Jazz singer Natalie Cole has passed on aged 65. Her father Nat King Cole's classic interpretations of Jazz standards cut my teeth in the appreciation of jazz music. But it was Natalie's amazing re-recordings of those standards in that landmark album "Unforgettable" that matured my listening ears for the nuances of big band scores. Her voice was a formidable musical instrument. But she did not just sing, she purred. The magic & drama of her rendition transported you into the spiritual landscape of a musical composition. You not only heard the music, you saw it, you felt it. And that's when you come to become at one with its soul. And Natalie was the modern day fairy godmother of this flight of musical fancy. The crown of THE Queen of jazz music, for me, was handed from Ella Fitzgerald to Natalie Cole. And how sad today that at the relatively young age of 65 we must ruefully accept the painful reality that our 'Queen' is dead...but still I hear the beat and I smile because indeed in her music, long live the Queen!
...By Femi Odgbemi
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