Big Band Cole

Performer: Nat King Cole
Producer: Lee Gillette; Michael Cuscuna
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Nat King Cole (vocals, piano); Freddie Green, John Collins, Irving Ashby, Jack Marshall, Bill Pittman , Al Hendrickson, Laurindo Almeida (guitar); Frank Wess, Gabe Baltazar, Lennie Niehaus, Marshall Royal, Art Pepper, Bud Shank (alto saxophone); Paul Renzi, Frank Foster, Ronnie Rubin , Bert Calderal, Jay Migliori, Plas Johnson , Sam Donahue, Billy Mitchell , Bob Cooper (tenor saxophone); Bob Gioga, Wayne Dunstan, Jack Nimitz, Marvin Holladay, Charlie Fowlkes (baritone saxophone); Chico Alvarez, Bob Rolfe, Conte Candoli, Dalton Smith, Bob Behrendt, John Anderson , Jim Salco, Jack Sheldon, Joe Newman , Marvin Stamm, Maynard Ferguson, Pete Candoli, Shorty Rogers, Snooky Young, Thad Jones, Wendell Culley, Bud Brisbois, Frank Huggins, Buddy Childers (trumpet); Milt Bernhart, Bob Fitzpatrick, Bobby Knight, Bud Parker, Dave Wheeler, Johnny Halliburton, Harry Betts, Henry Coker, Herbie Harper, John Spurlock, Kent Larsen, Al Grey, Benny Powell, Tommy Shepard, Jim Amlotte (trombone); Gerald Wiggins, Paul Smith , Stan Kenton (piano); Lee Young, Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne, Sonny Payne, Jerry McKenzie (drums); Jack Costanzo (congas, bongos); George Acevedo, Mike Pacheco, Larry Bunker (percussion). Liner Note Author: Will Friedwald. Recording information: Capitol Studios, LA, CA (08/16/1950-09/06/1961). Unknown Contributor Roles: Count Basie Big Band; Stan Kenton. Arrangers: Dave Cavanaugh ; Pete Rugolo; Shorty Rogers. In a couple of irresistible pairings, Nat "King" Cole is heard here with both the Count Basie Orchestra (without Basie, who is replaced by Gerald Wiggins) and Stan Kenton's orchestra. The Basie band cuts--the album's first dozen tracks--were recorded in 1959 as a set called WELCOME TO THE CLUB, while the Kenton sides were recorded at various times between 1950 and 1961. ("Madrid," an extra Cole/Basie track, was recorded at the end of the CLUB session but previously unissued.) Comparisons between the two bands are instructive: while Basie's band swings subtly and effortlessly, Kenton's band is all percussive stabs, Latin stylings, and broad orchestral gestures. Cole moves effortlessly between the two.

One of the seminal performers in 20th-century American music, Nat "King" Cole was a major figure in the development of jazz piano, the stylistic link between early jazz and pop of the sophisticated urban variety that emerged in the '30s, and finally one of the greatest pop singers of his day. Cole was a hugely talented, intensely musical singer, blessed with almost flawless good taste, who became an international superstar capable of appealing to audiences across all boundaries.

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