Birth name Isaac Cole Name Ike Cole | Role Pianist | |
 | ||
Born July 13, 1927Chicago, Illinois, United States ( 1927-07-13 ) Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, pianist Labels Decca, Capitol, United Artists Records, Dot Records, Dee Gee Records, Guest Star Records, Bally Records, Promenade Records, Frankie Records Albums Tribute to His Brother Nat, The Same Old You, Ike Cole Siblings Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole, Eddie Cole, Evelyn Cole Similar People Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole, Natalie Cole, Carole Cole, Charlie Chaplin | ||
My Blue Heaven - Ike Cole
Isaac "Ike" Cole (July 13, 1927 – April 22, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Contents
Life and career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cole was the younger brother of Nat "King" Cole and the older brother of Freddy Cole, and played drums as a youth. He played bass drum in a U.S. Army band during the Korean War, and moved back to Chicago after his discharge, where he formed his own jazz trio. He appeared on television in the 1950s and held a residency in Las Vegas, later touring internationally. He made regular appearances at Chicago clubs such as the Pump Room and the Playboy Club before moving to Arizona in 1986 with his wife, Margie. Ike and Margie Cole remained married until Ike's death, lasting 52 years. In 1990 he and Freddy Cole, who was a singer and pianist, toured together in tribute to Nat Cole, and in 1991 Ike played keyboards on Natalie Cole's Unforgettable, which won a Grammy Award. He died of cancer in 2001 in Sun Lakes, Arizona. His jazz library was donated to the Hamilton High School music department.