Ike Cole

Ike Cole, the sibling of legendary vocalist Nat "King" Cole, built a career as a jazz pianist and composer. Born July 13, 1927, in Chicago, Illinois, he first entered music by playing bass drum in an Army band, then assembled the Ike Cole Trio in Chicago by 1957. Widespread television bookings followed for the group, which soon settled into steady engagements in Las Vegas. Regular tours later took the ensemble through Japan, Australia, Europe, and across the United States. Repeated comparisons to his celebrated brother eventually prompted Cole to consider adopting a different surname, though he ultimately kept his own. In 1990 he and his pianist brother Freddy, who also sang, shared a stage on a tour devoted to honoring Nat. The next year Ike supplied keyboard work for niece Natalie Cole’s Grammy Award-winning album Unforgettable, another project centered on their late relative. Cancer ended his life on April 22, 2001, at age 73.