The Nat King Cole Trio

In 1937, Nat King Cole arrived in Los Angeles where he formed the original lineup of the Nat King Cole Trio. The trio consisted of Nat on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Wesley Prince on double bass - the absence of a drummer making the combo unique among the swing/jazz outifts of that time (legend has it that Cole was to form a quartet with Lee Young on drums, but prior to his first engagement, Young no-showed and the drumless trio came about). The trio played in Los Angeles throughout the late 1930s and recorded many radio transcriptions.