THE names of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr., Brook Benton, Earl Grant and Nat King Cole seem to have been consigned to history. And, unless, like me, you belong to the 'old school,' and you soaked up some of this music in the '50s and '60s, there is no way you will be convinced that they ever existed. But they did, each in super star status.Unknown to today's generation of singers, these were the pioneers and fore runners of the world's popular music revolution. They influenced everybody, including some of the veteran singers whose names have become a permanent part of West Africa's musical history. Dan Acquay of E.T. Mensah's Tempos Band fame of Ghana; Nat Buckle of Oriwo and Abele with Eddy Okonta and his Star Aces; Godwin Omabuwa of the Casanova Dandies; Joe Nez of Nigeria whose other name was 'Mr. Voice' were all influenced by these great legends.As prolific singers with styles that are distinctively brilliant, these legends have also inspired today's generation greatly, even though indirectly, whether they are exponents of soul music, rhythm and blues, rock or even today's hip hop. The truth is that the powerful influence of these masters and veterans of vocal inflections and projections is evidently present as it has permeated through several generations ' from whom they are borrowing today.But of these four great, popular music singers of old whose memories will continue to be indelible, Nat King Cole remains the most influential and unforgettable because of the wonderful things he also did on the piano in a two-at-a-time act, singing and swinging at the same time.My admiration for Nat King Cole started in 1958 at Ibadan, now capital city of Oyo State of Nigeria where I saw him in full glare in the film, Saint Louis Blues as a fictional representation of W.C. Handy, the pianist and composer of the song of the same title.Like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat had two overlapping careers; he was a man of two words, the world of jazz and that of popular music.But in his own case, he played very good piano; he was one of the truly great pianists inspired by Earl Hines and a big influence on Oscar Peterson.Perhaps the problem he had (if it is to be considered a problem at all) was that he played the piano and sang with such equal artistic accomplishment that it were better that his talent was divided between two different people. He was such a wonderful pop ballad singer whose commercial success in that field unfortunately resulted in him greatly de-emphasising his piano after 1949.NAT COLE grew up in Chicago and by the time he was 12, he was playing the organ and singing in church, a role, which he played perfectly well in St. Louis Blues where he acted the role of WC Handy. But his three brothers were jazz musicians.After making his recording debut with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers in 1936, he left Chicago to lead the band for the revival of the revue Shuff Along, and settled in Los Angeles when the show ended. Cole struggled a bit, put a trio together with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prime and eventually settled in for a long residency in Hollywood.In the early days, most of the group's repertoire comprised instrumentals, although the trio often sang swinging novelty vocals together. However, the trio experienced a transformation in the 1940s with dates featuring Lester Young and Illinois Jacket, two of the great saxophonists of that era, the first jazz at the phillantroic concert (1944) and a countless number of selections for Capital with his Trio. All of the latter are included on a gigantic Mosaic limited edition box set.Although his singing began to become quite popular by the mid-40s and particularly after The Christmas song and Nature Boy, Cole mostly performed with his Trio during this era: Johnny Miller took over on bass and in 1947 Irving Ashby became the guitarist. Nat Cole was open to the influence of bop and in 1949 started utilizing Jack Costanzo on bongo and conga for some songs.However, his career changed permanently in early 1950 with the recording of Mona Lisa, which became a number one hit. Suddenly, Nat Cole became famous to the non-jazz public as a singer and many new fans never realised that ' also played the piano. During the 1950s and 60s, he mostly recorded pop ballads although there were a few exceptions, (including 1956's After midnight album) and he never lost his ability to play stimulating jazz.SOME of his recorded jazz sessions which have been re-issued for this generation include the Trio recording vols. 1-4, The capitol trio recordings, Nat King Cole meets the master saxes, Jazz encounters, Anatomy of a jam session, Big Band Cole, The Billy May sessions, Piano stylings, Sings, George Shearing plays, St. Louis Blues; Complete After midnight serious, among others.Nat King Cle was famous for his numerous Trio sessions, which recorded some of the swingiest jazz ever heard. Doubling on piano and vocals, he was the beginning and the end of jazz singing. Outside of the trio, his voice was tested with numerous groups including combos and big bands.With the George Shearing Quintet, he did series of recordings from which Let there be love became a chartbuster and hit single for capital records.One of Nat King Cole's remarkable re-issues is the Complete After midnight sessions originally recorded in 1956 ' after years of criticisms from the jazz press about his decision to break up his trio in favour of a pop singing career. He was persuaded to record this jazz set.Joined by a strong rhythm section unit, which included guitarist John Collins, Cole welcomed four guests for several sessions a piece: altoist Willie Smith, trumpeter Harry Edision, Violinist Juan Tizol.The performances on this CN which include selections released for the first time, are quite enjoyable, featuring such classics as Just you, just me; Sweet lorraine, Its only a paper room, and Route 66.Nat King Cole set the pace for jazz singing. He was also a great pianist.
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