Friday, December 16, 2011

When I Fall In Love: The Nat King Cole Story Dec 14, 2012 ****1/2


Chapel off Chapel, 14-23 December, 2011
Reviewed by Joe Calleri on Dec 14
Stars: 4.5

Charming, talented Bert Labonte’s homage to legendary black performer, Nat King Cole, is a stylish, deeply satisfying show that should find a broad audience for lovers of fine music.

“When I Fall In Love: The Nat King Cole Story” is a musical journey through the late Cole’s life. At one point of the performance, Labonte tells us that, Cole was a three cigarette packs a day man, and that’s what Cole attributed his silky smooth voice to. Little wonder then that Cole died at the tender age of 45. What a great loss. We learn a great deal about Cole’s life during this performance, including details of Cole’s rise from relatively humble beginnings, to his rise to international, musical superstardom, to his failed marriages.

Labonte is a fine performer, blessed with good looks, and a wonderful singing voice, who rather than seeking to imitate Cole – which would have been a big artistic mistake – infuses many of Cole’s best known songs with his own deep, rich, heart-felt passion.

Backed by a hot jazz trio (John Shawcross on piano, Tim Dunlop on bass, Daniel Zampatti on drums) Labonte delves deep into Cole’s treasure-chest of timeless tunes including the title song, “When I Fall In Love”, the whimsical “Mona Lisa”, the deeply romantic, “Unforgettable”, the up tempo “Route 66”, and the soaring “Love is a Many Splendored Thing”.

With the exception of the overly detailed reference to the inauguration of John F Kennedy, and the fact that, Mueller has chosen to not write the show from Cole’s first person perspective, which serves to diminish the emotional impact of this performance, this is a fine tribute to a wonderful performer who left the world an enduring musical legacy.

By Joe Calleri