Steve Cole (born August 17, 1970) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. He is also a professor/adviser of music business at the University of St. Thomas.

Early career and education

Cole was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and began to play music at a young age. At first, he trained classically, following in his father's footsteps with the clarinet before switching to the saxophone in high school. While at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

, he studied classical saxophone before changing his field to

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

, eventually earning an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from The University of Chicago. After leaving school, Cole returned his focus to music; in particular,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

. In 2000 his first solo album ''Stay Awhile'' won him the ''

Prism Award The Entertainment Industries Council is a United States non-profit organization founded in 1983 that promotes the depiction of accurate health and social issues in film, television, music, and comic books. The Council provides guidelines on the dep ...

for Best New Artist'' at the ''Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards''. He was also a winner of

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

's annual young artists competition, allowing him the honour of performing with the orchestra. In 2001 he hit the charts with the

Grover Washington Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. ...

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

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 # 4 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums. The track covered fantastically by Regina Belle, Steve Cole and George Duke is still on the playlist of many jazz radio stations and has become a jazz classic.

Present career

Cole's second album ''Between Us'' resulted in a No. 1 hit with the track "Got It Goin' On". Next up, the single "Thursday" from the album, ''Spin'', reached the Top 20 in the radio charts. ''Spin'' was well received by critics with a score of 4.5/5.0 [] at Allmusic – the same score held by albums ''Between Us'' and ''NY LA''.[]

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Stay Awhile (Steve Cole album), Stay Awhile'' (Mesa Bluemoon/Atlantic, 1998) * '' Between Us'' (Atlantic, 2000) * ''

NY LA ''NY LA'' is a 2003 album by jazz musician Steve Cole. It features keyboards by Brian Culbertson and Marquis Dair and also vocals by Mauli B. It is Steve Cole's third studio album and reached as high as number six on the Billboard Top Contemp ...

'' (Warner Bros., 2003) * ''Spin'' (Narada Jazz, 2005) * ''True'' (Narada Jazz, 2006) * ''Moonlight'' (Artistry Music, 2011) * ''Pulse'' (Artistry Music, 2013) * ''Turn It Up'' (Artistry Music, 2016) * ''Gratitude'' (Artistry Music, 2019) * ''Smoke + Mirrors'' (Artistry Music, 2021)

Collaborations

* ''The Sax Pack'' (Shanachie, 2008) s member of the group 'The Sax Pack'">The_Sax_Pack.html" ;"title="s member of the group 'The Sax Pack">s member of the group 'The Sax Pack'* ''The Pack Is Back'' (Shanachie, 2009) [As member of the group 'The Sax Pack'] * ''The Power of 3'' (Shanachie, 2015) [As member of the group 'The Sax Pack']

References

External links

Official Steve Cole website
*
Mack Avenue Artist Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Steve American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Smooth jazz saxophonists 1970 births Living people University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians