Maria Cole • The Talk Of The Town

In recent columns for The Syncopated Times, I have reviewed reissues compiled by Alan Eichler for the Jasmine label of Nat and Freddie Cole’s lesser-known but talented brothers Ike and Eddie Cole. Now it is Maria Cole’s turn. Maria Ellington Cole (1922-2012) was born as Maria Antoinette Hawkins. In 1943 she married Spurgeon Ellington but unfortunately he died during World War II. A fine singer with an attractive voice, she worked with Benny Carter and briefly with the big bands of Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson. Her greatest fame as a singer was during her period with Duke Ellington. Billed as Maria (so listeners would not think that she was related to Duke), she sang “The Blues” section of his Black, Brown and Beige suite (originally performed by Betty Roche) at Ellington’s 1944 Carnegie Hall concert and joined in with Al Hibbler, Joya Sherrill, and Kay Davis on their rousing studio recording of “It Don’t Mean A Thing” in 1945. She left Duke Ellington in 1946 and in 1948 married Nat King Cole; their marriage lasted until his death in 1965. While largely retired from singing while she raised five children (including Natalie Cole), Maria Cole recorded four singles with her husband, four other singles as a soloist in 1956, and two albums of her own: A Girl They Called Maria (1954) and Maria Cole (1960). All of that music has now been reissued by Jasmine as the sin