This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Maybe it’s because most of the big-name pop and rock acts are hibernating. Maybe it’s because I spent the last month swinging to the Rat Pack Christmas album. Or maybe it’s just because they both start with the letters J and A. Whatever. All I know is I always seem to listen to a lot of jazz in January. Looks like this year is no exception — thanks mainly to a cornucopia of cool titles that landed in stores before the holidays. At least four respected labels — Blue Note, ECM, Impulse and Verve — have impressive and affordable new retrospectives or reissues on the racks right now. Even if you don’t know be-bop from doo-wop, I suggest you give one or two a try. Here’s a little primer to help you get into the swing on Nat (King) Cole:
WHO: Everybody knows Cole for his dark-velvet vocals and mellow delivery on pop hits like Sweet Lorraine, Mona Lisa and Straighten up and Fly Right. Fewer folks are familiar with his parallel career as a gifted and sought-after swing pianist.
WHEN: Cole first recorded as a sideman back in the ’30s, but his solo career truly kicked off with Sweet Lorraine in the early ’40s and continued until his 1965 death from lung cancer at just 47.
WHAT YOU GET: A 15-track disc of ’40s fare that shows both sides of Cole’s musical career, mixing a handful of vocal tracks (Sweet Lorraine, Route 66, Straighten Up, It’s Only A Paper Moon) with instrumentals (including an understated Tea For Two featuring sax giant Lester Young and a lickety-split version of Sweet Georgia Brown with his trio).
WHERE HE FITS IN: Right on the fence between jazz and pop.
