Gourse's life of satin-voiced Nat King Cole has plenty of spring and grit, much more so than his Louis's Children: American Jazz Singers (1984). The tragedy of Cole's life (1917-65) lay in his very success as a singer of such lightly mystical pop ballads as ``Nature Boy,'' ``Mona Lisa,'' and even the title ballad here, ``Unforgettable,'' now turning up as a hypnotic come-on for a perfume ad on TV. Before his vocalizing hit big in the mid-40's (today his voice trails behind only Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong in airplay), Cole was a pianist vastly respected in the jazz world as the sparkling rhythmic motor of The Nat King Cole Trio. He was always canny about money, and his sudden adulation as the world's top black singer, which made him a millionaire at 30, was too strong to turn down. At his death, from lung cancer, he had 175 unreleased tracks in inventory at Capitol Records, which the company was reluctant to release—because they were too trite. It is still a tragedy that Cole's vocalizing has replaced the 300 or so jazz tracks his trio cut from the late 30's to 1946. Cole was a minister's son, and something spiritual infused his balladry. He was beyond scandal, even when he left his first wife Nadine for the mesmerically influential Maria Ellington (no relation to Duke), although his tax troubles with the IRS tracked some ink. It appears that the IRS- -more interested in Cole having sneaked into a fine house in a fine white neighborhood than in the $150,000 he owed—watched the house rather than attach his royalties from Capitol Records. Cole later had bleeding ulcers from his anxieties. From a rural Alabama childhood to life at the top, with Sinatra as his pallbearer. The early jazz pages are magnetic, and Cole practically sits in the reader's lap throughout. And it's well researched, too.
Pub Date: June 24, 1991
ISBN: 0-312-05982-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1991
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
