THE MAN
Eddie Cole has music in his blood. As the great-nephew of legendary jazz musician Nat King Cole, he has felt the call of the stage for as long as he can remember. His father, also Eddie Cole, was Natalie Cole’s musical director for years, and young Eddie used his proximity to greatness to his advantage. Jamming with Natalie’s son Robbie helped him gravitate towards learning the drums, a passion which would grow to become a focus of his career and set him apart from many of his peers. His mother, Laura Cole, an Eastern Illinois music major, who understood the importance of classical training and had him taking piano lessons at the age of 3; would also play a major roll along with his father in developing his strongest instrument, his vocal ability.
Eddie’s professional music career began at age 16 when he joined a four man gospel group named 4th Elemynt. They were signed by recording artist/producer Tonex {now B-Slade} to Tommy Boy Records, home of artists like De La Soul and Kim Burrell. Their debut album Elemyntal was released in 1999 and they toured the world for the next year until they disbanded.
In 2002 he would join recording artists Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore as background vocalist and occasional drummer. Eddie would eventually find himself contributing to two of Kenny Lattimore’s albums as producer, vocalist and vocal arranger.
His next major move was to Osaka, Japan where he lived on and off for almost 3 years working for Universal Studios Japan and Tokyo Disney as a singer/performer/producer. From 2005-2009 he performed in 5 different shows, writing/arranging music for 4 of those 5 shows.
In 2009 Long Beach band Mulatto was searching for a new vocalist. Word of the band reached Eddie just as they were hearing about his vocal talent and he soon found himself replacing their front man. The next year Eddie became the music director and vocal arranger for an international tour called Man In The Mirror, a Michael Jackson tribute concert. It only made sense to bring the band in on the project and after opening the show in Myrtle Beach, SC, the tour grew wings and went around the world, eventually landing a 3 week residency in beautiful Monte Carlo. The entire creative process and tour were recorded and made into a television reality series, Dancing King, that aired all over the UK. (inc Hyperlink to show) After this stint abroad and some reconfiguration, the band changed their name to Z and began conceptualizing their first album under their new moniker. Arize would be released in the fall of 2011 and remains one of the most innovative independent projects to come out of Long Beach.
Shortly after the MiM tour, Eddie and his band would join The Illusionists; a massive production including 7 world class magicians, 10+ dancers, and a 5 piece live band. Eddie would eventually become the co-music director of the band, and also score the music for the entire show with his collaborative partner. The show opened at the legendary Sydney Opera House and would go on to grace such stages as the West End in London, every major Australian city, New Zealand, Dubai, and all over the US. They also made two appearances on America's Got Talent. Finally in 2014, the show was picked up on Broadway for a 2 month engagement at the Marquis Theater. This tour would go on to break box office records and be Elemyntal Dancing King Arize America's Got Talent invited back for an encore Broadway engagement the following year (2015). The success was so great that the creators expanded to make 4 different iterations of the show that still tour the world to this day.
In 2011 while preparing for the Illusionists tour, Eddie would also join the band of Queens NY hip-hop icon Nas as electronic percussionist and vocalist. Almost serendipitously, the two separate tour dates would never conflict. After opening the Illusionists in Sydney and Singapore, Eddie and his band joined Nas for his Life Is Good/Black Rage tour, a co-headlining show shared with Ms. Lauryn Hill. Comprised of a six piece band and DJ, Eddie would finish 2012 having toured with the Illusionists and Nas with no breaks. The following year Nas would make adjustments to his live band configuration, scaling everything down to only DJ Green Lantern and Eddie who would now be lending his talents on drums, electro percussion and vocals. For the past 8 years and counting, he has appeared with Nas on stage and television, including Coachella, Hollywood Bowl, the Late Show with David Letterman, and more recently the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to name a few. Inspired by his time on the road, Eddie wrote his first solo EP Godspeed which was released in the summer of 2014.
He would be asked in 2014 to join Swedish recording artist Mapei as drummer and co-music director. They toured internationally, also appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and Swedish based talk show Skavlan. Amongst other mentionable appearances, he would join Mapei for Nissan's Off The Stage series, and Volvo’s Reality Road series. During his time on the road with Mapei, Eddie managed to write and record his last release, a 30+ track, 3 tiered audio experience entitled Inertia: The Art of Motion. Releasing all of the acapella and instrumental tracks was his way of inviting others into his creative process while leaving his talent completely exposed. Something many artists lack the technical ability to do. He has also toured with Mom+Pops/Ultra Recording artist Alina Baraz as musical director, drummer and vocalist and played an integral role in bringing her music to the masses. They would go on to tour internationally for over a year. Multiple self produced full length albums, 20+ years of stage and studio experience, and a bloodline of greatness have placed Eddie Cole in the ranks of today's hottest industry talents & seasoned veterans alike, and the pursuit of fulfilling his legacy will never be satisfied.