After Midnight

by Nat King Cole

Overview

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." It's hard for any Nat King Cole fan to ignore these important sessions. [The original version of this release featured a dozen tracks, later expanded to 17 in the '80s with the discovery of some unreleased material. Yet another track, the alternate take of "You're Looking at Me," was also found and added to reissues beginning in the late '90s.] ~ Ken Dryden

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031524565
Rank:	2635

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nat King Cole   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Stuff Smith   Guest Artist,Violin
Juan Tizol   Guest Artist,Trombone,Trombone (Valve)
Willie Smith   Guest Artist,Sax (Alto)
Harry "Sweets" Edison   Guest Artist,Trumpet
Charlie Harris   Drums,Bass (Vocal),Bass
The Harry "Sweets" Edison Orchestra   Trumpet
John Collins   Guitar
Harry Edison   Trumpet
Jack Costanzo   Bongos,Congas
Lee Young   Drums

Technical Credits

Barry Trivers   Composer
Lenny Hambro   Composer
Jack Murray   Composer
Roberta Heller   Composer
Bob Nast   Composer
Anne Caldwell   Composer
Clifford Burwell   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Irving Mills   Composer
Billy Rose   Composer
Vernon Duke   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Joan Whitney   Composer
Clifford R. Burwell   Composer
Oscar Levant   Composer
Clifford Grey   Composer
Frank LaVere   Composer
Vincent Scotto   Composer
Mack David   Composer
Lee Gillette   Producer
James Ramsey Murray   Composer
Bobby Troup   Composer
Louis Dunlap   Composer
Ron McMaster   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Nat King Cole   Performer
Pete Welding   Liner Notes
Jesse Greer   Composer
Nast   Composer
Michael Cuscuna   Liner Notes,Reissue Producer
Ralph J. Gleason   Liner Notes,Original Liner Notes
Ray Evans   Composer
Raymond Klages   Composer
Earl Hines   Composer
Otto Harbach   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Alex Kramer   Composer
Henry Hadamik   Composer
Harry "Sweets" Edison   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Sigmund Romberg   Composer
Willie Smith   Composer
Irving Caesar   Composer
Larry Walsh   Remastering
Edward Heyman   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Jay Livingston   Composer
Patrick Roques   Reissue Design
Stuff Smith   Composer
Charles Carpenter   Composer