[Dixielandjazz] Nat King Cole: "The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert"

[Robert Ringwald]

This a little more modern than what this List was started for by Peter.  But, after all, 1949 is 61 years ago.  If not interested in Nat King Cole, please delete now...  

When I started playing Dixieland, Trad Jazz or Classic Jazz, the "Roaring 20s" were only 28 years before.  And gawd help me, The Beatles hits are actually 48 years old -- Who'd of thunk that music would have lasted 48 years?  


Nat King Cole: "The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert"

Music Buff Unearths Nat King Cole Show
by Ashante Infantry
Toronto Star, October 12, 2010

Nat King Cole fans have Oshawa music buff David Lennick to thank for the latest addition
to the masterful crooner's catalogue.
The accomplished record producer and archivist unearthed the music on newly released
"The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert," showcasing Cole with his trio and the
Woody Herman Orchestra, the only known recording of the singer at the New York venue
where he performed numerous times.
Lennick, 65, who has produced more than 3,000 CD reissues, believes he bought the
six 16-inch aluminum master discs for $30 about five years ago in an online record
auction. He's not sure, because after sampling briefly he shelved the discs labelled
"Armed Forces Radio Services," which presumably recorded the show.
"They probably intended to circulate it, or make excerpt from it, or put it into
some of their half-hour jazz programs, but for some reason they never did," said
the self-described "jazz, classical and nostalgia fan."
"I was disappointed that there wasn't much Woody Herman on it and I figured it was
just more of the same stuff that everybody has. And because I've done reissues of
a lot of people, I know some estates can be kind of sticky and the Cole estate is
one of them. I didn't realize it was one-of-a-kind."
Lennick, owner of "a couple of hundred thousand records," is a former radio broadcaster
who has made his living restoring archival recordings for major record labels since
the '90s.
He realized the Cole material was special through correspondence with New York music
writer Will Friedwald (who subsequently penned the disc's liner notes). Friedwald
put him in touch with Scotland's Hep jazz label which assessed the music and confirmed
that it had never been released. Hep cleared the rights with the Cole estate and
had New York engineer Doug Pomeroy clean up the tracks.
Save that slight scratchiness of vintage recordings and a tininess around the piano,
the sound on the 52-minute disc, which captures audience responses and the singer's
song intros, is surprisingly good. The set list includes a couple of Cole originals,
top-shelf renditions of tunes like "Sweet Lorraine," "Lush Life" and "Embraceable
You," and rare Cole small ensemble recordings of "Tea for Two" and "Cuba Libre."
The recent addition of percussionist Jack Costanzo, whose bongos gave the music a
festive feel, meant Cole's current band, called His Trio, was actually a quartet,
including guitarist Irving Ashby and bassist Joe Comfort.
Lennick, whose previous big find was a 1954 Hamilton, Ont., Duke Ellington concert,
said he received a modest fee for his discovery.
"I was excited about it only because the CD business has tanked badly and I'm glad
to have something unique that unfortunately will probably get uploaded and pirated
fairly soon.
"The song I've played over and over again is "How High the Moon" (the only song)
where the Herman band comes in; it knocks me out."


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
916/806-9551
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

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