Shadows

HUGH COLTMAN

Shadows is the repackaging of Hugh's first record for Okeh, augmented with a full live concert. Recorded at Jazz a Vienne festival in the south of France in the antique theater of Vienne, Hugh performed touching renditions of Cole's songs as well as a cover of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Lovin' You" in front of 8,000 people that gave him a standing ovation. This album has been an idea brewing in Hugh's mind for a few years. Cole was one of the Jazz artists that Hugh's mother often played in the family home and his music became part of the soundtrack of Hugh's formative years before his mother's untimely death when he was seven years old. After having released and toured two self-penned albums distinctly pop on Universal records, Hugh toured and recorded with Belgian/Italian Jazz pianist and producer Eric Legnini. This experience gave him the confidence to finally approach Nat King Cole's repertoire. The idea behind the album was born of Hugh’s intention to shed light upon the darker part of Cole’s life. That of a black musician, active at a time when segregation and racism were rife. Hugh’s idea was to reveal these “Shadows”, rarely if ever evident in Cole’s work. The choice of songs, production and Hugh’s vocal performances on Shadows, rooted in his passion for the Blues, give an undertone of tension, even unease. Notwithstanding Hugh’s original idea, when he came to record the closing title for the album, Morning Star, an ode to a mother’s love, it became clear to him that this project was in fact, much closer to home. Shadows… is Hugh paying homage to his mother, through the work of Nat King Cole.