Porter Nat King

On his fifth studio album, 2017's lovingly produced Nat "King" Cole & Me, singer Gregory Porter takes a purposefully traditional approach, paying tribute to one of his biggest influences, legendary vocal icon Nat King Cole. To help craft his tribute, Porter recorded the album with Grammy Award-winning arranger Vince Mendoza and the illustrious London Studio Orchestra, as well as several tracks featuring Los Angeles studio stalwart…

Cole Porter was one of a handful of American musical colossi. He had the genius to conjure up improbable rhyming lyrics to catchy melodies delivering not only a single song but as often or not a whole conundrum of numbers collected within the sphere of a show. This collection of 40 songs exemplifies the talent of Cole Porter and is a testament (tribute) to his longevity in musical history. Wit, humour, sophistication, rhythmic and key changes are small change to his ability.Who else could win a challenge to produce 'Miss Otis Regrets' after questioned whether he could write lyrics from the next words he heard? The cast of star celebrities in this collection say it all. Sinatra, Bennett, Crosby, Ella, Billie, Nat, Marlene, Judy to name a few. Also, the bigger bands of not so long ago, Nat Gonella, Jack Hylton, Geraldo. These need preservation orders and what better than endorse the master composer Mr Cole Porter? Add this to your collection.

This entry in mail-order firm Collectors' Choice Music's series of reissues of Nat King Cole albums pairs two instrumental collections he recorded in the 1950s. In its original form as a 10," eight-song LP, Penthouse Serenade, recorded on July 18, 1952, found Cole returning to the small-band format of his jazz playing days in an ensemble that featured him on piano, John Collins on guitar, Charles Harris on bass, and Bunny Shawker on drums (with Jack Costanzo joining in on bongos and conga on "Rose Room," "Once in a Blue Moon," and "Down by the Old Mill Stream"). Three years later, on July 14, 1955, Cole re-entered the studio to cut another four songs so that the album could be reissued as a 12-song, 12" LP. Two songs each were added to the ends of the two sides of the album.

The Nat King Cole Trio - The MacGregor Years, 1941-1945 (1995) {4CD Set Music and Arts PoA, CD-911}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 611 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 668 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 48 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1941-45, 1995 Music and Arts PoA | CD-911
Jazz / Swing / Vocal Jazz / Jump Blues / Traditional Pop

On this four-CD set are included the bulk of Nat King Cole's radio transcriptions of 1941 and 1944-45. Although the programming could be a little better (the complete sessions are not compiled strictly in chronological order), the music has a strong unity and is consistently enjoyable. Pianist-vocalist Cole and his trio (which also includes important contributions by guitarist Oscar Moore and either Johnny Miller or Wesley Prince on bass) are featured extensively both as a unit and as an accompanying group to singers Anita Boyer, Ida James, Anita O'Day and the Barrie Sisters on 33, 15, five and five songs respectively.

Gregory Porter’s new release Still Rising, due out November 5, is an exquisite collection of musical delights. The first disc includes four brand-new tracks, two new arrangements, three new covers, and nine of Porter’s most loved Blue Note tracks. The second disc features notable duets including songs with Moby, Jamie Cullum, Jeff Goldblum, Renée Fleming, Dianne Reeves, Lalah Hathaway, Laura Mvula, Lizz Wright, and others.

Gregory Porter, with his customary class, elegance and sophistication, presents his new holiday album Christmas Wish – a cool yule selection of festive favourites as well as brand new songs written by the singer himself. Backed by his long-time band, produced by repeat collaborator Troy Miller in New York and London, with orchestral contributions recorded at Abbey Road, and featuring powerhouse guest vocalist, double Grammy-winning sensation Samara Joy, Gregory Porter’s seventh studio album is a loving tribute to his favourite time of year – and to great songwriters, singers and interpreters including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Dinah Washington. Across its dozen tracks, Christmas Wish encompasses the saintly and the secular, the funky and the fun, the Great American Songbook and the best of Motown. With ‘Christmas Wish’, Gregory Porter has given us a whole new soundtrack to this most wonderful time of year.