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A Swinging Valentine’s Day
Dizzy’s Club welcomes Freddy Cole
Freddy Cole
Born and raised in Chicago, Freddy Cole was surrounded with music from an early age. His three older brothers were musicians as well, namely Nat King Cole. With his larger-than-life persona and legendary career of his brother, Freddy struggled to find his own niche in the jazz world. Yet music came easy to him. He learned piano at age 5 and listened and watched the likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.
After a hand injury shelved his dreams of playing in the NFL, Cole started playing in the clubs around Chicago. Restless, he wanted to go on the road at 18, yet his mother intervened and he continued his musical education at Roosevelt Institute in Chicago before moving to New York in 1951.
While in New York, Cole studied at the Juilliard School of Music, then went on to get a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. while at Juilliard, he found himself profoundly influenced by John Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Teddy Wilson. While in New York Freddy successfully laid the groundwork for a career that continues to flourish to this day. He developed a vast repertoire of songs in Manhattan bistros and concurrently began to supplement his live performances with television and radio commercial jingle work.
Mr. Cole’s most recent album, The Dreamer in Me (HighNote) — recorded a couple of years ago, around Valentine’s Day, at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola — presents a perfect approximation of what this superb jazz singer will exude here. In short: casual chivalry, urbane charisma and just the slightest hint of cheek.
We beleive Mr. Cole has certainly found his niche yet don’t take our word for it, catch one of his sets at Dizzy’s – 2/8-13.
My brother was a very talented man and he used his talents well. I am talented and I had to learn to use mine. I had to learn to be strong enough to withstand a lot of temptation and not get beaten down mentally.
– Freddy Cole
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