Few people realize that the great Nat Cole was first known as a Jazz pianist.
He built his professional reputation on the foundation years when he performed
throughout the U.S. in night clubs and bars with his trio.
It was during these early trio days Nat played piano and sang while being
accompanied by Oscar Moore on Guitar, and Johnny Miller on Acoustic Bass.
Although Nat did compose songs, most of his performances were centered around
the "popular" songs of his day which also included swings tunes written by Cab
Calloway, the ballads of Hoagy Carmichael and show stoppers from the musicals
of Rogers and Hart. The Nat "King" Cole Trio, gave countless live performances
on radio, long before television had started to make an impact on society.
Nat did not start off his show-biz career as a singer. He was solely a jazz
pianist who had modeled his own playing after the the great Earl "Fatha" Hines.
One can easily hear the similarities in the playing styles of these two great
artists. In turn, Nat's playing has influenced other musicians that followed
him including Canada's own Oscar Peterson.
Nat's singing career was actually launched one evening while he was playing at a
note club in Texas. A club patron, in a not so polite way, begged Nat to sing.
Well Nat sang " Sweet Lorraine" and the rest, as they say... is history.
Kory's tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio is a approximently a two hour concert
including intermission. It is available in three different formats.
Click here to watch
highlights from the show.
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