After Midnight

Nat King Cole

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After Midnight Review

by Ken Dryden

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.]

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Just You, Just Me
Jesse Greer / Raymond Klages
Nat King Cole 03:00 SpotifyAmazon
2
Sweet Lorraine
Clifford R. Burwell / Mitchell Parish
Nat King Cole 04:34 SpotifyAmazon
3
Sometimes I'm Happy
Irving Caesar / Vincent Youmans
Nat King Cole 04:08 SpotifyAmazon
4
Caravan
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
Nat King Cole 02:44 SpotifyAmazon
5
It's Only a Paper Moon
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg / Billy Rose
Nat King Cole 03:05 SpotifyAmazon
6
You're Looking at Me
Bobby Troup
Nat King Cole 04:13 SpotifyAmazon
7
The Lonely One
Lenny Hambro / Roberta Heller
Nat King Cole 03:46 SpotifyAmazon
8
Don't Let It Go to Your Head
Henry Hadamik / Frank LaVere / Bob Nast / Nast
Nat King Cole 03:10 SpotifyAmazon
9
I Know That You Know
Anne Caldwell / Vincent Youmans
Nat King Cole 02:28 SpotifyAmazon
10
Blame It on My Youth
Edward Heyman / Oscar Levant
Nat King Cole 04:09 SpotifyAmazon
11
When I Grow Too Old to Dream
Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg / Bobby Troup
Nat King Cole 03:32 SpotifyAmazon
12
(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
Bobby Troup
Nat King Cole 03:40 SpotifyAmazon
13
I Was a Little Too Lonely (And You Were a Little Too Late)
Duke Ellington / Ray Evans / Jay Livingston
Nat King Cole 02:59 SpotifyAmazon
14
You Can Depend on Me
Charles Carpenter / Louis Dunlap / Earl Hines
Nat King Cole 03:52 SpotifyAmazon
15
What Is There to Say?
Vernon Duke / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
Nat King Cole 03:34 SpotifyAmazon
16
Two Loves Have I
Jack Murray / James Ramsey Murray / Vincent Scotto / Barry Trivers
Nat King Cole 02:44 SpotifyAmazon
17
Candy
Mack David / Alex Kramer / Joan Whitney
Nat King Cole 03:52 SpotifyAmazon
18
You're Looking at Me
Bobby Troup / Joan Whitney
Nat King Cole 04:12 SpotifyAmazon
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After Midnight

Nat King Cole Discography Browser