Who doesn’t like Nat King Cole? A band pianist who achieved mega-stardom in the late 1940s and 1950s, Cole’s pitch-true tenor was inflected by a nasal reverb, and that slight rasp that individualized him, making his voice on recordings still fresh, and endlessly interesting.

Because of his immense talent, Cole was immensely popular, and even at the height of Jim Crow, he was the first African-American to have a solo Billboard hit – Mona Lisa in 1950; and to host his own television show, in 1956-1957.

If you don’t know Nat King Cole, that’s him singing Mel Torme’s “Christmas Song” [Chestnuts roasting on an open fire]. Even as the Christmas jukebox cranks up, Cole’s thoughtful, sophisticated interpretations of holiday songs remain a pleasure.

So I was extremely excited to see “An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas,” starring Chicago actor Evan Tyrone Martin. I figured it might be like a television Christmas special. And the venue – in the sleekly appoint 80-seat Venus Cabaret – is a cozy recreation of a posh 1950s night club.

Martin enters the stage, lanky, grey tux with black piping, narrow black necktie, crowned with an Afro, I was not sure what I was gonna get - this didn;t look like Nat. But when he sings, and the band plays, the show becomes “Unforgettable,” to reference another of Cole’s hits – which are plentiful during the evening. (I bought two copies of the recording!)

Rather than a purely Christmas show, Martin sings a representative range of Nat King Cole’s favorites and hits (he recorded more than 100 songs). Martin is backed by a notable jazz quintet (Ryan Bennett on drums; Joshua Ramos on bass; Andy Pratt on guitar; Rajiv Halim on woodwinds; and Jo Ann Daugherty, music director, on piano), who bring us the flavor of the jazz style that Cole fed into mainstream popularity.

Recalling Cole’s story, Martin remains himself, recounting his personal story as well, and contrasting and comparing it with Cole’s – who was brought up in Chicago, the son of a preacher. In the patter between songs, Martin keeps it real; we get the back story on both men (though Martin is much too young to have heard Cole live). 

Nat King Cole died in 1965; he was just 45, from lung cancer. And while he had a television show, it went off the air for lack of a national sponsor, despite NBC’s support. In the story, Martin quotes Cole: “I guess Madison Avenue is just afraid of the dark,” Cole said. 

In singing, Martin interprets Cole, rather than imitating him – and with the band recreates the signature phrasing and color on a number of his hits, notably “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” “(You Can Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “L-O-V-E.” In both the running banter and personal anecdotes, and the music, Martin keeps it authentic. I dearly loved his rendition of "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady, which was so typical of Cole's interpretive magic.

The band in some respects is better able to capture the sound, because Martin’s voice is so rich, and richly trained, that there is just no restraining it when he holds a note too long, and in certain registers. But at points it is uncannily accurate, and we are immersed in Nat King Cole’s musical genius.
I came away touched by this tender attention to Nat King Cole, by the star of this show, Evan Tyrone Martin.

A production of Artists Lounge Live, you can see An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas at Venus Cabaret Theater on Friday, Dec. 13, Saturday Dec. 14, and Sunday, Dec. 15; and then two last chances on Monday, Dec. 16 and Tuesday Dec. 17 at Writer’s Theatre in Glencoe.