Nat King Cole

Once Nat King Cole gave up playing piano on a regular basis and instead focused on a series of easy listening vocal albums, jazz fans longed for him to return to his first love. These 1956 studio sessions made up Cole's last jazz-oriented disc, where he played piano and sang on every number, joined by several guest soloists. Cole's vocals are impeccable and swinging, while his piano alternates between providing subdued backgrounds and light solos that don't reveal his true potential on the instrument. Willie Smith's smooth alto sax buoys the singer in the brisk take of "Just You, Just Me." Harry "Sweets" Edison's muted trumpet complements the leader in his interpretation of "Sweet Lorraine." Composer Juan Tizol's valve trombone and former Cole sideman Jack Costanzo's bongos add just the right touch to the brisk take of "Caravan." Stuff Smith's humorous, unusually understated violin is a nice touch in "When I Grow Too Old to Dream." The original version of this release featured a dozen tracks, later expanded to 17 in the 1980s with the discovery of some unreleased material, included in both a British LP reissue and the massive 16-CD box set issued by Mosaic. But even those editions lack the alternate take of "You're Looking at Me" included only on this expanded CD reissue that appeared for the first time in 1999. It's hard for any Nat King Cole fan to ignore these important sessions. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide