Johan Budi
The landscape of recorded music is defined by both technological transformation and stylistic persistence, a duality vividly illustrated in two recent releases that bridge different eras of vocal jazz and traditional pop. The first of these is a comprehensive retrospective compilation dedicated to the legendary Nat King Cole, titled Nat King Cole: The Hits and released on the New Continent label (catalog number 101051). This collection gathers foundational recordings that trace Cole’s dual legacy as a pioneering jazz pianist and a transcendent mid-century pop vocalist. The second release is a contemporary studio album by British singer and pianist Anthony Strong, titled And Then We Kiss, distributed via Guaranteed Records (catalog number GR005). Strong’s latest project showcases a diverse arrangement of classic standards produced in collaboration with arranger Callum Au. Together, these releases offer a compelling study in how foundational jazz-pop idioms are preserved, reinterpreted, and consumed across generations, highlighting the shifting relationship between recording technology, artistic identity, and critical reception.
Historical Context and Technological Evolution
To fully contextualize the trajectory of artists like Nat King Cole, one must examine the profound technological shifts that characterized the mid-20th-century music industry. Younger contemporary audiences, accustomed to the frictionless streaming of digital audio files, may find it difficult to conceptualize the mechanical realities of early recorded sound. The foundational tracks featured on Nat King Cole: The Hits, such as the timeless recordings Mona Lisa (1949) and Unforgettable (1951), were originally engineered for and distributed on heavy shellac 78 revolutions-per-minute (RPM) discs.
These 78-RPM records required playback systems featuring heavy pick-up arms equipped with steel needles that frequently wore down and necessitated replacement after fewer than a dozen plays. Despite these physical limitations, Cole was part of an elite cadre of male recording superstars—a peer group that prominently included Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Mel Tormé, and Perry Como—who successfully navigated the perilous commercial transition from shellac 78s to the newly introduced vinyl formats of the long-playing (LP) record and the seven-inch single. All of these artists proved remarkably prolific across multiple formats, establishing a vast recorded canon that continues to be systematically curated, remastered, and recycled into thematic compilations for modern consumers.
Nat King Cole: From Jazz Pianist to Pop Icon
While modern popular memory frequently categorizes Nat King Cole strictly as a smooth, middle-of-the-road pop vocalist of the mid-20th century, such a characterization overlooks his earlier, highly influential stature as an instrumental jazz innovator. Before achieving global superstardom as a singer, Cole was celebrated for his work leading the Nat King Cole Trio, a groundbreaking small ensemble that originally featured Cole on piano, Wesley Prince on bass, and Oscar Moore on guitar.
This instrumental and vocal trio propelled pioneering swing and rhythm-and-blues crossover hits into the mainstream consciousness. Among these are Cole’s own composition Straighten Up And Fly Right, released in 1944, and Bobby Troup’s iconic ode to the American highway, Route 66, recorded in 1946. These early recordings established a template for small-group jazz performance that emphasized sophisticated phrasing, rhythmic buoyancy, and accessible arrangements.
The New Continent compilation Nat King Cole: The Hits effectively bridges these two distinct phases of his career. The tracklist is divided chronologically or stylistically across its runtime, capturing both his instrumental-leaning swing roots and his lushly orchestrated vocal ballads. The first segment of the album (running 27 minutes and 50 seconds) features cornerstone recordings such as Unforgettable, Mona Lisa, Let There Be Love, Smile, Sunday, Monday, Or Always, Nature Boy, Blame It On My Youth, Straighten Up And Fly Right, Once In A While, and I Wish You Love. The second segment (spanning 30 minutes and 40 seconds) continues with The Very Thought Of You, Never Let Me Go, Walkin’ My Baby Back Home, It’s Only A Paper Moon, Pretend, When I Fall In Love, Too Young, Ramblin’ Rose, Almost Like Being In Love, and Route 66.
Despite possessing an undeniably rich and recognizable vocal tone, musicological critiques of Cole’s delivery occasionally highlight idiosyncratic stylistic choices. Observers of traditional vocal pedagogy have noted that Cole’s relaxed, colloquial diction frequently leaned into vernacular pronunciations—rendering words like "you" and "for" phonetically as "yer" and "fer." Nevertheless, music critics generally agree that these minor stylistic quirks do little to diminish the enduring artistic merit of his performances, which continue to appeal to admirers of sophisticated popular songcraft.
Contemporary Interpretations: Anthony Strong’s And Then We Kiss
Shifting from historical retrospectives to contemporary studio production, British vocalist and pianist Anthony Strong has returned with his latest full-length album, And Then We Kiss, released on Guaranteed Records (GR005). This project follows his 2023 studio release, Easy Sailing, which drew mixed analytical commentary regarding its stylistic approach to standard repertoire.
Strong’s latest album features a core ensemble consisting of Strong on vocals and piano, guest vocalist Parmina Beroff (appearing on tracks 5 and 12), Brandon Allen on tenor saxophone, Nick Fitch on guitar, Joel Barford on drums, and Spencer Brown on bass, augmented by an uncredited studio orchestra. The 13-track collection spans a total running time of 47 minutes and 53 seconds, comprising: Some Enchanted Evening, My Favourite Things, Love For Sale, Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, If You Leave Me Now, The Things We Did Last Summer, Where Is Love, While We’re Young, It’s Not Unusual, I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine, Twilight Time, No Two People, and Pennies From Heaven.
Critical Dialogue and Analytical Discrepancies
The critical reception of And Then We Kiss underscores the ongoing debate within jazz journalism regarding how contemporary artists should engage with established musical canons. Initial critical evaluations of the album expressed reservations concerning stylistic variety, arguing that certain uptempo interpretations—such as treatments of Tom Jones’s It’s Not Unusual and the classic I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine—relied on a uniform, jaunty tempo that risked flattening the emotional contours of the material. Drawing an analogy to theatrical performance, critics suggested that an approach overly reliant on polished convention can occasionally mirror an actor merely "walking through" a script without deep emotional investment. Such analysts concede, however, that this perspective often represents a minority viewpoint, noting that commercial demand suggests a stable and appreciative audience for Strong’s aesthetic choices.
In contrast, editorial counter-analyses and production notes present a substantially different evaluation of the record’s artistic ambitions. Far from representing a cavalier or homogenous reading of the Great American Songbook, editorial reviews highlight the meticulous collaborative effort between Strong and arranger Callum Au. Together, they have engineered a diverse, highly professional programmatic sequence that deploys varied stylistic frameworks across the tracklist.
For instance, the album avoids monotony by incorporating distinct stylistic pivots: Love For Sale is reframed through a vibrant Latin jazz treatment complete with robust instrumental solos; the pop-inflected ballad If You Leave Me Now and the aforementioned It’s Not Unusual are reimagined as sophisticated bossa-novas; and the classic standard Pennies From Heaven is transformed into a brisk, swinging showcase featuring intricate montuno piano breaks and energetic scat vocals. Furthermore, lush orchestral ballad arrangements are utilized on tracks such as Some Enchanted Evening, demonstrating a multifaceted approach to arrangement and orchestration.
Broader Impact and Industry Implications
The simultaneous presence of archival retrospectives like Nat King Cole: The Hits and contemporary interpretations like Anthony Strong’s And Then We Kiss illuminates the robust health and continuous recycling of the vocal jazz and pop standard tradition within the modern music economy. For record labels and curators, mining historical catalogs satisfies a persistent consumer demand for authenticated, high-fidelity remasterings of mid-century masterpieces. Simultaneously, contemporary artists who choose to record in the tradition of Cole, Sinatra, and Tormé face the perennial challenge of balancing reverent preservation with innovative recontextualization.
As streaming platforms and physical vinyl revivals continue to reshape listening habits, both archival releases and new interpretations serve vital functions. They ensure that foundational compositions remain active participants in the contemporary cultural dialogue, bridging the gap between the shellac-drenched origins of recorded pop and the sophisticated studio craftsmanship of the twenty-first century.
