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Nat King Cole: Los Angeles and the King Cole Trio
Nat married Nadine Robinson and moved to Los Angeles where he formed the
Nat King Cole Trio. The trio consisted of Nat on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on bass. The trio played in Los Angeles throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions.
Cole was considered a leading jazz pianist, appearing, for example, in the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. His revolutionary lineup of piano, bass, and guitar in the time of the big bands became a popular configuration for a jazz trio. It was emulated by many musicians, among them Art Tatum, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson,
Tommy Flanagan, and blues pianists Charles Brown and
Ray Charles. He also performed as a pianist on sessions with Lester Young, Red Garland, and Lionel Hampton.
Cole did not achieve widespread popularity until "Sweet Lorraine" in 1940. Although he sang ballads with the trio, he was shy about his voice. Although he prided himself on his diction, he never considered himself a strong singer. His subdued style, however, contrasted well with the belting approach of most jazz singers.
During World War II, Wesley Prince was drafted and Cole replaced him with Johnny Miller. The King Cole Trio signed with the fledgling Capitol Records in the early 1940s and stayed with the recording company for the rest of his career. By the 1950s, Cole's popularity was so great that the Capitol Records building, on Hollywood and Vine, was sometimes referred to "The House that Nat Built".
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