volume Ten in the Classics Nat King Cole chronology documents a busy couple of weeks during the second half of August 1947. On August 15, Nat King Cole recorded three songs intended for a juvenile audience. These were "I Wanna Be a Friend of Yours" (which would have worked well years later as a vehicle for Mr. Rogers), the delightfully nonsensical "Ke Mo Ki," and a very smooth, stylish rendition of "Three Blind Mice" that was briefly disrupted by a "mouse" voice with artificially altered pitch. On the session of August 20, Cole shared the vocals with Johnny Mercer, that resourceful songwriter who had established the Capitol record label in 1942 in collaboration with record store owner Glenn Wallichs and Paramount Pictures producer Buddy DeSylva, himself a songwriter who was publishing hit songs out of Tin Pan Alley as early as 1918. By far the funniest of the Mercer/Cole duets is "Harmony," a lighthearted treatise celebrating the complexities of coexistence, carefully punctuated with deliberately chosen wrong notes. "Save the Bones for Henry Jones ('Cause Henry Don't Eat No Meat)" is also humorous but the lyrics are problematic because bones are patently carnivorous fare, as any vegetarian can and will testify. Since the idea that a vegetarian would eat bones is frankly insulting, some will hear this song as a manifestation of arrogant ignorance, while those who practically live on meat will likely chuckle and think nothing of it. The session that took place on August 22 found the King Cole Trio completely surrounded by a studio orchestra with strings. This was deemed appropriate for material like "Brahms' Lullabye" and the famous "Nature Boy." The session that took place on August 27 was one of the most unusual episodes of Nat King Cole's entire career. Once again performing material intended for prepubescent listeners, Nat King Cole sang a medley of nursery rhymes, rattled off a crazy version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and told a story called "The Three Trees." The weirdest thing about these recordings was a series of sound effects and animal noises generated by Pinto Colvig, the internationally famous voice behind Bozo the Clown! As he headed towards a career as a full-time pop singer with only occasional ties to the jazz world, Cole recorded very few instrumentals. "Laguna Mood" and "Lament in Chords" are the only two wordless performances on this compilation. Note also that what's presented here are the last recordings that guitarist Oscar Moore ever made with the King Cole Trio. arwulf arwulf  
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LIONEL HAMPTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1950 | The Chronogical Classics – 1193 (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

While most big bands broke up by 1950, Lionel Hampton was able to keep his orchestra together due to being exciting, R&B-oriented, and putting on very colorful shows. The selections on this CD, which covers the first nine months of 1950, include the rambunctious two-part "Turkey Hop," Little Jimmy Scott's vocal feature on "I Wish I Knew," a few small-group numbers (including a session featuring Jerome Richardson's flute and Doug Duke's organ), and a sextet date that showcases Hampton's vibes and Buddy Cole's organ. Most of this music was formerly rare and has been overlooked by domestic reissue programs. Scott Yanow
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BING CROSBY – The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings 1954-56 (2009) 7xCD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Aficionados of Bing Crosby's '50s recordings have often looked in vain for more material along the same lines. Crosby's artistic highlights of the era, outings like 1956's Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings and 1957's Bing with a Beat, simply let him exercise his interpretive chops with arrangements that were as loose and seemingly unstudied as his singing. The reissue label Mosaic has consistently made the dreams of vocal and jazz fans come true for years, so the release of The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings 1954-56 is only a half-surprise. Recorded by Crosby for use on a short radio show (it was one of his last regular appearances on a medium that was quickly losing the race to television), these 160 sides usually feature only a small quartet led by keyboard player Buddy Cole. These are small but valuable trifles; Crosby excelled in this setting, and despite his fears about a weakening voice, he sounds fine. Granted, there are few surprises here, especially with the material. These are, in the main, standards of the past, many of them songs from the '20s and '30s that Crosby surely knew by heart (even if he hadn't sung all of them before in front of a microphone). Recorded at the same time as his career retrospective A Musical Autobiography, this functions as the flip side of that release, including very few songs he was associated with, but allowing him to use the lessons he'd learned over 30 years of professional performance. John Bush  

Tracklist 1:

1 If I Give My Heart To You 3:23

2 Mandy 1:39

3 Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep 2:52

4 I'm A Fool To Care 2:52

5 Hey There 3:04

6 Anyone Can Fall In Love 2:56

7 I Need You Now 3:06

8 I Want To Be Happy 1:48

9 Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now 2:06

10 But Not For Me 2:20

11 Honeysuckle Rose 2:25

12 The Nearness Of You 2:06

13 Ain't Misbehavin' 2:12

14 Just You, Just Me 2:08

15 Once In A While 3:39

16 You Took Advantage Of Me 2:29

17 Ol' Man River 2:18

18 Thou Swell 1:46

19 'S Wonderful 1:46

20 Oh, Look At Me Now 1:30

21 I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm 2:32

22 All Through The Night 2:58

23 Taking A Chance On Love 2:01

Tracklist 2:

1 We're In The Money (The Golddiggers' Song) 1:39

2 This Can't Be Love 1:28

3 I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me 1:24

4 Love Is The Sweetest Thing 2:01

5 Back In Your Own Backyard 2:13

6 I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan 2:30

7 Don't Take Your Love From Me 2:55

8 You're In Kentucky Sure As You're Born 1:57

9 Young And Foolish 3:05

10 My Own True Love (Tara's Theme) 3:02

11 Sunday 1:42

12 That's All I Want From You 2:22

13 Unsuspecting Heart 3:07

14 A Man Chases A Girl 2:56

15 Melody Of Love 1:23

16 Darling, Je Vous Aime, Beaucoup 3:11

17 How Important Can It Be? 2:17

18 I Hear Music 1:38

19 As Long As I Live 2:13

20 Try A Little Tenderness 3:33

21 What Is There To Say? 2:38

22 Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White 2:36

23 Danger! Heartbreak Ahead 3:26

Tracklist 3:

1 In A Little Spanish Town 2:12

2 It's A Most Unusual Day 1:55

3 Unchained Melody 2:46

4 Something's Gotta Give 1:59

5 I Belong To You 3:07

6 Keep It Gay 1:44

7 Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight 3:18

8 You Do Something To Me 1:24

9 Nice Work If You Can Get It 1:47

10 How Long Has This Been Going On? 2:44

11 'Deed I Do 1:58

12 Cocktails For Two 3:00

13 Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 1:59

14 How Am I To Know? 2:48

15 I Get A Kick Out Of You 2:26

16 I See Your Face Before Me 2:51

17 The Lady Is A Tramp 2:00

18 I'm Yours 3:16

19 Get Happy 2:15

20 My Ideal 3:03

21 Gypsy In My Soul 2:05

22 That's The Way Love Goes 2:02

Tracklist 4:

1 I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again 1:59

2 It's All Right With Me 3:46

3 Serenade In The Night 3:34

4 Wake The Town And Tell The People 2:29

5 She's Funny That Way 3:31

6 If I May 2:46

7 Domani (Tomorrow) 2:30

8 I'll Never Stop Loving You 3:04

9 Goodnight, Sweet Dreams, Mary Lou 2:55

10 Love Me Or Leave Me 2:20

11 (You Gotta Have) Heart 2:35

12 Swanee 2:03

13 Shhh In Madrid 2:25

14 Avalon 1:40

15 Blue Star (The Medic Theme) 2:54

16 Love Is A Many Splendored Thing 2:59

17 The Tender Trap 3:07

18 My Blue Heaven 2:20

19 What Is This Thing Called Love? 2:19

20 When I Take My Sugar To Tea 2:57

21 Someone You Love 3:21

22 Avalon Town 2:08

23 There Should Be Rules 2:48

Tracklist 5:

1 New Sun In The Sky 1:39

2 Love And Marriage 2:20

3 Merci Beaucoup 2:30

4 Way Down Yonder In New Orleans 1:47

5 Waitin' For The Evening Mail 2:35

6 Isle Of Capri 2:54

7 I Feel A Song Comin' On 1:21

8 You're The Top 2:30

9 Breezin' Along With The Breeze 2:07

10 Anything Goes 1:55

11 Manhattan 2:32

12 From This Moment On 1:53

13 Yours 2:56

14 We'll Be Together Again 2:46

15 My Funny Valentine 3:31

16 Jeannine, I Dream Of Lilac Time 3:05

17 Carolina In The Morning 2:11

18 Crazy Rhythm 2:08

19 You Turned The Tables On Me 2:24

20 That Old Black Magic 2:16

21 Arrivederci Roma 2:30

22 No, Not Much 2:55

23 On The Alamo 2:52

Tracklist 6:

1 Come Rain Or Come Shine 3:30

2 If You Can Dream 3:18

3 I Can't Get Started 3:14

4 Little Man, You've Had A Busy Day 2:46

5 I've Got A Crush On You 2:07

6 Margie 2:32

7 Yes Sir! That's My Baby 2:44

8 The Object Of My Affection 2:56

9 Sometimes I'm Happy 2:08

10 When My Baby Smiles At Me 2:00

11 I Got Rhythm 2:01

12 Just Around The Corner 3:35

13 Strike Up The Band 2:03

14 Muskrat Ramble 2:17

15 That's A-Plenty 1:57

16 At The Jazz Band Ball 2:15

17 Smiles 2:11

18 I'd Climb The Highest Mountain 2:14

19 My Baby Just Cares For Me 2:35

20 Fine And Dandy 1:44

21 Georgia On My Mind 3:19

22 Alabamy Bound 1:52

23 When The Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along 2:03

Tracklist 7:

1 You're Driving Me Crazy 2:52

2 On The Street Where You Live 2:30

3 If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) 2:16

4 I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face 2:41

5 Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise 3:21

6 Too Marvelous For Words 2:31

7 Moonglow 3:16

8 Chinatown, My Chinatown 1:37

9 I Wish You Love 3:01

10 Lullaby Of Broadway 2:43

11 I Almost Lost My Mind 2:53

12 You're Sensational 3:19

13 Then I'll Be Happy 2:28

14 Don't Blame Me 3:36

15 My Heart Stood Still 3:12

16 L'Amour, Tonjours, L'Amour (Love Everlasting) 2:03

17 Button Up Your Overcoat 1:49

18 Chicago 2:02

19 Get Me To The Church On Time 2:21

20 More Than You Know 2:32

21 Cheek To Cheek 2:00

22 I'm Confessin' That I Love You 3:41

23 They Didn't Believe Me 2:55

Credits:

Bass – Don Whitaker 

Clarinet – Matty Matlock (tracks: 7-6 to 7-19)

Drums, Percussion – Nick Fatool

Guitar, Banjo – Vince Terri

Piano, Organ, Celesta, Harpsichord, Producer – Buddy Cole

Tenor Saxophone – Fred Fallensby (tracks: 7-6 to 7-19)

Trombone – Abe Lincoln (tracks: 7-6 to 7-19)

Trumpet – Clyde Hurley (tracks: 7-6 to 7-19)

Vocals – Bing Crosby