Nicolas Bearde Pays Tribute to Nat's 100th Birthday on "I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole"

Recording artist Nicolas Bearde has established himself as a powerful presence on the contemporary vocal jazz scene over the past couple of decades. His silky baritone, wit and engaging rapport captures and draws in audiences at his live performances.  

I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole is Bearde’s newest CD and the sixth he’s released on his own label, Right Groove Records. Bearde has long appreciated the music of Nat Cole, one of his earliest influences, and produced this album in celebration of Nat’s 100th birthday. Though the ten songs on this project are associated with Cole, Bearde breathes new life into the tunes with his rich, warm voice and supple phrasing, imbuing each song with his own soulful and romantic interpretation. 

Being a big fan of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's phrasing and tone, Bearde brought him out from New York as a special guest for this project. Alexander is featured on “Funny (Not Much),” “Thou Swell,” and “That Sunday, That Summer.” Bearde was part of McFerrin’s ground-breaking a cappella group Voicestra. He was also a long time member of SoVoSò, a vocal improvisation group that has won numerous awards and honors, among them 1st place at the renowned Casa a cappella summit awards, and nominations for "Best Group" and "Best Album,” and Bearde as "Best Lead Vocalist." 

Besides his own solo and group performances, Bearde has had a fruitful acting career. He has performed in several plays, including "Master Harold"… and the Boys, as well as in film (Final Analysis with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger, True Crimes with Clint Eastwood) and television (Nash Bridges and Monk). Bearde is a master storyteller. There is a certain elegance to Bearde’s singing that makes the songs on I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole, with their updated, hip arrangements, as fresh and evocative as when they were originally performed.