Search - Ed Reed :: I'm a Shy Guy

Ed Reed s tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio and their music is his fourth recording project since he began his career as a highly regarded jazz singer in 2007 at the age of 78. His current project, "I m a Shy Guy," reflects Reed's lifetime passion for the ballads and blues of the King Cole Trio, a rapidly rising musical group led by singer-pianist Nat Cole that broke new ground in the 1940 s during the time of big bands. Nobody else sounded like that, recalls Reed. The musicianship was just fantastic. Reed poignantly remembers himself as a self-conscious 14-year old in 1943, so shy that the only way he could talk to girls was to sing love songs recorded by the Trio on the phone to them. Nat s music gave me a voice, he said. I could say everything I wanted to say in the lyrics. And the girls liked it but when I d see them the next day, I still couldn t open my mouth. Nor could he muster the courage to say hello or shake Nat s hand when the King Cole Trio met backstage with student members of the choir after performing at Reed s high school in Watts (in Los Angeles). "I m a Shy Guy" is a rich and dynamic collection of ballads, blues and swing tunes 13 King Cole Trio songs that the group recorded during the 1940s, plus the post-trio Nat Cole favorite Unforgettable from 1951. The song selection includes Reed's distinctive treatments of Trio hits Nat Cole's own compositions That Ain t Right, Straighten Up and Fly Right, and title track I m a Shy Guy, in addition to I m Lost, I Just Can t See for Lookin, and It s Only a Paper Moon. Lesser-known trio gems on the CD include Bobby Troup s Baby Baby All the Time and Louis Jordan s Is You Is or Is You Ain t My Baby, along with the ultimate in humorous break-up tunes Meet Me at No Special Place and I ll Be There At No Particular Time, the whimsical Tis Autumn, and the tenderly regretful I Realize Now, That s the Beginning of the End, and This Will Make You Laugh.