''The Piano Style of Nat King Cole'' is a 1956 studio album by

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 ...

, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. This was Cole's last instrumental album.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Lindsay Planer awarded the album three stars, and said that "Cole nimbly reels off some of his most accomplished keyboarding to date, all the while guiding the big band into a spirited musical repartee"

Track listing

LP side A: # "

Love Walked In "Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The tune was composed in 1930, but the lyric was not written until 1937, for the movie musical ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938), where it was sung by Kenny Baker. ...

" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin) - 3:27 # "

My Heart Stood Still "My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for the Charles Cochran revue ''One Dam' Thing after Another'', which opened at the London Pavilion on May 19, 1927. The sho ...

" ( Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 1:40 # " Imagination" ( Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 3:26 # "I Never Knew" (

Ted Fio Rito Theodore Salvatore Fiorito (December 20, 1900 – July 22, 1971),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 95. known professionally a ...

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...

) - 2:33 # " Stella by Starlight" (

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

) - 3:47 # "(What Can I Say) After I Say I'm Sorry?" (

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

Abe Lyman Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including ''Your Hit Parade''. His name at birth was Abra ...

) - 2:25 # "

I Didn't Know What Time It Was "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1939 musical '' Too Many Girls''. Introduced by Richard Kollmar and Marcy Westcott in the stage musical, early hit versions were r ...

" (Hart, Rodgers) - 3:08 # "

Taking a Chance on Love "Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song from the 1940 Broadway musical '' Cabin in the Sky''. It was introduced by Ethel Waters playing the role of Petunia Jackson both on Broadway and later in the 1943 MGM musical Cabin in the Sky (film). ...

" (

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

Ted Fetter Theodore Fetter (June 10, 1906 – March 13, 1996) was a Broadway lyricist who contributed material to such revues as ''The Show Is On'' (1936) and ''Billy Rose's Aquacade'' (1939), but is best remembered for co-writing the song "Taking a Cha ...

, John Latouche) - 3:03 LP side B: # " April in Paris" (Duke,

Yip Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

) - 3:49 # "

I Want to Be Happy "I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar written for the 1925 musical '' No, No, Nanette''. Musical The song is used several times throughout the musical as a running theme representing the attempts ...

" (

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

) - 1:45 # "

I See Your Face Before Me I See Your Face Before Me is a popular song composed by Arthur Schwartz, with lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Adele Dixon in the 1937 Broadway musical ''Between the Devil''. Two recordings of the song made the charts ...

" (

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. Biography Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on Nov ...

) - 2:33 # " Just One of Those Things" ( Cole Porter) - 3:07 # "

I Get a Kick out of You "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical '' Anything Goes'', and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, ...

" (Porter) - 2:39 # " If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)" (

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, ...

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

) - 2:39 # "

I Hear Music "I Hear Music" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Frank Loesser for the Paramount Pictures movie ''Dancing on a Dime'' (1940). In the film it was performed by Robert Paige, Peter Lind Hayes, Frank Jenks and Eddie Quillan. N ...

" ( Burton Lane,

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

) - 3:03 # " Tea for Two" (Caesar, Youmans) - 2:31 Bonus track on later CD re-issue: #

"My Heart Stood Still" (Hart, Rodgers) - 2:42 (alternate take)

Personnel

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Nelson Riddle - arranger, conductor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Style of Nat King Cole, The 1956 albums Capitol Records albums Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle Albums conducted by Nelson Riddle Nat King Cole albums