Chicagoan Nat “King” Cole died in 1964 at age 45, at the height of his powers and popularity, but he was not the only Cole who sang and played piano. Nat’s late brother Ike, who performed at the Pump Room for years and who sounded so much like Nat that the television series “Happy Days” hired him to cover a bunch of Nat’s tunes rather than pay the hefty recording royalties, used to share stories about how the four Cole brothers—all of whom became singer/pianists—had to get up every Sunday morning to sing in the church where their father pastored, regardless of what time they’d arrived home Saturday night. Nat achieved considerable fame as pianist and vocalist with the King Cole Trio but made the bold and groundbreaking decision to leave the isolated “race” market and go to Capitol Records in Hollywood and inaugurate the career of the first African American singer who totally transcended color, even becoming the first black to have a weekly network television program broadcast across the country. His relaxed, freewheeling and easygoing romantic vocal style was the trademark sound of postwar America and a dozen of those amazing albums have been recently re-released in their original, long out-of-print LP configurations, complete with bonus hit singles from the same recording sessions to celebrate what would have been Nat’s ninetieth birthday. Little brother Freddy, the last of the surviving Cole brothers who’s still going strong with his own career, will pay tribute to that milestone at this special concert that is part of the “Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz” series that will also feature Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra and Chicago chanteuse Audrey Morris. (Dennis Polkow)
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Cool Aid: A Review of Situation Chicago 2 The album does an outstanding job of bringing home the staggering sonic and stylistic range we deny ourselves when we return too often to the same genre well.
