Biography

Nat “King” Cole conquered the pop charts in the Fifties and early Sixties as a warm-voiced singer of orchestrated ballads like “Mona Lisa” and “Unforgettable” and breezy, countrified sing-alongs like “Ramblin’ Rose” and “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer.” Less well known is the fact that he played a mean piano (in the style of Earl “Fatha” Hines) and led a swinging jazz trio from 1937 to 1955. Cole’s drummerless trio was an innovation, and no less an authority than Count Basie marveled at their improvisational interplay: “Those cats used to read each other’s minds—it was unbelievable.” Early stirrings of rock ...