Nat King Cole - the Swing Era DVD

Before achieving international pop stardom with his vocal recordings for the Capitol label during the early Fifties the great Nat ""King"" Cole (1917-1965) enjoyed considerable success fronting his own trio in Hollywood and resorting to a repertoire of jazzy/jivey/novelty numbers that made for irresistible listening. Initially backed by guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince singer-pianist Cole set for a smooth crisp appealing sound that gained him early popularity. Best exemplified in hit tunes such as Route 66 Scotchin' With The Soda Sweet Lorraine... or Hit That Jive Jack the peculiar Nat Cole style somewhat came to define the spirit of the war years. A first-class singer and a very talented pianist (inspired by Ear Hines and a big influence on Oscar Peterson) Nat Cole did frequent 'soundies' during this initial period in his career and this DVD is a fascinating collection of those early film shots produced for theatres or television. Backed by sidemen such as guitarists Oscar Moore and Irving Ashby bassists Johnny Miller and Joe Comfort or Latin percussionist Jack ""Mr Bongo"" Costanzo Cole was in peak artistic form in these true musical gems from his early West Coast period. Recommended to old-time fans and jazz enthusiasts alike the music in this anthology sounds as enjoyable as ever.27 tracks including; Mona Lisa / I'm A Shy Guy / Always You / That's My Girl / Too Young / Now He Tells Me [show more]

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