After four years of touring and developing "An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole," the legendary George Benson makes his most inspired album: Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole. The recording is one of the most meaningful of Benson's career and is a testament to the spirit of Cole's timeless body of work. Benson's heartfelt renditions of some of Cole's greatest songs with Nelson Riddle arrangements and the 42-piece Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra are complemented by duets with Tony Award winner Idina Menzel and rising star Judith Hill, along with a special collaboration with multi-GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. As a dream project for Benson, this album is a love letter to Cole and a tribute in gratitude for his deep musical inspiration. It also demonstrates how uniquely suited Benson is to recreate and interpret these timeless treasures. Highlights on the album include an adaptation of Nelson Riddle’s arrangement of “Just One of Those Things,” with a signature Benson vocal/guitar scat solo, and Benson’s reading of the original chart of “Nature Boy,” which he previously interpreted and made and a pop hit in the late 70’s. The album also contains stunning duets with Idina Menzel on “When I Fall In Love,” and Judith Hill on “Too Young,” as well the incomparable trumpet work of Wynton Marsalis on a fresh new arrangement of “Unforgettable.” The album begins with a rare recording of “Little Georgie Benson” (age 8) singing “Mona Lisa” which stemmed from a singing contest Benson won and the award was the opportunity to record a song at a recording studio. Benson began singing Nat King Cole songs as a child in Pittsburgh and this recording not only shows his incredible range and musicality at the time but also the depth of admiration Benson has had for Cole from such a young age.
En Español by NATALIE COLE
Yes--or in this case, sí-Natalie Cole's first album in Spanish includes a duet with her late father. And like "Unforgettable," the song that won a Grammy Award in 1992 and foreshadowed today's holographic performance trend, the black-tie rumba "Acercate Mas" ("Come Closer to Me") will pluck at heartstrings and transport fans of Nat "King" Cole-in this case to '50s Havana, where he learned to sound out the lyrics for Cole Español, the first of his three Spanish recordings. “Natalie Cole en Español” features some of the same numbers covered on those historic albums, and other romantic evergreens familiar to international audiences. Andrea Bocelli joins Cole on "Besame Mucho." Produced by Latin hitmaker Rudy Perez, the set also includes contemporary classics: Juan Luis Guerra's enduring '90s hit "Bachata Rosa"-featuring the superstar Dominican artist-and "Oye Como Va."
GEORGE BENSON’s "INSPIRATION" and NATALIE COLE’s "EN ESPAÑOL" are now available in CDs at Astroplus, Odyssey Music & Video and Fully Booked or online via iTunes or Smart Music! http://music.smart.com.ph/ | For more information about this release, visit www.facebook.com/mcamusic.ccj
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