Freedom, spontaneity & all that jazz

There was always music in Holly Cole’s home. “In my family, both my parents were classical piano players, and we always sang at home, said Cole. “We just had music surrounding us all the time.” The type of music that surrounded Cole, however, was not the sort that would capture her soul in the end. “My brother had decided to study jazz piano in Boston and when I was 15 years old, I hitchhiked from New Brunswick to Boston to see him, without actually asking permission to go,” Cole says. “When I heard jazz or the first time, I was swept off my feet.” It was quite a departure from the defined structures and forms that characterized her early musical exposure and training. “The music had so much freedom. I mean, I love classical music now, but at the time I didn’t. My parents had been educating my ears with one form of music and when I heard jazz, I figured that jazz was classical for the kids who were a little bit bad.” “I don’t think we ever do the same song the same way twice. Every performance is fresh and a new challenge. The spirit of improvisation that captured Cole’s imagination those many years ago has never left her and has made her multi-award-winning, internationally renowned jazz artist. “It was that spirit of improv … with jazz you could make a personal statement, and I loved that. I still love it,” Cole says. “I don’t think we ever do the same song the same way twice. Every performance is fresh and a new challenge. Sure, you could ‘phone in a show’ and do the same thing over and over, but that’s not what it’s about and no one wants to hear that.” Cole has captured that fresh approach to every performance in her latest studio album, Dark Moon. Released in January of this year, the music is fresh and spontaneous, and Cole’s smoky, sultry voice delivers the smart arrangements in a way that has never been heard before. “I wanted this album to be spontaneous. We did very little advance rehearsal and the songs were incredibly fresh for us. The band I play with are amazingly talented and I wanted to hear the sound they would make when that recording light went on. It worked.” That band, featuring Aaron Davis on piano, George Koller on bass, Davide Direnzo on drums, John Johnson on saxophone and Kevin Bright on guitar are all amazing musicians in their own right. “All of these guys are multi-instrumentalists,” Cole says. “Doing Dark Moon with them has been an absolute joy.” For Cole, Dark Moon and the jazz life in general has been a natural fit. “I’ve always been a lover of the night,” Cole says. “I remember when I was sick with the croup when I was very young and my father bundled me up and put me on his shoulders and we walked around the neighbourhood in the middle of the night. “I was amazed that it had been transformed into this mystical, deserted land that was lit only by the moon. I could feel the moist Nova Scotia sea air soothe my sore throat and as I looked out into the moonlit night, it seemed like magic to me,” she recalls. “These days I still love that world and most nights I won’t go to bed until about 4:30 in the morning. I belong in the night and I think that jazz sort of does as well.” Holly Cole will be appearing at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo as part of the Nanaimo International Jazz Festival. Tickets for the Sept.13 show are available at porttheatre.com/events/holly-cole-2025/.