A media luz (When Lights Are Soft And Low)

Listening to A Media Luz (When Lights Are Soft And Low), a two-minute and ten-second piece, one delves into Nat King Cole's particular journey through Spanish music. This song is part of More Cole Español, a 1962 album recorded in Mexico City, which was the third and final of his works dedicated to this repertoire. This album, arranged by Ralph Carmichael, completed a trilogy that had begun with Cole Español in 1958 and continued with A Mis Amigos in 1959. A critic of the time observed that, although Cole continued to perfect his pronunciation in these recordings, a much greater enjoyment was perceived in his performance on More Cole Español.

The voice and piano of Nat King Cole, whose birth name was Nathaniel Adams Coles, have deep roots in his musical training. Born in Montgomery in 1919, his mother, Perlina Adams, was his only piano teacher, instilling in him genres as diverse as jazz, gospel, and classical music. His family moved to Chicago when he was a child, and it was there that he grew up in the vibrant neighborhood of Bronzeville. In the nightclubs of the late 1920s, Nat absorbed the influence of figures like Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, the latter being a key inspiration for him to start his own musical career while still a teenager. His first recording in 1936 was made with his brother Eddie, a bassist, and it was on the stages of Chicago where he earned the nickname "King". Later, after a tour as a pianist with Eubie Blake, he decided to settle in Long Beach, California, marking another milestone in his career until his passing in Santa Monica in 1965.