Transcriptions

by Nat King Cole

Overview

Between 1946 and 1950, the King Cole Trio recorded nearly 75 titles for Capitol's transcription service, songs that were then serviced to radio stations for airplay. Although Nat King Cole had formed the trio back in 1937, and the group had become immediately successful as a nightclub act, mainstream commercial success had eluded them until the mid- to late-'40s, when Cole's singing talents translated into three huge popular hits: "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons," "Nature Boy," and "Mona Lisa." (The first and last of these virtually bookend the period covered on this compilation.) In 1946, the sky appeared to be the limit for this trio of swingers who summoned a dynamic, refreshing sound -- full of power and also grace, humor as well as tender emotions -- using only 88 keys and ten strings; by 1950, though, Cole had virtually disbanded the group and, at live appearances or in the studio, usually stood up from the piano and delivered his songs at the microphone. The material on Transcriptions remained virtually unheard during the past 50 years, and this three-disc set marks its first appearance on CD in America. (While several transcription collections dealing with the King Cole Trio have been issued before, those date from a different time, the late '30s and early '40s.) Cole and his trio in performance, already an intimate, playful affair, were made even more so on these recordings; transcriptions as a general rule emphasized small groups playing loose arrangements with plenty of time for solos, and usually required only a single take. The bulk of the songs are standards, not all of them recorded by Cole elsewhere, and while versions of many of his medium-level hits appear here -- "Route 66," "Too Marvelous for Words," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Body and Soul," "What Is This Thing Called Love" -- the sound and feel of them is changed somewhat. Not as ebullient as the early King Cole Trio recordings, Transcriptions exists instead as an alternate history of the late King Cole Trio, full of warmth and displaying Cole's solo and vocal skills in abundance. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	07/01/2004
Label:	Naxos
UPC:	0636943272725
Rank:	198859

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nat King Cole   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Nat King Cole & His Trio   Primary Artist
Nat King Cole Trio   Primary Artist
Jack Costanzo   Bongos,Congas
Oscar Moore   Guitar
Irving Ashby   Guitar
Johnny Miller   Bass
Joe Comfort   Bass

Technical Credits

Jack Costanzo   Composer
Larry Collins   Composer
Count Basie   Composer
Oscar Moore   Composer
Morgan Lewis   Composer
Tiny Grimes   Composer
Harold Dickinson   Composer
Gladys Dubois   Composer
Abe Lyman   Composer
Arthur Schwartz   Composer
Seger Ellis   Composer
Buddy DeSylva   Composer
George David Weiss   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer
Al Dubin   Composer
Irving Ashby   Composer
Irving Caesar   Composer
Con Conrad   Composer
Jack Segal   Composer
Edward Heyman   Composer
Fred E. Ahlert   Composer
Dorothy Fields   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Ervin Drake   Composer
Ruth Poll   Composer
Madeline Hyde   Composer
Johnny Green   Composer
Marian McPartland   Liner Notes
Robert Sour   Composer
Lionel Hampton   Composer
Roy Alfred   Composer
Malcolm Addey   Mastering
Harry Warren   Composer
Carole Cole   Executive Producer
W. Michael Lewis   Composer
M. Fisher   Composer
Sarah Gergory   Composer
Milton Leeds   Composer
Mr. S. Oliver   Composer
S. Collins   Composer
Terry Fischer   Composer
Charles Atkinson   Composer
D.W. George   Composer
George Weiss   Composer
Diana Barnes   Art Direction
Timmie Rogers   Composer
Lester Young   Composer,Composer
Harleigh Maxim Cole   Liner Notes
Roy Turk   Composer
Nancy Hamilton   Composer
Marvin Fisher   Composer
Michael Cuscuna   Liner Notes,Compilation Producer
Raymond Klages   Composer
Otto Harbach   Composer
Herbert W. Spencer   Composer
J. Segal   Composer
Anne Caldwell   Composer
Ed Durham   Composer
Paul Gregory   Composer
Billly Austin   Composer
Allan Roberts   Composer
Taps Miller   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Ballard MacDonald   Composer
Terry Gibbs   Composer
Ted Varnick   Composer
Sy Oliver   Composer
Bob Emmerich   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Gene DePaul   Composer
Bill Carey   Composer
Eddie DeLange   Composer
Kermit Goell   Composer
Jimmy Shirl   Composer
Sheldon Smith   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Irving Gordon   Composer
Rob Christie   Supervising Producer
Cole Porter   Composer
Frank Driggs   Photography
Eddie Durham   Composer
Bennie Benjamin   Composer
Frank Eyton   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Fabian Andre   Composer
Russ Columbo   Composer
Fred Rose   Composer
Don George   Composer
Emil Newman   Composer
Walter Donaldson   Composer
Francis Henry   Composer
Don Raye   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Leonard Feather   Composer
Charles Tobias   Composer
Wilbur Schwandt   Composer
Walter Hirsch   Composer
Bobby Troup   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Nat King Cole   Composer
Nelson Goncalves   Composer
Jesse Greer   Composer
Richard A. Whiting   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer