KING COLE TRIO - I'm In The Mood For Love

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was the first black American to host a television variety show and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death; he is widely considered one of the most important musical personalities in United States history. He was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saint Patrick's Day in 1919[1] (some sources erroneously list his birth year as 1917), and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, while he was still a child. There his father became a Baptist minister. Cole learned to play the organ from his mother, Perlina, the church organist. His first performance, at age four, was of "Yes! We Have No Bananas". He began formal lessons at the age of 12, eventually learning not only jazz and gospel music but also European classical music, performing, as he said, "from Johann Sebastian Bach to Sergei Rachmaninoff". Cole had three brothers; Eddie, Ike, and Freddy. The family lived in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Cole would sneak out of the house and hang around outside the clubs, listening to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Earl "Fatha" Hines, and Jimmie Noone. He participated in Walter Dyett's renowned music program at DuSable High School. Inspired by the playing of Earl Hines, Cole began his performing career in the mid 1930s while still a teenager, adopting the name "Nat Cole". His older brother, Eddie Coles, a bass player, soon joined Cole's band, and the brothers made their first recording in 1936 under Eddie's name. They were also regular performers at clubs. In fact, Cole acquired his nickname "King" performing at one jazz club, a nickname presumably reinforced by the otherwise unrelated nursery rhyme about Old King Cole. He was also a pianist in a national tour of Broadway theatre legend Eubie Blake's revue, "Shuffle Along". When it suddenly failed in Long Beach, California, Cole decided to remain there.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• KING
• COLE
• TRIO
• I'm
• In
• The
• Mood
• For
• Love