Pianist Freddy Cole died on June 27th in Atlanta, he was 88. Born in 1931 in Chicago, he had called Atlanta home for the last 48 years. His manager has confirmed his passing and said the cause was related to a cardiac ailment.
He was the youngest of five children, 12 years younger than his famous brother Nat King Cole. All of the children received musical instruction from their mother Paulina. Notables like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Lionel Hampton were frequent guests in their home to visit Nat. Not surprisingly, several of the boys followed him into music. When an injury stalled a potential football career Freddy followed his brothers into the limelight. A musical odyssey spanning 70 years would follow.
Jazz writer and friend of the Cole family, Will Friedwald, suggests that the last few months of coronavirus related closures may have been the longest Freddy Cole ever went without working. In 2019, at 87 years old, Cole was nominated for his latest Grammy. It was his fourth nomination in just the last 25 years, a time period that had seen the release of over 20 albums.
In the shadow of his brothers success he pursued his musical education in earnest. In 1951, just as his brother was transitioning from being a successful jazz pianist int
