Freddy Cole
Encyclopedia
Lionel Frederick Cole is an American
jazz
singer and pianist, whose recording career has spanned over fifty years. He is leader of the Freddy Cole Quartet, which regularly tours the US, Europe, the Far East and South America.
He is the brother of Jazz musician Nat King Cole
, father of Lionel Cole
and uncle of Natalie Cole
.
with siblings Eddie, Ike and Nat King Cole. He began playing piano at the age of six, and continued his musical education at the Roosevelt Institute in Chicago. He moved to New York
in 1951, where he studied at the Juilliard School of Music, before completing a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Following the moderate success of Whispering Grass in 1953 Cole spent several months on the road with Johnny Coles
and Benny Golson
as the Earl Bostic
band. He went on to work with Grover Washington, Jr.
and to record jingles for various companies, including Turner Classic Movies
During the 1970s, Cole recorded several albums for European and English based labels. He was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Cole Nobody Knows
. In June of that year, Cole was added to the Steinway Artist roster.
Cole was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
in 2007. In July 2009, he released a recording featuring his own quartet (guitarist Randy Napoleon
, drummer Curtis Boyd, and bassist Elias Bailey), along with alto saxophonist Jerry Weldon and pianist John DiMartino, playing live at Dizzy's jazz club in Lincoln Center. His 2010 album, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B, was nominated for the Grammy in the category Best Vocal Jazz Album. The album features tenor Houston Person, pianist John DiMartino, guitarist/arranger Randy Napoleon, drummer Curtis Boyd, and bassist Elias Bailey.
Cole's influences included John Lewis
, Oscar Peterson
, Teddy Wilson
and Billy Eckstine
. When speaking of Eckstine, Cole recalled, He was a fantastic entertainer. I learned so much from just watching and being around him.
2009 The Dreamer in Me: Live at Dizzy's Club
2007 Music Maestro Please
2006 Because of You
2005 This Love of Mine
2004 Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues, re-mastered
2004 I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me, re-release
2003 In the Name of Love
2001 Rio de Janeiro Blue
2000 Merry-Go-Round
2000 This Is the Life
1999 Le Grand Freddy: Freddy Cole Sings The Music Of Michel Legrand
1998 Love Makes the Changes
1997 To the Ends of the Earth
1997 It's Crazy, But I'm in Love
1996 Live at Vartan Jazz
1995 Always
1994 I Want a Smile for Christmas
1993 A Circle of Love
1992 Live at Birdland West
1990 I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me
1978 One More Love Song
1977 The Cole Nobody Knows
1976 The Way Freddy Cole Sings
1964 Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues
1953 Whispering Grass
1952 The Joke's on Me
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer and pianist, whose recording career has spanned over fifty years. He is leader of the Freddy Cole Quartet, which regularly tours the US, Europe, the Far East and South America.
He is the brother of Jazz musician Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, father of Lionel Cole
Lionel Cole
Lionel Cole is a pianist, songwriter, composer, music editor, and music supervisor. He has served as a regularly touring member Mariah Carey's live band. Cole also partnered with Malcolm-Jamal Warner, to create the jazz and funk band Miles Long. The first album "The Many Facets of Superman" ...
and uncle of Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
.
Biography
Cole was born to Edward and Paulina Cole, and grew up in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with siblings Eddie, Ike and Nat King Cole. He began playing piano at the age of six, and continued his musical education at the Roosevelt Institute in Chicago. He moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1951, where he studied at the Juilliard School of Music, before completing a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Following the moderate success of Whispering Grass in 1953 Cole spent several months on the road with Johnny Coles
Johnny Coles
Johnny Coles was an American jazz trumpeter.Coles spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson , Bull Moose Jackson , and Earl Bostic...
and Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
as the Earl Bostic
Earl Bostic
Earl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, and a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which showed off his...
band. He went on to work with Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
and to record jingles for various companies, including Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
During the 1970s, Cole recorded several albums for European and English based labels. He was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Cole Nobody Knows
The Cole Nobody Knows
The Cole Nobody Knows is a documentary film about musician Freddy Cole, the younger brother of Eddie Cole, Ike Cole & Nat King Cole.The film tells Mr. Cole’s story through interviews with musicians Monty Alexander, Nancy Wilson, David “Fathead” Newman, John di Martino, H Johnson and Carl Anthony...
. In June of that year, Cole was added to the Steinway Artist roster.
Cole was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
Georgia Music Hall of Fame
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame, located in downtown Macon, Georgia, preserves and interprets the state's rich musical heritage through programs of collection, exhibition, education and performance...
in 2007. In July 2009, he released a recording featuring his own quartet (guitarist Randy Napoleon
Randy Napoleon
Randy Napoleon is a jazz guitarist, composer, and arranger who is a member of The Freddy Cole Quartet and the leader of the Randy Napoleon Trio. He has toured with Benny Green, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra , led by John Clayton, Jeff Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, and with Michael Bublé.-Early...
, drummer Curtis Boyd, and bassist Elias Bailey), along with alto saxophonist Jerry Weldon and pianist John DiMartino, playing live at Dizzy's jazz club in Lincoln Center. His 2010 album, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B, was nominated for the Grammy in the category Best Vocal Jazz Album. The album features tenor Houston Person, pianist John DiMartino, guitarist/arranger Randy Napoleon, drummer Curtis Boyd, and bassist Elias Bailey.
Cole's influences included John Lewis
John Lewis (pianist)
John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, Teddy Wilson
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in...
and Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
. When speaking of Eckstine, Cole recalled, He was a fantastic entertainer. I learned so much from just watching and being around him.
Discography
2010 Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B (Grammy-nominated)2009 The Dreamer in Me: Live at Dizzy's Club
2007 Music Maestro Please
2006 Because of You
2005 This Love of Mine
2004 Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues, re-mastered
2004 I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me, re-release
2003 In the Name of Love
2001 Rio de Janeiro Blue
2000 Merry-Go-Round
2000 This Is the Life
1999 Le Grand Freddy: Freddy Cole Sings The Music Of Michel Legrand
1998 Love Makes the Changes
1997 To the Ends of the Earth
1997 It's Crazy, But I'm in Love
1996 Live at Vartan Jazz
1995 Always
1994 I Want a Smile for Christmas
1993 A Circle of Love
1992 Live at Birdland West
1990 I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me
1978 One More Love Song
1977 The Cole Nobody Knows
1976 The Way Freddy Cole Sings
1964 Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues
1953 Whispering Grass
1952 The Joke's on Me