William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

among others and led his own groups.

Life and career

William Randolph Cole was born in East Orange, New Jersey, United States. His first music job was with Wilbur Sweatman in 1928. In 1930, he played for Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, recording an early drum solo on "Load of Cole". He spent 1931–33 with

Blanche Calloway Blanche Dorothea Jones Calloway (February 9, 1902 – December 16, 1978) was an American jazz singer, composer, and bandleader. She was the older sister of Cab Calloway and was a successful singer before her brother. With a music career that span ...

, 1933–34 with Benny Carter, 1935–36 with

Willie Bryant William Stevens Bryant (August 30, 1908 – February 9, 1964) was an American jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey, known as the "Mayor of Harlem". Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, while growing up he took trumpet ...

, 1936–38 with Stuff Smith's small combo, and 1938–42 with

. In 1942, he was hired by CBS Radio music director Raymond Scott as part of network radio's first integrated orchestra. After that he played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars. Cole performed with

and his All Stars with Velma Middleton singing vocals for the ninth

Cavalcade of Jazz The Cavalcade of Jazz was the first large outdoor jazz entertainment event of its kind produced by an African American, Leon Hefflin, Sr. The event was held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, Lane Field in San Diego and the last one at the Shrine Audi ...

concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

in Los Angeles. The concert was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 7, 1953. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Earl Bostic,

Nat "King" Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, and Shorty Rogers and his Orchestra. Cole had hits with the songs " Topsy I" and " Topsy II". "Topsy II" peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and at No. 1 on the R&B chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. The track peaked at No. 29 in the UK Singles Chart in 1958. The recording contained a long drum solo and was one of the few drum solo recordings to make the charts at ''Billboard'' magazine. The single was issued by Love Records, a small record label in Brooklyn, New York. Cole's song "Turvy II" reached No. 36 in 1959. Cole appeared in music-related films, including a brief cameo in '' Don't Knock the Rock''. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he continued to perform in a variety of settings alongside names like Jonah Jones, Stuff Smith, and

. Cole and Gene Krupa often played drum duets at the Metropole in New York City during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1978,

Capital University Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...

in Columbus, awarded Cole an honorary degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. Cole is cited as an influence by many contemporary rock drummers, including Cozy Powell, who took his nickname "Cozy" from Cole. In 1981, he died of cancer in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. Cole was the teacher of Philly Joe Jones.

Discography

As leader

* ''Earl's Backroom and Cozy's Caravan'' (Felsted, 1958) – album shared with

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

* ''The Drummer Man with the Big Beat'' (King, 1959) * ''Cozy Cole Hits!'' (Love, 1959) * ''A Cozy Conception of Carmen'' (Charlie Parker, 1962) * ''Hot and Cozy'' with Hot Lips Page (Continental, 1962) * ''It's a Cozy World'' (Coral, 1964) * ''It's a Rocking Thing!'' (Columbia, 1966) * ''Concerto for Cozy'' (Savoy, 1975) * ''Lionel Hampton Presents: Cozy Cole and Marty Napoleon'' (Who's Who in Jazz, 1977) * ''Nice All Stars'' (Black and Blue, 1978)

As sideman

* Red Allen, ''Al Jazzbo Collins Jazz at the Metropole Cafe'' (Bethlehem, 1955) * Red Allen, ''Ride, Red, Ride in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * Red Allen, ''At Newport'' (Verve, 1957) *

, ''Satchmo On Stage'' (Decca, 1957) *

, ''Hi De Ho Man'' (Columbia, 1974) *

Johnny Guarnieri John Albert Guarnieri (March 23, 1917 – January 7, 1985) was an American jazz and stride pianist, born in New York City. Career Guarnieri joined the George Hall orchestra in 1937. He is possibly best known for his big band stints with Ben ...

, Tony Mottola, Bob Haggart, ''An Hour of Modern Piano Rhythms'' (Royale, 1959) *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles ...

, ''Who's Who in Jazz Presents: Lionel Hampton'' (Philips, 1977) * Cass Harrison, ''Wrappin' It Up'' (MGM 1957) *

& Jonah Jones & Buddy Tate, ''Back On the Street'' (Chiaroscuro, 1972) * Jonah Jones, ''Trumpet On Tour'' (Baronet, 1962) * Wingy Manone, ''Wingy Manone Vol. 1'' (RCA, 1969) * Jimmy McPartland, Zutty Singleton, Miff Mole, Wild Bill Davison ''Dixieland at Carnegie Hall Forum'' (Circle, 1958) * Jelly Roll Morton, ''Mr. Jelly Lord'' (RCA Victor, 1967) * Sammy Price, ''Barrelhouse and Blues'' (Jazztone, 1955) * Rex Stewart, ''Rex Stewart and the Ellingtonians'' (Riverside, 1960)

Singles

References

External links

Drummerworld: Cozy Cole
- includes video and sound clips
Discogs.com

Cozy Cole recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Cozy Swing drummers American jazz drummers African-American drummers 1909 births 1981 deaths Musicians from East Orange, New Jersey Savoy Records artists Deaths from cancer in Ohio 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Cab Calloway Orchestra members 20th-century African-American musicians