Nat+king+cole

George Benson's place as one of the greatest and most successful guitarists in the history of jazz is secure, but what's easy to forget sometimes is that he began his career as a vocalist, and if this release, a tribute to Nat King Cole, comes as any kind of surprise, it shouldn't. Benson's and Cole's careers are remarkably similar, both becoming known first as instrumentalists, Cole as a pianist, and Benson, of course, as a guitarist, with both eventually easing into the pop mainstream because of their voices. Cole was a one of a kind vocalist, of course, and even Benson wouldn't claim to equal him as a singer, but Benson has a similarly soothing and lush tenor voice that more than holds its own on these familiar songs.

Nat "King" Cole's piano trio has been an inspiration for many of today's young lions: from Diana Krall to this talented vocalist-guitarist, John Pizzarelli. Taking his cue from the fleet-fingered dexterity of Cole's guitar ace Oscar Moore, Pizzarelli combines economical licks with wispy, Chet Baker-like vocalism's on this candlelight tribute consisting of Cole-associated songs, accompanied by bassist brother Martin Pizzarelli and pianist Ray Kennedy. The tunes are sung and swung with reverence and rhythm: the easygoing "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," the furious, foot-stomping standard "Indiana," the plaintive ballad "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons," and the devilish and demure, "Don't Let It Go to Your Head." With the toe-tapping original composition "That's Nat," cowritten by Pizzarelli and Kennedy, Nat King Cole's intimate ballads and pre-bebop instrumentals are brought to a new generation with the leader's own tender and terrific talents.

This album is quite unusual. Recorded shortly after Nat King Cole's death, pianist Oscar Peterson takes vocals on all but one of the dozen selections, sounding almost exactly like Cole. Peterson, who rarely ever sang, is very effective on the well-rounded program, whether being backed by a big band (arranged by Manny Albam) on half of the selections or re-creating both the spirit of the Nat King Cole Trio and his own group of the late '50s during a reunion with guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown.

Dear Mr. Cole is a Nat King Cole tribute album by jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli. "This CD was made exclusively for the Japanese market, the brainstorm of BMG representative Ikuyoshi Hirakawa. He wanted me to record the favorite songs of Nat Cole as voted by the readers of the Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal. They also voted on the trio they wanted to record it and that was myself (John Pizzarelli), Christian McBride (bass) and Benny Green (piano). We recorded it over a two-day period in NYC at Clinton Studios. The CD was received very well in Japan and was subsequently released on the heels of New Standards in the states."

Four CD set features over four hours of jazz classics from such artists as Norah Jones, St. Germain, Nina Simone, Shuggy Otis, Luther Vandross, Ella Fitzgerald, & many more. It's the 1st part of popular series "The Best… Ever!"

Carmen McRae's tribute to Nat King Cole (which predated the late-'80s revival of Cole's music) has its strong and weak points. She wisely adds Cole's former guitarist John Collins to her regular trio and picked some fine material (including "I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm," "I Can't See for Lookin'" and "Just You, Just Me"). However McRae's phrasing is much different than Cole's and why did she sing "Sweet Lorraine" without changing any of the words? Despite those reservations, this set has enough strong moments to justify its purchase.

In 1949, producer Norman Granz released a remarkable album of 78s that consisted of a dozen selections (many of them specially recorded for the occasion) that perfectly summed up the modern jazz scene of the time. The deluxe set consisted of two Duke Ellington features for baritonist Harry Carney with strings, a pair of complex Neal Hefti arrangements, small-group sides by Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and altoist Willie Smith, Machito's "Tanga," major works by arrangers Ralph Burns and George Handy and, the piece de resistance, Coleman Hawkins' pioneering unaccompanied tenor solo "Picasso."

Released as part of Capitol/EMI's Legends of the 20th Century series, this single-disc collection is an excellent summary of Fats Domino's legendary singles. Technically, it doesn't have all the hits – it's missing such gold singles as "Bo Weevil," "It's You I Love," and "Wait and See" – but it has every classic: "The Fat Man," "Ain't It a Shame," "I'm In Love Again," "My Blue Heaven," "Blueberry Hill," "Blue Monday," "I'm Walkin'," "Whole Lotta Loving," "I'm Ready," "I Want to Walk You Home," "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Some Day," "Be My Guest," "Walking to New Orleans," "My Girl Josephine," and "Let the Four Winds Blow," among others. Yes, it's essentially the same as many of the other greatest hits collection, but it's done well, sounds good, and, at 25 tracks, is quite generous, making it an ideal choice for most listeners.

UNCOVERED: 15 tracks as re-cut by The Rolling Stones, starring Solomon Burke, Larry Williams, Muddy Waters, Nat King Cole, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf and more! THE ROLLING STONES: Mick, Keith and the crew join with MOJO to celebrate 50 years of on-stage rock’n’roll triumph: Keith Richards prepares for the stage, Mick Taylor looks back on those wild’n’crazy highs‘n’lows, while Billy Gibbons, Slash, Chrissie Hynde and more remember their live Stones highlights, from 1963 to today.