Nat King Cole
November 8th, 2008Pianist, singer and bandleader Nat “King” Cole may have made his name as a singer, but his work as a pianist is most musically significant. Taking the intricacies of Earl “Fatha” Hines’ right-hand lines and coupling them with the more spare, left-hand ones developed by Count Basie, Cole’s impact on subsequent generations of pianists is far-reaching.
Cole was born in Montgomery, Ala., on March 17, 1917. By the age of 4, Cole’s family had moved to Chicago, where he started playing organ and singing in his father’s church. Along with his jazz musician brothers Fred, Eddie and Isaac, Nat made his recording debut on Decca (1936) for the group Eddie Cole’s Solid Swingers. Cole left Chicago that same year, and eventually settled in Los Angeles. He formed his trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, a group that would become known as the Nat Cole Trio. His trio format was to influence Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal, among others. Cole maintained a trio until 1951, recording for Decca, and later for Capitol.
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