New title added to Series Three!

[High and Outside]

We are very pleased to announce that we will be releasing Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays in Series Three.

We have long wanted to include something from Nat King Cole, one of the all time great singers in American musical history. The difficulty is not just to choose from such an iconic body of work. It's also complicated by the fact that much of his defining work was recorded before the stereo era, in fact most of it before the HiFi era. We give a grateful tip of the cap to subscriber Philip O'Hanlon, who pointed us toward this gem. In 1961 someone had the great idea of putting these two together. Cole loved Shearing's piano playing (and since Cole was a great pianist himself that's no small compliment.) And of course everyone loved Cole's singing, including Shearing. The joy they had in collaborating clearly made it on to the tape.

It's beautifully recorded in the pop studio style of the day. The vocal is mixed out front, but if you were going to choose a vocal to spotlight... 

[TomR]

Feels like a brilliant choice.

[mikel]

We are very pleased to announce that we will be releasing Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays in Series Three.

We have long wanted to include something from Nat King Cole, one of the all time great singers in American musical history. The difficulty is not just to choose from such an iconic body of work. It's also complicated by the fact that much of his defining work was recorded before the stereo era, in fact most of it before the HiFi era. We give a grateful tip of the cap to subscriber Philip O'Hanlon, who pointed us toward this gem. In 1961 someone had the great idea of putting these two together. Cole loved Shearing's piano playing (and since Cole was a great pianist himself that's no small compliment.) And of course everyone loved Cole's singing, including Shearing. The joy they had in collaborating clearly made it on to the tape.

It's beautifully recorded in the pop studio style of the day. The vocal is mixed out front, but if you were going to choose a vocal to spotlight... 

i happened to be fortunate enough to be in Philip's room at RMAF in Oct when Paul Stubblebine and Philip were listening to this tape (if my memory is correct......it could have been a different Nat King Cole).

it was very very nice. it's a particularly clear and vivid recording.

i think it will be an excellent addition to series 3.

[ironbut]

Nat Cole was always a big favorite of my mother so his voice was heard around our house on a weekly basis when I was growing up.
I still play some of those original releases sometimes and enjoy the hell out of them!
Also, if you haven't watched the PBS doc that follows his life ( part of the "American Masters" series) it's great. It really increased my respect for this great vocalist/pianist.

These tapes are certainly "products" but I also think of them as tributes to the hard work and talent of the folks who produced the original recordings. They allow me to listen deeper into the "mix" and hear the subtleties that were agonized over so many years ago. That includes the artists who sometimes make this stuff look easy, but seldom is.
So, I can think of no American vocalist who's more deserving of this honor and consider this selection to be "inspired"!

[High and Outside]

i happened to be fortunate enough to be in Philip's room at RMAF in Oct when Paul Stubblebine and Philip were listening to this tape (if my memory is correct......it could have been a different Nat King Cole).

it was very very nice. it's a particularly clear and vivid recording.

Right, Mike, I forgot you were there. It did sound good, and we were only listening to the CD!