''Take a Look'' is a 1993 album by American singer

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, released on June 9, 1993 by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. Cole won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for ''Take a Look'' at the

36th Grammy Awards The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening th ...

. The single, "Take a Look", peaked at No. 68 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and No. 35 the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart in 1993.

Track listing

# " I Wish You Love" (Albert Beach,

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly a thousand songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These include ...

) – 4:07 # "

I'm Beginning to See the Light "I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, with music written by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and lyrics by Don George and published in 1944. 1945 recordings *Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots featu ...

" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Don George Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of popular music. His songs include " The Yellow Rose of Texas" " I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (1944) and " Everything but You" (1945 ...

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

) – 3:29 # "Swinging Shepherd Blues" (Natalie Cole, Kenny Jacobson,

Moe Koffman Morris "Moe" Koffman, Order of Canada, OC (28 December 1928 – 28 March 2001) was a Canadians, Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Cana ...

, Rhoda Roberts) – 4:01 # "

Crazy He Calls Me "Crazy He Calls Me" is a 1949 jazz standard. It was composed by Carl Sigman, with lyrics by Bob Russell. Notable recordings American jazz singer Billie Holiday recorded it. Other artists to record the song include Dinah Washington (with Clifford ...

" ( Bob Russell,

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...

) – 4:11 # " Cry Me a River" (

Arthur Hamilton Arthur Hamilton Stern (born October 22, 1926),Stern, Arthur “Art”
''Mar-Ken ...

) – 3:50 # "

Undecided "Undecided" is a popular song written by Sid Robin and Charlie Shavers and published in 1938. Recordings *The first recording was made by John Kirby and The Onyx Club Boys on October 28, 1938, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 22 ...

" (Sydney Robin,

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He ...

) – 2:15 # "Fiesta in Blue" (

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

Jimmy Mundy James Mundy (June 28, 1907 – April 24, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Earl Hines. Mundy died of cancer in New York City at the age of 75 ...

) – 4:03 # "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right out of My Life" (

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

) – 3:33 # " Let There Be Love" (Ian Grant, Lionel Rand) – 3:50 # "It's Sand, Man!" (

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

, Dave Lambert, Ed Lewis) – 2:30 # " Don't Explain" (

Arthur Herzog Jr. Arthur Herzog Jr. (December 13, 1900 in New York City – September 1, 1983 in Detroit, Michigan) was a songwriter and composer. Career Herzog was most known for work with Billie Holiday. He co-wrote several jazz Jazz is a music genre tha ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

) – 3:10 # " As Time Goes By" (

Herman Hupfeld Herman Hupfeld (February 1, 1894June 8, 1951) was an American songwriter whose most notable composition was " As Time Goes By". He wrote both the lyrics and music. Life and career Hupfeld was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of Fredericka ...

) – 3:43 # "

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' whe ...

" (

Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony A ...

Larry Holofcener Lawrence Holofcener (February 23, 1926 – March 4, 2017) was an American-British sculptor, poet, lyricist, playwright, novelist, actor and director. He held British and American dual citizenship. Early life Holofcener was born in Baltimore, Ma ...

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

) – 2:56 # "Calypso Blues" (

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, George) – 4:59 # "This Will Make You Laugh" (

Irene Higginbotham Irene Higginbotham (June 11, 1918 – August 27, 1988) was an American songwriter and concert pianist. She is best known for co-writing the Billie Holiday song "Good Morning Heartache" (1946). Biography Higginbotham was born on June 11, 1918, in ...

) – 3:46 # "Lovers" (Cole, Chuck Jackson, Marvin Yancy) – 3:14 # "All About Love" (Robert Arthur, Bill Dana) – 3:39 # "Take a Look" (Cole, Naomi Neville,

Clyde Otis Clyde Lovern Otis (September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008), was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African-American A&R executives at a major label ...

) – 3:06

Personnel

Musicians

* Natalie Cole – lead vocals, backing vocals (5, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17) *

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Life and career Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissio ...

– acoustic piano (1, 5, 12) *

Alan Broadbent Alan Leonard Broadbent (born 23 April 1947) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work with artists such as Sue Raney, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Natalie Cole, Warne Marsh, ...

– acoustic piano (2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17), arrangements (4, 7, 15, 16) *

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate ...

– acoustic piano (4) *

Mike Melvoin Mike Melvoin (May 10, 1937February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, ...

– acoustic piano (7, 16) *

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

– acoustic piano (8, 18),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(11) * John Chiodini – guitars (1-18), arrangements (14), guitar solo (15) *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

– bass (1, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 16, 18), arrangements (2, 10, 13) *

Jim Hughart James David Hughart (born July 28, 1936) is a jazz and pop bass player. Biography Hughart was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and is the son of Frederick (Fritz) Hughart, bassist with Minneapolis Symphony and San Diego Symphony ...

– bass (2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17), arrangements (9) * Jeff Hamilton – drums (1-8, 10-13, 16, 17) * Harold Jones – drums (9, 15, 18) *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion (14) * Robert Yancy – percussion (14) *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

–

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

(14),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(14) *

Pete Christlieb Pete Christlieb (born February 16, 1945) is an American jazz bebop, West Coast jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist. Biography Christlieb was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb. Christlieb ...

– saxophone solo (2, 17) *

Grover Washington Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wr ...

– saxophone solo (3) *

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and ...

– saxophone solo (5, 12) * David Trigg – trumpet solo (9) *

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

– arrangements (1, 5, 12, 18) * Bill Holman – arrangements (3, 6, 17) *

Jeremy Lubbock Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter. Life and career Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...

– arrangements (8, 11)

Production

* Producers – Tommy LiPuma (Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 12, 17 & 18); André Fischer (Tracks 2, 4, 7-11 & 13-16). * Executive producers – Natalie Cole and Tommy LiPuma * Production assistants – Angelo Montrone and Deborah Silverman-Kern (Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 12, 17 & 18); Patty Nichols and Keith Petrie (Tracks 2, 4, 7-11 & 13-16). * Recorded and mixed by

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...

* Additional recording – Joe Ferla, Doug Ryder,

Bill Schnee William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated an ...

and Jeffrey Woodruff. * Assistant engineers – Chris Albert, Ken Allerdyce, Chris Fogel, John Hendrickson, Richard Landers, Gil Morales,

Charlie Paakkari Christina Paakkari, also known as Charlie Paakkari, is an American audio engineer for Capitol Records and the recipient of a 2005 Grammy Award for her work on the Dianne Reeves album ''Good Night, and Good Luck ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' (st ...

, Marnie Riley, Gary Sulich and Dan Wojnar. * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

at the Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA). * Project coordinator – Shari Sutcliffe * Art direction – Robyn Lynch * Design – Drenttel Doyle Partners * Photography –

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

* Hair – Janet Zeitoun * Make-up – Rudy Calvo and Tara Posey * Stylist – Cecille Parker * Management – Dan Cleary

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Take a Look (Natalie Cole album) 1993 albums Natalie Cole albums Albums produced by Tommy LiPuma Elektra Records albums Covers albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album