Nat King Cole At The Piano Penthouse Serenade

Just a year after disbanding his trio and turning more to vocal pop music, Nat 'King' Cole made another U-turn and went into the studio with guitarist John Collins, bassist Charlie Harris and drummer Bunny Shawker to record the eight tracks for the 10" LP "Penthouse Serenade", a quiet and thoughtful compilation of standards such as "Somebody Loves Me" and "Laura", which he interpreted purely instrumentally on the piano. The album confirmed that despite his success as a singer, he was still an exceptional pianist. In 1955, as the 12" LP increasingly dominated the market, Cole recorded four more tracks with Collins, Harris and drummer Lee Young (Lester Young's brother) to release a reissue of "Penthouse Serenade", now with 12 tracks - this was Nat 'King' Cole's first full-time LP.
In 1998, Capitol Records expanded the album again by releasing a CD of 19 tracks, adding an alternative version of "I Surrender Dear" from the 1955 session and six tracks from January 1952 with Collins and Harris (and, on most tracks, percussionist Jack Costanzo), four of them previously unreleased. The reason for these additional tracks was that they were the same musicians and interesting alternativers, hits by Cole like "Too Young", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" and "Unforgettable", but in a small line-up. However, they differ from the original pieces in that Nat 'King' Cole also sings. Nevertheless, it is a welcome fact that the album grew over the years from 23 to 51 minutes of playing time.

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Made in the UK

Musicians:

• Nat King Cole, piano, vocals
• John Collins, guitar
• Charlie Harris, bass
• Bunny Shawker, drums
• Lee Young, drums
• Jack Costanzo, percussion

Selections:

Side A
1. Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)
2. Somebody Loves Me
3. Laura
4. Once In A Blue Moon (based on Rubenstein's Melody In F)
5. Don't Blame Me
6. Little Girl
7. Polka Dots & Moonbeams
8. Down By The Old Mill Stream
9. If I Should Lose You
Side B
1. Rose Room
2. I Surrender Dear (take 2)
3. It could happen to you
4. I Surrender Dear (take 1)
5. Too Marvellous For Words
6. Unforgettable
7. Walkin' My Baby Back Home
8. Too Young
9. That's My Girl
10. It's Only A Paper Moon