Bonus - At Long Last: "Nat King Cole Live at the Blue Note Chicago (1953)" (and with Stuff Smith, 1957)
A Not-Entirely Unabashedly Commercial Announcement
Yes! Color me happy!
I first heard about this material over three years ago, not long after my biography, Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole, had been published, and not long Hittin’ The Ramp, the Resonance Records package of Cole’s earliest music was released.
There’s precious little live music by Nat King Cole out there, and this is major find - Cole at the height of his powers, right at the crossroads of both of the major musical acts of his life, Cole the bandleader (1937-1951) and Cole the star (1951-1965) - offering the best of his work so far as trend-setting pianist, million-selling singer, and a maestro of rare musical intelligence.
I’m very proud to have worked on this, and have been eagerly awaiting its release for what seems like forever. (I promise that this will be the only time when I’m going to include the complete contents of a press release, courtesy Ms. Lellie Capwell, in these pages.) Thank you Tom “Grover” Biery and to Iconic Artists for inviting me to be a part of this amazing project.
(For an advance listen to this great live version of “Unforgettable,” click here.)
Iconic Artists Group Unveils Never-Before-Heard Nat King Cole Live at the Blue Note Chicago
for Record Store Day
Masterfully Curated Historic Collection Features Live Performances From a 1953 Blue Note Chicago Residency
Meticulously Restored 70-Year-Old Audio From the Legendary Chicago Jazz Club Owners’ Personal Archives
Available April 20 for Record Store Day Worldwide
Listen/Share: “Unforgettable” Out Today
Los Angeles, CA – February 15, 2024 – The week of August 28, 1953, riding high on the charts, acclaimed pianist and singer Nat King Cole took to the stage at the Blue Note Chicago, Chi-town’s first integrated venue in his beloved Bronzeville neighborhood. Nearly five years had passed since Cole’s last appearance at the club. Upon returning to the city, he graced the stage for these intimate performances at least twice a day for a week.
Seventy years later, those historic, never-before-heard performances by Chicago’s adopted son’s week-long residency have been unearthed and meticulously restored for Nat King Cole Live at the Blue Note Chicago,out April 20 via Record Store Day and available worldwide at select independent music retailers. The collection will be available on 2LP with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed-on audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, 2CD, and digital formats. For a list of participating stores, please visit: www.recordstoreday.com.
The set boasts detailed notes about the meticulous restoration process from the original dual mono recordings by audio engineer and producer James Sàez, who spent weeks working on a sequence that followed Cole’s original set list, including transitions crowd participations, and introductions during the show. The packaging also includes an essay by acclaimed author and music critic Will Friedwald, a replica of the club’s original newsletter promoting Cole’s residency, and a number of rare archival photos of Cole in and around Chicago from the era.
Recorded by club owner Frank Holzfeind, who fatefully taped shows each night at the nation’s premier jazz venue for his enjoyment, Live at the Blue Note Chicago creates a personal connection, taking the listener back to Cole’s Chicago roots and showcasing a different side of him during a time when jazz was at the forefront of musical exploration and cultural expression. The collection features the unbridled raw energy of his trio—John Collins (guitar), Charlie Harris (bass), Lee Young (drums)—lead by Cole’s fierce piano playing, instantly recognizable velvety voice and sophisticated charm, intimately performing the timeless American songbook.
Nat King Cole Live at the Blue Note Chicago Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Frank Holzfeind Introduction :16
2. Little Girl 2:28
3. Unforgettable 3:44
4. It’s Only A Paper Moon 3:30
5. Love Is Here To Stay 3:44
6. Too Marvelous For Words 3:43
7. What Does It Take 2:36
RT- 20:04
Side 2
8. You Stepped Out Of A Dream 2:37
9. Exactly Like You 3:59
10. Sweet Lorraine 4:15
11. Can’t I 3:47
12. Band Introduction :18
13. Calypso Blues 3:20
RT- 18:25
Side 3
1. Frank Holzfeind Introduction 2:25
2. Walkin' My Baby Back Home 2:07
3. Mona Lisa / Too Young 3:50
4. Blue Gardenia 2:28
5. Straighten Up And Fly Right 3:17
6. Funny (Not Much) 3:37
7. Somewhere Along The Way 2:45
8. Nature Boy 2:19
RT- 20:51
Side 4
9. Pretend 3:24
10. A Fool Was I 3:50
11. If Love Is Good To Me 3:18
12. I Am In love 2:54
13. This Can’t Be Love 2:41
14. Route 66 3:34
RT- 19:46
About Nat King Cole
One of the most identifiable and memorable voices of the 20th century, Nat King Cole recorded nearly 40 albums and over 150 singles that reached Billboard’s pop, R&B, and country charts and sold more than 50 million copies. As the first Black man to host a radio show and a national television show, NBC’s “The Nat King Cole Show,” he was a civil rights pioneer. Cole appeared in several films, including St. Louis Blues and Cat Ballou. He won the Grammy® Award for Best Performance for “Midnight Flyer” and was honored with a Special Achievement Award from the Golden Globes. He was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAS and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Follow Nat King Cole:
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube
# # #
For more information, please contact Lellie Capwell at LPC Media at Lellie@lpc-media.com or Erik Stein at Scoop Marketing EStein@solters.com
In other NAT PACK news, the official NAT KING COLE channel on YouTube has just posted one of the more rare episodes of THE NAT KING COLE SHOW. Broadcast live on January 14, 1957, this 15-minute program features a special guest in the person of the legendary jazz violinist, the great Hezekiah Leroy Gordon “Stuff” (not “Stuffy”) Smith. A few months earlier, Smith had been one of the four soloists on Cole’s breakthrough jazz piano album, After Midnight, and here they reprise one of the Vincent Youmans songs that had long been a King Cole favorite, “I Know That You Know.”
The whole episode is here:
And that sensational “duet” number between Cole and Smith is here:
The only problem is that the video itself is somewhat damaged (the problem is not in your set) - it seems to be an error not in the original kinescope, but more likely in the transfer process of the 16MM (?) print to videotape or digital. Right at the end of the number, just as the last few notes are about to sound, the whole thing rushes and falls apart, and the ending of this great number is officially sabotaged.
A few years ago, I collaborated with two friends, the great collector / scholar Steve Kramer, and the ultimate jazz violin historian (and Stuff Smith authority) Anthony Barnett, and we came up with a “corrected” version. We took an audio recording from a different non-video source, and dropped it under, and then, in place of the damaged video, we inserted an image from the After Midnight recording session with Cole and Smith. It’s not as cool as having a complete unblemished video of the whole number, but it’s pretty groovy just the same. I’ve never posted or shared this edited version anywhere, but I hope STB (Slouching Towards Birdland) readers will enjoy!
Very Special thanks to the fabulous Ms. Elizabeth Zimmer, for expert proofreading of this page, and scanning for typos, mistakes, and other assorted boo-boos!
Sing! Sing! Sing! : My tagline is, “Celebrating the great jazz - and jazz-adjacent - singers, as well as the composers, lyricists, arrangers, soloists, and sidemen, who help to make them great.”
A production of KSDS heard Saturdays at 10:00 AM Pacific; 1:00PM Eastern.
To listen to KSDS via the internet (current and recent shows are available for streaming.) click here.
The whole series is also listenable on Podbean.com, click here.
SLOUCHING TOWARDS BIRDLAND is a subStack newsletter by Will Friedwald. The best way to support my work is with a paid subscription, for which I am asking either $5 a month or $50 per year. Thank you for considering. (Thanks as always to Beth Naji & Arlen Schumer for special graphics.) Word up, peace out, go forth and sin no more! (And always remember: “A man is born, but he’s no good no how, without a song.”)
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Oh hey, there will be a CD edition - also it's going to be on the streaming services too. (Even I haven't owned a turntable in 15 years!)
Thrilling!