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Nat King Cole | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore Nat King Cole through Love Is the Thing. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
Nat King Cole
Meet the artist
A pianist and singer whose trio playing preceded a celebrated career as a vocalist. His poised phrasing, warm voice and rhythmic ease influenced generations of listeners and performers. Alongside the familiar warm baritone, his piano recordings reveal clear improvisation and buoyant swing.
Singing carries words without haste, making short phrases feel conversational. His identity remains recognizable from guitar-and-bass trio settings to orchestral accompaniment. Listening for the rhythmic sensibility beneath popular songs softens the boundary between jazz and mainstream song, revealing a close relationship between singing and improvising.
Where to start listening
Follow the voice within the strings, noticing how simply holding a word a little longer can change the song's expression.
1957Love Is the Thing
Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole sings ballads with arrangements by Gordon Jenkins. The combination of warm voice and orchestral strings offers a defining view of his work as a popular singer.
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Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.