Natalie Cole (b. February 6th, 1950)
COLE POWER
Natalie Cole Returns With Ask a Woman Who Knows
Performing since she was a child, singing and acting for her celebrity dad, Nat King Cole, and his friends, it's no surprise that Natalie Cole would ultimately follow in her father's footsteps. Natalie's early hits, such as "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" and "I've Got Love on My Mind," attracted R&B and pop fans, but ever since the 1991 release of Unforgettable: With Love, jazz listeners have become infatuated with her strong, smooth singing voice. Now comes Ask a Woman Who Knows -- a perfect blend of jazz and pop that's ideal for this singer. And not coincidentally, it's a recording a lot like the ones her father made in the '50s and '60s. Barnes & Noble's Roberta Penn talked with Cole about how the CD, her first in three years, came together.
B&N.com: Ask a Woman Who Knows is more in the jazz vein than in the pop one. Is that what you wanted to do with your first CD for Verve?
NC: Yes. They are definitely not pop songs but ones done by singers from the jazz era. Since I'm signed to a jazz label, that's what I decided to do. But I wouldn't call it a jazz record in the traditional sense.
B&N.com: Did you listen to the female singers of your dad's era when you were a child?
NC: Oh yeah. I was probably 10 or 11 when I first heard some serious jazz and scatting. My dad brought home a Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross album, and my sister and I sat up there and learned that music and the songs backward and forward. There I was singing Count Basie. I never was inhibited, I was too much of a ham, a miss know-it-all. I was not afraid to be in front of people.
B&N.com: Because of your comfort in front of people, and your success, you're considered a diva. There's even a section of divastation.com dedicated to you. How do you relate to that category?
NC: It doesn't make me feel terrific, because today it's almost like anybody can be a diva. I don't relate to that. Originally it was the way you carried yourself, the image you portrayed, it was a whole package. It's a little more refined than what they've done with it now. When I see the VH1 Divas shows, I laugh. They put young girls with veterans who can chew them up and spit them out. I dont think you can be 22 and be a diva. Streisand, Diana Ross, and Aretha are divas. Celine and Britney are just the divas of the day, but they may be on their way to divadom.
B&N.com: Where does the title cut of Ask a Woman Who Knows come from? It's such a sad, sad song. But it's a good one for female bonding, isn't it?
NC: It's an old Dinah Washington song. It took a minute for me to understand what the song was about, then I realized that what she's saying is anyone who's been down this road will know what I'm thinking about. It's also very relatable. It's one of the kind of songs Dinah Washington was known for, full of feelings and very explicit. It has a bluesy feel to it as well. It's a commiseration: any woman who has lived long enough to have had a bad relationship knows that.
B&N.com: You've got quite a band anchoring most of the songs. Had you worked with Joe Sample, Russell Malone, Lewis Nash, or Christian McBride before this recording?
NC: Tommy [LiPuma, who produced the CD] picked the band. Joe and I worked together years ago. Russell and Christian are really knowledgeable, but they are young. It's a great statement for jazz; we won't lose jazz, because of people like this. You can't fake jazz, it requires more than just hitting some notes, it requires knowledge and having a feel for this kind of music, and everyone going to the same place at the same time. Its a great feeling, and it means we are all tuned in.
B&N.com: And the two cuts with the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra -- "It's Crazy" and "Soon" -- give the set a classy, old-school feel.
NC: John [Clayton] has been doing arrangements for me a good number of years. I did this holiday CD, Holly and Ivy, and John came up with the most insane arrangement of "Jingle Bells." You have to take your pressure pills to do that song. And the horn players are sitting there with bruised lips. His arrangements are so incredible and wonderful. And they also challenge me as a vocalist. Its always something to look forward to.
B&N.com: Did you ever think that you would be able to so closely follow in your father's footsteps with respect to your popularity in both the jazz and pop music worlds?
NC: No, I never did. When I first started out, I didn't think I was that good. With the success of Unforgettable I thought that was going to be a one-time thing. I never knew I could execute this music and draw the talented musicians I've been able to work with. And there are still so many who want to work with me. Like Joe Sample; I'm still in awe of him.
B&N.com: Where did you first hear "Calling You?" That is just a spectacular tune, and you do such a great job with it.
NC: It came from a movie, Baghdad Café. But I heard it when AT&T was using it for a commercial. Tommy recommended that I record it. It has a different personality. It's sexy and has a haunting feeling to it. It's about yearning. You're looking for someone you knew or want to know.
B&N.com: Though I can't put my finger on it, there is something different about Ask a Woman Who Knows. You are so relaxed, so natural. Do you notice it?
NC: There is a vibe with this album. I'm not sure if it's the music that dictated the voice or the growth that happened over the past couple of years, or it could be the comfort with this music. I don't strive toward being a pop diva, so why beat myself up to be that? My idols are Janis Joplin and Annie Lennox, who are neither of them from the typical pop culture. I might be coming into a place of comfort. Maybe its because I had hardly any time to prepare for these songs. Working with Tommy and Dick LaPalm, who was a friend of my fathers, we took a month picking them but only one week recording them. And there was no time for tweaking them. I did 14 songs in seven days, and one of those days I was sick. This material was so unlike the material Ive had the opportunity to record. The theme of this record is about women, just the kind of the path a woman goes through on her own, sitting at home at night, kind of reflecting.
B&N.com: Your duet with Diana Krall on "Better than Anything" is a lot of fun. Did you record that together or go into the studio at different times?
NC: She was in New York, I was in L.A. We had talked about doing something, and we were quite happy doing a song like this. We met shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. What do we have in common? Music? No, shopping.
July, 2002
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