Sunday, April 19, 2009

Jazz Recommendation: Steve Cole Tenor Saxophonist.

Steve Cole was born on 17 August 1970, he is an American progressive smooth jazz tenor saxophonist and has released five albums starting in the late 1990s. Most of his albums have been very well-received. He is also a professor/adviser of music business at Columbia College Chicago.

Cole was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois and began to play music at a very ripe young age. His musical background training was classical, following after his father with the clarinet before he decided to switch to the saxophone in high school. While at Northwestern University, he studied classical saxophone before changing his field to economics, eventually earning an MBA from The University of Chicago. After leaving school, Cole returned his focus to music; in particular, jazz.

In 2001 he hit the charts with the Grover Washington jr & Bill Withers classic "Just The Two of Us" from the star-studded tribute album "To Grover, with Love", produced by renowned keyboardist/arranger/producer Jason Miles. The album eventually made it to no. 4 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums. The track covered fantastically by Regina Belle, Steve Cole and George Duke has become a jazz classic.

So without much ado, here are a few select videos from Steve:




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