Richie Cole (February 29, 1948 – May 2, 2020) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

Cole was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Ewing High School, in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Cole won a scholarship from ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine to attend the

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston.

Career

In 1969, he joined drummer

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

's Big Band. After working with

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 M ...

's Big Band and

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

's Big Band, he formed his own quintet and toured worldwide, developing his own "alto madness" bebop style in the 1970s and early 1980s. He formed the Alto Madness Orchestra in the 1990s. Cole performed and recorded with

Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims t ...

, Nancy Wilson,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

, Hank Crawford,

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, which was run by his father. When he was 1 ...

Bobby Enriquez Roberto Delprado Yulo "Bobby" Enriquez (May 20, 1943 – August 6, 1996) was a jazz pianist from the Philippines. He was called "the Wildman" due to his energetic playing style. Life Born in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, his first love was t ...

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

, and

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most o ...

. He recorded over fifty albums, including his albums ''Hollywood Madness'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, 1979) and ''Richie Cole Plays West Side Story'' ( Music Masters, 1997), a tribute to

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

. He was appointed to the Board of the National Jazz Service Organization and the Board for the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

where he served as chairman for one year. He was a charter member of the International Association of Jazz Educators. In 2005, he was awarded the State of California Congressional Certificate of Lifetime Achievement in Jazz on behalf of the Temecula Jazz Society. Cole died of natural causes on May 2, 2020.Chinen, Nate
"Richie Cole, Esteemed Alto Saxophonist and a Keeper of the Bebop Flame, Has Died at 72"
''Wbgo.org'', May 3, 2020.

Personal life

Cole was briefly engaged to actress Brenda Vaccaro in 1979. He has two daughters, Amanda Marrazzo, a Writer/Reporter/Producer and Annie Cole, a Music Agent.

Discography

As leader

* ''Trenton Makes, the World Takes'' ( Progressive, 1976) * ''Starburst'' with Reuben Brown Trio ( Adelphi, 1976) * ''

Battle of the Saxes ''Battle of the Saxes'' (subtitled ''Volume 1'') is a live album by saxophonists Eric Kloss and Richie Cole (musician), Richie Cole recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse Records, Muse label.Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, which was run by his father. When he was 1 ...

(

, 1976) * ''

New York Afternoon ''New York Afternoon'' is an album by saxophonist Richie Cole's Alto Madness recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse label.Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims t ...

(Muse, 1977) * ''Alto Madness'' with Eddie Jefferson (Muse, 1978) * '' Keeper of the Flame'' with Eddie Jefferson (Muse, 1979) * ''Hollywood Madness'' with Eddie Jefferson,

(Muse, 1979) * ''Side by Side'' with

(Muse, 1980) * ''Cool 'C' '' (Muse, 1981) * ''Tokyo Madness'' (Seven Seas/King

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...

1981) * ''Alive! at the Village Vanguard'' (Muse, 1981) * ''Return to Alto Acres'' with

(

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

, 1982) * ''The Wildman Meets the Madman'' with

(

GNP Crescendo The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

, 1982) * ''Yakety Madness!'' with

(Palo Alto, 1983) * ''Alto Annie's Theme'' (Palo Alto, 1983) * ''Some Things Speak For Themselves'' (Muse, 1983) * ''Bossa Nova Eyes'' (Palo Alto, 1985) * ''Pure Imagination'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1986) * ''Popbop'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, 1987) * ''Signature'' (Milestone, 1988) * ''Bossa International'' with Hank Crawford (Milestone, 1990) * ''Profile'' ( Heads Up, 1993) * ''Kush: The Music of Dizzy Gillespie'' (Heads Up, 1996) * ''West Side Story'' (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

MusicMasters, 1996) * ''Trenton Style'' (Jazz Excursion, 1998) * ''Pure Madness'' ( 32 Jazz, 1999) compilation * ''Come Sunday: My Kind Of Religion'' (Jazz Excursion, 2000) * ''A Tribute to Our Buddies'' (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

, 2004) * ''Back on Top'' (Jazz Excursion, 2005) * ''A Piece of History'' (Jazz Excursion, 2006) * ''Rise's Rose Garden'' (Jazz Excursion, 2006) * ''The Man with the Horn'' (Jazz Excursion, 2007) * ''Live at KUVO 2/11/08'' (Jazz Excursion, 2008) * ''Bebop Express'' (Jazz Excursion, 2008) * ''The KUVO Sessions, Volume 2'' (Jazz Excursion, 2009) * ''Castle Bop'' with Emil Viklicky (Multisonic, 2011) * ''Vocal Madness'' with Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet (House Cat, 2014) * ''Breakup Madness'' (Akashic, 2014) * ''Mile Hi Madness'' (Akashic, 2015) * ''Pittsburgh'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2015) * ''Plays Ballads and Love Songs'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2016) * ''Have Yourself an Alto Madness Christmas'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2016) * ''The Many Minds of Richie Cole'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2017) * ''Latin Lover'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2017) * ''Cannonball'' (Richie Cole Presents, 2018) * ''The Keys of Cool'' with

Tony Monaco Anthony M. "Tony" Monaco (born August 14, 1959) is an American jazz organist. at The Hammond Jazz Inventory Biography Monaco played accordion from childhood and was heavily influenced by Jimmy Smith in his youth. In 1971, he switched to organ ...

(Richie Cole Presents, 2019)

As sideman

With Greg Abate * ''Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde'' ( Candid, 1995) With

Les DeMerle Lester William DeMerle (born November 4, 1946, Brooklyn) is an American jazz drummer, vocalist, and bandleader. Career DeMerle first picked up drums at age ten. He studied drums and percussion with Bob Livingstone in New York from 1960 to 1965, j ...

* ''You're the Bop! A Jazz Portrait of Cole Porter'' (

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, 2001) With Allan Harris * ''The Genius of Eddie Jefferson'' (Resilience Music Alliance, 2018) With Jim Holman * ''Explosion!'' ( Delmark, 2012) With

* ''Back to Birdland'' (Real Time, 1982; Drive Archive, 1994;

West Wind A west wind is a wind that originates in the west and blows in an eastward direction. Mythology and Literature In European tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds. In Greek mythology, ...

, 2002) With

*'' Still on the Planet'' (Muse, 1976) *''The Main Man'' (Inner CIty 1977) *''The Live-Liest'' (Muse 1979) * ''Vocal Ease'' (

32 Records 32 Records was a record label established in 1995 by record producer Joel Dorn and attorney Robert Miller. Its 32 Jazz imprint released a successful series of compilation albums. It was named for Dorn's favorite sports number. It also released ...

, 1999;

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, 2003) With

Vic Juris Victor Edward Jurusz Jr. (September 26, 1953 – December 31, 2019), known professionally as Vic Juris, was an American jazz guitarist. Music career Juris was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but he moved with his family to Parsippany early i ...

*'' Roadsong'' (Muse, 1978) With Peter Lauffer * ''Keys to the Heart'' (Peter Lauffer/

CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that "C ...

, 2010) With

* ''

Extensions Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1979) * ''

Mecca for Moderns ''Mecca for Moderns'' is the sixth studio album by The Manhattan Transfer. It was released in 1981 by Atlantic Records. This album was the highest-charting album to date for the group, peaking on '' Billboard'' magazine's Top Pop Catalog Alb ...

'' (Atlantic, 1981) * ''

Vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

'' (Atlantic, 1985) With Karen Marguth * ''A Way With Words'' (Wayfae Music/CD Baby, 2013) With Mark Murphy * ''Bop For Kerouac'' (Muse, 1981) With

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...

* '' Swiss Suite'' (

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Du ...

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1971) With

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

* ''Big Band at Carnegie Hall'' (Emily, 2009) With Don Patterson * '' Movin' Up!'' (Muse, 1977) With

* ''Keep the Customer Satisfied'' (Liberty 1970) With

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

*'' Home Free'' (Muse, 1977

979 Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...

*'' Red, White and Blues'' (Muse, 1978) *'' The 3R's'' (Muse, 1979

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

with

Ricky Ford Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Ford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States,) and studied at the New England Conservatory. Ricky Ford AllMusic In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schulle ...

With Janine Santana * ''Soft as Granite'' (Janine Santana/CD Baby, 2008) With Sigmund Snopek III * ''Virginia Woolf'' (Gear Fab, 2000) With

*''Just in Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was'' ive; rec. 1981(32 Jazz, 1998) With James Van Buren * ''Live at the Kasbah'' (Van Buren Records and Tapes/CD Baby, 2003) With Patrice Villastrigo * ''Golden Orchid'' (Skinny Llama/CD Baby, 2010)

DVDs

* ''From Village Vanguard'' ncludes_both_the_Johnny_Griffin_Quartet_and_the_Richie_Cole_Group_(a_quintet)_in_two_separate_sets/performances;_recorded_1981.html" ;"title="Johnny_Griffin.html" ;"title="ncludes both the Johnny Griffin">ncludes both the Johnny Griffin Quartet and the Richie Cole Group (a quintet) in two separate sets/performances; recorded 1981">Johnny_Griffin.html" ;"title="ncludes both the Johnny Griffin">ncludes both the Johnny Griffin Quartet and the Richie Cole Group (a quintet) in two separate sets/performances; recorded 1981(2004) * ''Eddie Jefferson in Concert Featuring Richie Cole: Live from the Jazz Showcase'' Recorded at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago on May 6, 1979 (50 minutes) * ''Jazz Legends Live!'' – part 9 of 13 in this series, starring Dexter Gordon, Gary Burton, Billy Cobham, Ahmad Jamal, Carmen McRae, and Richie Cole (1 song - "Confirmation" - 4 minutes) * ''Cool Summer'' [includes both the Stan Getz Quartet and Alto Madness (Richie's quintet with Bobby Enriquez) in two separate sets/performances at the Paul Masson Winery in California as part of the "Harvest Jazz" TV series; recorded 1981]

References

External links

Official website
*
"Richie Cole: A Wiser But Still Swinging' Soul"
by Samuel Chell {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Richie American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists 1948 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Trenton, New Jersey Berklee College of Music alumni Heads Up International artists Milestone Records artists Muse Records artists Palo Alto Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Ewing High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Ewing Township, New Jersey 20th-century American saxophonists