On Becoming Nat King Cole: Evan Tyrone Martin
Many times when Evan Tyrone Martin performed, he would be asked to do a Nat “King” Cole tune.
“I guess it was because of the tone and quality of my voice,” he says. “It was always exciting and fun for me to perform. It was good fit.”
Beyond the occasional tune, Martin never made a specific correlation between himself and the iconic pop singer of the ‘40s to his death in 1965 at the age of 45.
That is until five years ago, when producers of a show about Cole went looking for a singer to star in their revue based on the singer and heard Martin’s voice.
When producers asked the Chicago-based Martin if he had ever heard Cole, he said being introduced to Cole by his grandmother “is one of there reasons why I’m a singer today. That was one of her favorite artists so I grew up listening to Nat’s music, so I was really familiar with the music in his catalogue already.”
Martin got the gig and for the last few years performed and toured in the show dedicated to the songs that Cole made famous. Two years ago he starred in a holiday show featuring Christmas music in which Cole is so often associated, primarily the chestnut of a ballad, “The Christmas Song (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).”
That show, An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas, will be presented for five performances in a show of storytelling and song at the Goodspeed Opera House Friday through Sunday, Dec. 20 to 22.
In both Cole shows, Martin puts himself in the mix.
“Luckily [the producers] trusted me enough to put so much of myself in the show,” he says. “It’s a great way to learn about me and the way Nat’s music and career affected me as an artist and as a singer.”
And what was special about Cole’s song stylings in such hits as “Mona Lisa,” “L-O-V-E,” “Sweet Lorraine” and “Too Young.”
“The reason why I love the way Nat sang is that his singing and his cadence is like a really great stroll and we have to kind of go along with him. He doesn’t pull you along,” he says. You kind of want to walk along with him because of the way Nat back-phrases and relaxes into the feeling off the music.”
The orchestrations also reflected that style, too, he says.
“The sound they created was this sweeping orchestral sound and the way Nat approaches the music is so relaxed but also heightened. It kind of draws you in so it feels neither of you are doing any work,” he says. Everyone is just enjoying it. It’s a beautiful trick he pulls off.”
What makes the music of Nat King Cole so perfect for the Christmas holidays?
“I think it’s because of the warm tone of his voice and because a few of his hits have become these big iconic Christmas songs. People are just drawn to that music because it takes them to such a specific time and place, maybe with their families on Christmases past,” Martin says. There’s a sense of comfort in his voice and when you hear it again, it really takes you back to another place and time.”