Nat King Cole And His Trio
After Midnight
Originally on Capitol W782 
Reissued by Analogue Productions APP 782-45
Format: Vinyl (three 180 gram at 45 rpm)
Review By Claude Lemaire

  Throughout history, be it religion, geometry or aviation, the power of the troika and delta symbol have often been exalted as divine, perfect and complete. You just have to glance at your favorite turntable and chances are its plinth rest on a tripod-based system. Why, because that configuration is rock solid and such is the case when in the company of an elite jazz trio. Before The Bad Plus, Medeski Martin & Wood and even the sublime Bill Evans Trio ever uttered a note, there was the Nat King Cole Trio.

Starting in the late 1930s first as the King Cole Swingers then changing names once signed to Capitol Records in 1943, the 'Trio cut its wax first on 78 rpm, later switching to 10 inch LPs in 1950. Although piano, bass and guitar were already prominent figures in the confines of and during the Big Band era, Cole is recognize as ushering in the countercurrent - at the time - trio format. On this 1956 recording, to be fair it is not really the 'Nat King Cole Trio' but rather 'Nat King Cole and his Trio' plus a few guest on and off, so maximum minimalism takes a back seat on this 'mid-career' release. This current reissue is part of Analogue Productions' Nat King Cole series.

Starting with the presentation I was disappointed that the outer artwork did not reflect the very high standards that went into this reissue project. Although a three LP set brings its own set of challenges regarding packaging, the visual and tactile aspects could have been handled way better. In my opinion a premium price (as such is the case) commands a premium packaging and the single non-glossed non-rigid cardboard found here undermines the collectible value. This has been a recurring neglect with all of the 'Top 100 Fantasy 45 series' and -- save for the special 5-LP box set -- unfortunately remains with the 'Nat King Cole 45 series' as well as their 'Blue Note 45 reissues'.

The records are housed in their inner see-through 'slippery' pinkish 'poly' sleeves (no paper). The 180 gram vinyl was black, shiny, flat and silent which used to be the norm at RTI and Analogue Productions a few years back at the time I bought it. But recently they seem to be getting 'sloppy' with many worrying visual marks appearing on my latest AP purchases; strangely the -- RTI pressed -- MoFis do not seem afflicted, perhaps due to stronger QC on their part. On most of the sides the dead wax averages about an inch from the label perimeter, so treble distortion should not be a problem. The label is a reproduction of the "rainbow" era. Theword MONO seems as if it's been added at the '9 o'clock' position. The "rainbow" label represented the "FULL SPECTRUM IN SOUND" and if I am not mistaken was introduced in 1958 in both STEREO and MONO versions but the latter did not carry it anywhere on the label. Therefore the original After Midnight label either was the dark grey, turquoise or at the very least the "rainbow" with the Capitol logo situated at '9 o'clock' and not at the top as printed on this reissue. Thankfully the label on their Just One of Those Things reissue is closer to the original. Inside a folded 6 page full sized insert with nice photos explains the behind scenes of the Nat 'King' Cole collection and remastering project. This makes for an interesting read and adds a nice touch to the long term value.

Every song on this special edition album is a real gem. Absolutely no filler up material, even the bonus tracks keep its interesting until the end. Nat is indeed the King of the vocals showing tremendous range, richness and refinement with every phrase. I can think of only one other male singer that can conjure up such command of his 'natural instrument' all the while making it sound so effortless and that would be Frank Sinatra. Oddly both were at the top their game at the same period sharing the same label; late fifties to early sixties, Capitol. Whilst the Chairman was an extrovert and showman, the King showing more restraint and refinement.

The Collins-Harris-Young jazz Trio (not unlike the Baker-Harris-Young trio of the later Philly Sound era) provide the swinging backbone to Nat's piano and vocals chops without discounting the fine solos of alto sax, trumpet, violin and trombone making their appearance. With such classics as "Sweet Lorraine", "Caravan", "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "Route 66" in the hands of a Master, you can't possibly go wrong.

The Sound
Recording Engineer John Kraus did a fantastic job capturing the King's voice with great immediacy, natural warmth, huge non clipped dynamics, swinging modulations and no annoying sibilance - "Route 66"excluded. To combine all of these attributes together is extremely difficult and yet he makes it sound so easy. The piano comes out clear in the upper registers, non-boxy nor veiled like we often encounter on Van Gelder recordings or some 1950's jazz LP's; nevertheless it lacks the weight and presence of the real thing and the realism of Count Basie's "88 Basie Street" [originally Pablo 2310-901, reissued Analogue Productions].

The Bass has a nice presence but also shows a slight temerity in the lowest notes. Guitar, alto sax and trumpet exhibit great tone and natural bite. The drum possesses a lively feel with the snare brush revealing great harmonic complexity and see-through density. It's almost sad when one thinks of the immense lack of refinement nowadays in upper octave and general treble reproduction since the early to mid-1980's, the aforementioned Basie from 1983 being the exception to the rule.

The 'Dynamic Duo' of (Re)Mastering - Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray painstakingly took great care to go back to the ultimate source: the original analog session tape, not the assembled production master or 'dub master but the 1/4 inch mono full track work parts bringing us closer to the actual event and avenue. Cut at 45rpm at just the right level, not too 'hot' to sound hard nor too low to sound soft, giving us large dynamic burst over a black background with solid vividness.

As soon as the very first seconds travel up the vibrating cantilever down to the moving speaker cone and "Just You, Just Me" springs to life, you know you're about to experience something very rare: the utter presence of real musicians breathing life in your company. I guarantee it is spooky! The sound is intimate and non-mechanical, i.e. you forget the electronics and the complicated path between the original event captured in time and the reconstruction over half a century later for you in your home at the time of your choosing. I would not qualify the presentation as fat mono, rather I keep that attribute more for Monk's Brilliant Cornersor Rollins's The Sound of Sonny, [both originally on Riverside and reissued by Analogue Productions], ditto Hoffman-Gray for the remastering. Here it's seems narrower, a bit leaner (but not lean per say), just faster and lighter.

I did a short two song comparison between this issue and the previous 33rpm audiophile reissue by Pure Pleasure for sonics. The latter was also excellent and held it's own with a bit more bass and low mids giving the voice a chestier palpability and a weightier Bass but the newer 45rpm predictably surpassed the 33rpm for upper harmonic resolution, extension, transparency and dept, leaving the general impression of greater dynamics and sheer 'speed', particularly noteworthy on the percussion's in "Caravan". Combining the best of both worlds would have pushed it up to near-perfection; having to choose only one I'd still go for this 45rpm version even after factoring in the price difference.

In conclusion, artwork quibbles aside, this is one of my favorite record purchases of all time. Close to perfection in many areas, I consider it one of the most dynamic tape-to-vinyl transfers in my collection.

MY PERSONAL TOP 5 ALL TIME JAZZ/CROONER RECORDING FOR MUSIC AND SOUND.

Enjoyment:

Sound Quality:  (close to). On a 'ten' rating system it would be closer to a 9.3 or 9.5)