Home » Jazz Musicians » Freddy Cole
Freddy Cole
Lionel Frederick Cole was born on October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole's five children. His three elder brothers, Eddie, Ike and Nat (twelve years Freddy's senior) were all musicians.
"I started playing piano at five or six," Freddy remembers. "Music was all around me." In the Chicago home of his youth, visitors included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. He also credits Billy Eckstine as a major influence. " He was a fantastic entertainer," Freddy recalls. " I learned so much from just watching and being around him." After a possible career with the NFL was shelved due to a hand injury, he began playing and singing in Chicago clubs as a teenager. Although he was ready to hit the road at 18, his mother intervened and he continued his musical education at the Roosevelt Institute in Chicago.
Freddy moved to New York in 1951, where he studied at the Juilliard School of Music and found himself profoundly influenced by John Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Teddy Wilson. He got a Master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music and then spent several months on the road as a member of an Earl Bostic band that also included Johnny Coles and Benny Golson.
Read moreTags
Freddy Cole, The Baylor Project, Somi and More
by Jua Howard
Welcome music family! This week I'm sharing more great music including songs from Freddy Cole, The Baylor Project, Jose James, Somi, Jon Hendricks and Diana Krall. Come get lost in the music with me!Playlist Intro 00:00 Freddy Cole A Place in the Sun (Movin' On)" from This Is the Life (Muse) 2:30 Eric Alexander Evergreen" from Timing is Everything (Cellar Live) 7:32 Dee Bell Boa Nova" from Lins, Lennox and Life (Laser) 12:48 Host Speaks 17:56 Jacob Collier ...
Continue ReadingA Turntable for One Fourth of July Celebration
by H William Stine
What did you do for the Fourth of July? I celebrated with some traditional songs, plus the Buddy Rich Big Band for fireworks, Laverne Butler with a declaration of independence, tributes to Freddy Cole, Johnny Mandel, and Jim Pepper, and songs by Dave Frishberg, Randy Newman in celebration of the First Amendment. Looks like I'll be around all summer this year. Check back frequently. PlaylistCody Owen Stine Paris Mismatch (Theme Music)" from (Unreleased Master) (Self-Produced) 00:00 Rene Marie ...
Continue ReadingFreddy Cole Leaves The Stage
by Martin McFie
Freddy Cole died 27th June, 2020 after a career of almost seventy years singing and playing piano. He was 88 years old. Born Lionel Frederick Cole in jny:Chicago, October 15, 1931, Freddy Cole was younger brother to Eddie, Ike and Nat King" Cole. Mr. Freddy was a late night cabaret singer, with impeccable phrasing and timing. He studied at Juilliard School of Music from 1951, and at The New England Conservatory of Music. He had some initial success with Whispering ...
Continue ReadingFreddy Cole at The Jazz Corner
by Martin McFie
Freddy Cole at the Jazz Corner Hilton Head Island South Carolina October 19-20, 2018 Freddy Cole turned 87 years of age on October 15th, 2018 and played The Jazz Corner the next weekend. He is not so spry now, but he still completed his world tour again this year, including Australia and Japan, with his grandson Tracy to keep him company. He first came to Hilton Head in 1972 in his ...
Continue ReadingFreddy Cole: The Dreamer In Me
by Marcia Hillman
This CD ably captures Freddy Cole in a live set at New Yorks Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, from February 2008. Cole sings his way through a selection of non-overdone material, accompanying himself on piano on five of the tracks (the remaining piano chores delightfully handled by John DiMartino). The rest of the band includes Jerry Weldon on tenor saxophone, guitarist Randy Napoleon, bassist Elias Bailey and drummer Curtis Boyd (the latter three his usual touring group). Cole ...
Continue ReadingFreddy Cole / The Bill Charlap Trio: Music Maestro Please
by Andrew Velez
"How's it going? Let's talk some. That's the kind of atmosphere Freddy Cole sings. He's casual, chatty and comforting, like a good old friend. A bit more gravel in his voice these days only adds to the warmth of his style. In a choice set of selections from the Great American Songbook there are some particular standouts. Music Maestro Please serves as a last-call-for-alcohol moment perfectly suited to Cole's particular swinging ever so gentle buddy-to-buddy style. When he drifts into ...
Continue ReadingFreddy Cole: Cole and Laid Back
by Ernest Barteldes
For Music Maestro Please (High Note, 2007), his seventeenth releases since I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me (High Note, 1990), singer/pianist Freddy Cole teamed with pianist Bill Charlap and his trio, featuring bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. The album features songs that, for the most part, the Georgia Music Hall of Famer (he was inducted in 2007 as a music pioneer--"the first time for a jazz performer," he comments--in a ceremony that also nominated rapper/actor Usher and rock ...
Continue ReadingThanks, Freddy, for the jazz connection
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
The fine pianist and singer Freddy Cole died Saturday, June 27, at age 88 at his home in Atlanta. He had been struggling with cardiovascular issues for a while. His manager, Suzi Reynolds, called him Mr. Magic. He wove a web of sonic beauty with every note and kept listeners silently breathless with his casual, elegant storytelling...," she reflected Sunday via email. While working for many years in the immense shadow of his far-famous elder brother, Nat King Cole, Freddy ...
read more
2013 Newport Jazz Festival Previews
Source:
Michael Ricci
By Matthew S. Robinson Singer Freddy Cole keeps putting the pieces together Growing up in a large family of musicians, Freddy Cole had to do what he could to make his way in the family and in the music business. And yet, over 80 years on, he continues to bring chestnuts. Classics and contemporary gems to adoring fans around the world. On the weekend of August 2-3, Cole will come to New England to perform at the opening night gala ...
read more
The Freddy Cole Quartet To Perform In Brooklyn!
Source:
Leah Keith
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College (BCBC) continues its 2012-2013 Season with The Freddy Cole Quartet on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 8pm. Tickets are $36 and can be purchased by phone at 718-951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm), or online. 2010 Grammy nominee Freddy Cole presents a glorious tribute to the songbooks of Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and his older brother Nat “King” Cole. In addition to Freddy Cole, the quartet includes guitarist Randy Napoleon, drummer Curtis Boyd and ...
read more
Freddy Cole Performs Two Concerts On May 31 In Phoenix, AZ
Source:
Patricia Myers
The Freddy Cole Quartet will perform two shows on Thursday, May 31, 2012, at The Nash, the new Jazz in AZ education and performance venue in Phoenix, AZ. The concerts, fundraisers to benefit the programs of The Nash, are at 5:45 p.m. for wine-hors d’oeuvres preceding 6:30 concert is $75; the 8:30 p.m. concert is $30. The Nash is at 110 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix. Tickets, a seating chart and details on sponsorships are online at jazzinaz.org or phone 602-279-9402. ...
read more
Hong Kong International Jazz Festival 2011 Kicks Off
Source:
Bosco Cheung
Hong Kong International Jazz Festival The PAST The first jazz festival that ever took place in Hong Kong back in 1987 was imported from Japan, as sponsored by the tobacco company Mild SevenSELECT Live Under The Sky, Hong Kong. This series originated from Japan in the early 80's till 1992 when Japan slipped into an economic downturn. The Festival had a 5 years' life span in Hong Kong and was a fashionable event among the celebrities and movie stars at ...
read more
Feeling Bluesy? Check out Macomb Jazz Festival
Source:
All About Jazz
MACOMB -- As notes of jazz waft through Chandler Park in the coming days, the artists traveling to Macomb to perform are as varied as their musical styles and histories. The seventh annual Al Sears Jazz Festival runs Friday through Sept. 14, with a full day of music in Chandler Park on Saturday. Events kick off with Artists in Residence Day on Friday, giving Western Illinois University and high school students a chance to interact with the artists visiting for ...
read more
Seats Still Available for Freddy Cole Special Engagement End of Summer Concert
Source:
All About Jazz
The OC Pavilion has limited seats still available for jazz great Freddy Cole's special engagement end of summer concert on August 29 at 8 PM. Lionel Frederick Cole was born on October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole's five children. His three elder brothers, Eddie, Ike and Nat (twelve years Freddy's senior) were all musicians. Freddy Cole leads a trio made up of himself, guitarist Randy Napoleon, drummer Curtis Boyd and bassist Elias Bailey that regularly ...
read more
Jazz Great Freddy Cole to Perform at the OC Pavilion on August 29
Source:
All About Jazz
Award-winning jazz vocalist and brother of Nat King Cole to perform one night only at the OC Pavilion in Santa Ana, near the artist district Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) August 5, 2008 -- The OC Pavilion is pleased to welcome jazz great Freddy Cole on August 29 at 8 p.m. Doors to the OC Pavilion and Ambrosia Restaurant open at 6 p.m. for pre-show dinner and cocktails. Lionel Frederick Cole was born on October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward ...
read more
Freddy Cole to Perform at the OC Pavilion on August 29
Source:
All About Jazz
The OC Pavilion is pleased to welcome jazz great Freddy Cole on August 29 at 8 PM. Lionel Frederick Cole was born on October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole's five children. His three elder brothers, Eddie, Ike and Nat (twelve years Freddy's senior) were all musicians. I started playing piano at five or six," Freddy remembers. Music was all around me." In the Chicago home of his youth, visitors included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and ...
read more
Florida Jazz Society Continues eBay Search for a Hero
Source:
Phred, Inc.
Refusing to let the music die, the North East Florida Jazz Association (NEFJA) continues its search for a hero to sponsor the Legacy Jazz Festival '08. The Title Sponsorship for their 3rd annual jazz fest is up for auction on eBay again despite the fact that no celebrity or corporate heroes seized the opportunity to save the economically threatened jazz festival. We were in communication with cultural icons, political candidates, corporate CEO's and well-known philanthropists, but no one stepped up ...
read more
"Gorgeous autumnal baritone, expressive phrasing and pitch-perfect feel for jazz standards, pop tunes and love ballads." —People Magazine