Steve Cole

STEVE COLE "TRUE"
“One of the things I really wanted to do on this record,” says saxophone virtuoso Steve Cole of his new disc, True, “was play.”
It might seem that Cole is belaboring the obvious, given that the saxman is one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz, having sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide and scored four 1 R&R Smooth Jazz hits. But he insists that creating True enabled him to explore as a soloist—in a way he never had before in the studio—coming closer than ever to the joy of live performance.
As player, producer and songwriter, Cole has always given pop songcraft and structure a central role. He still emphasizes indelibly hooky melody lines and sophisticated changes on True, but he also embraces the ecstasy of the expressive solo. “I’ve always been focused on the composition as a recording artist, but most of the satisfaction I’ve ever gotten as a player has been when I am stretching out,” he volunteers. “I really wanted to do that this time.”
“In my live show I really try to build excitement through improvisation, which I haven’t done enough of in my recordings,” he adds. “But a lot of the substance of a player is evident once they get off the melody and start improvising. That’s a window into who you are. The audience really responds if you reach something in a solo. Your eyes are closed and you’re just trying to bring this feeling out, and suddenly everyone is clapping and standing up.”
Refining his emotional, powerfully melodic blend of jazz, soul, R&B, pop and dance, True represents a return to Cole’s roots following 2005’s pop/rock-leaning Spin. On such cuts as the seductively grooving “Bounce,” the jazz-chill hybrid “Côté Seine,” the lush, soulful “Curtis,” the ravishing “Take Me” and the club-rocking “Metro,” Cole digs deeper than ever as a player. With help from a superlative crew of musicians, he strove, this time out, to capture the earthy, spontaneous vibe of the records that have always inspired him.
Citing key albums by such artists as David Sanborn, Grover Washington, Jr., Spyro Gyra and George Benson, Cole explains that the previous era’s production ethos centered on unique artists with compelling voices on their instruments, well-crafted material and an esprit de corps among musicians, rather than “who’s got the best sample library or can work wonders with ProTools.” Recording almost entirely live, Cole and his gifted crew—including bassists Richard Patterson (Miles Davis, Boz Scaggs, Sanborn) and Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny), drummer Khari Parker (Scaggs, Destiny’s Child, Beyonce’), keyboard wizard Ricky Peterson (John Mayer, David Sanborn, Bonnie Raitt), guitarist and co-writer David Hiltebrand, sax player-keyboardist and co-writer David Mann and percussionist Lenny Castro—strove to capture a similar kind of magic. The project was mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Craig Bauer (Kanye West’s Late Registration)
“All the records I listened to as a kid that made me love this music so much and want so desperately to be an artist in this genre—I wanted to go back to that tradition,” Cole reflects.
In a number of ways, True also connects strongly to Cole’s hometown of Chicago, with its evocation of Windy City soul icon Curtis Mayfield’s spirit on “Curtis,” its salute to Chicago House music on “Metro” and its homage to local hero and jazz-funk luminary Quincy Jones on “Just a Natural Thang,” among other tracks. “So much of the music that influenced this record is rooted in Chicago, though I didn’t plan it,” the saxophonist muses. “It just came out that way.”
Cole grew up in Chicago, the son of a jazz saxophonist; his dad’s extraordinary library of LPs helped ignite his love of jazz and R&B. “His record collection was pretty comprehensive,” Cole recalls. I listened to everything, just exploring. I loved Dave Brubeck; Paul Desmond was a mysterious character to me, and his sound was so simple and so deep at the same time.”
Under his father’s tutelage, Cole learned to identify different horn players on the radio. “That’s where I started to think, ‘One day I want someone to listen to something and know it’s me,’” he says. He took saxophone lessons and quickly determined that he’d found his instrument. “I’m a tenor player—that’s my voice,” Cole informs. “From the day I picked it up, it just felt right.” (Cole is also an accomplished alto and soprano player, but the timbre and tone of the tenor make it his ultimate expressive tool.)
He attended Northwestern University, where he explored modern classical music for the saxophone—even performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—and simultaneously earned a business degree. Taking a break from music, he worked as a management consultant and corporate strategist, and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. Though he believes his business studies and experience have been extremely useful for his career, Cole admits he regrets “not focusing 100% on my playing” during that period.
He began making up for lost time, however, playing sessions and club gigs wherever possible; he recorded with blues legend Junior Wells and began playing, writing and producing with Atlantic Records artists Bob Mamet and Brian Culbertson. His visibility at the label grew, and soon Cole signed his own deal with Atlantic. He released his debut disc, Stay Awhile, in 1998; it yielded the hits “Where the Night Begins,” “When I Think of You” and “Say It Again” and earned Cole a Prism Award for Best New Artist at the 2000 Oasis Awards.
“I was very naïve and wasn’t thinking about anything but writing the music that came naturally, which was great,” he remembers with a laugh. “I really enjoyed making that record, because ignorance is bliss. I feel this new record came out of the same intuitive spirit, even though I knew a lot more going in.”
In addition to touring and/or recording with Boz Scaggs, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber Freddie Cole, Cyrus Chestnut, KMFDM, Rick Braun and other artists, he issued a follow-up disc, Between Us, which featured the chart-topping singles “Got It Goin’ On” and “From the Start.” His third album, 2003’s NY LA, included the hit “Off Broadway” and his acclaimed cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls.”
2005’s Spin found Cole adapting elements of singer-songwriter pop to his instrumental style, a result of imbibing records by Beck, John Mayer and other rock-leaning acts. He even learned to play guitar for the record. But the classic R&B/jazz that had first prompted him to pick up the sax wouldn’t stop calling to him. With his latest creation, he’s staying True to his origins.
“I’ve always been a really expressive player, and I gravitate toward expressive music,” he ventures. “The most satisfaction I get out of playing is when I’m able to convey some emotion to the audience and actually feel it. There’s been a bit of anonymity in some of the music lately; I think the audience wants to have a little more insight into an artist’s humanity, their heart. It’s hard to do that with lots of programming and technology.”
Grabbing his horn, some outstandingly talented friends and the production reins, Cole has paid fitting tribute to the music that influenced him. “To me, music needs to be human and organic—that’s when people respond, when it gives them a window into who the artist is,” he declares. “The more artists can express themselves in a production, the more profound that can be.”