Nat King Cole - After Midnight: The Complete Sessions (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) [2LP]

After Midnight is the record where Nat King Cole slid back behind the piano and let his jazz roots show, and The Complete Sessions gathers all eighteen performances on two 180 gram LPs in Blue Note's Tone Poet series.

By the mid-fifties Cole was one of the biggest voices in American pop, best known for lush, string-wrapped ballads. For these four 1956 sessions at Capitol Studios he went back to the small-group format that made his name, with John Collins on guitar, Charlie Harris on bass and Lee Young on drums, plus a rotating cast of guest soloists: Harry "Sweets" Edison, Willie Smith, Juan Tizol and Stuff Smith. The original album appeared in 1957; this set restores the full haul, alternate take included.

The mood is relaxed, swinging and quietly playful. "Sweet Lorraine" revisits a song from his trio days with the ease of an old friend dropping by, and "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" gets a fresh, loping ride. "Caravan" turns up the exotica, while "Candy" shows how much warmth Cole could pack into a single phrase, his piano answering every vocal line like a second singer.

It is the Cole album many jazz listeners reach for first, the one that proves the crooner was a formidable pianist all along. Let it play after midnight, as intended.