Holly Cole
(born November 25, 1963 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian jazz singer, particularly popular in Canada and Japan for both her versatile and distinctive voice, along with her adventurous repertoire, which spans such divergent genres as show tunes, rock, and country music.
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HOLLY COLE TICKETS
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Holly Cole Trio
In 1983, Cole travelled to
Toronto to seek a musical career. In 1986, she founded a trio with bassist
David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis. Offered a record deal in 1989, the Holly Cole Trio released an EP,
Christmas Blues
, that year, which featured a version of
The Pretenders' "2,000 Miles". This was followed by their first full album,
Girl Talk
, in 1990.
A succession of releases followed through the early 1990s. For example, 1991's
Blame It On My Youth
, covered songs by
Tom Waits ("Purple Avenue", aka "Empty Pockets"),
Lyle Lovett ("God Will"), includes show tunes such as "If I Were a Bell" (from
Guys and Dolls
) and "On the Street Where You Live" (from
My Fair Lady
), and even remakes "Trust In Me", from
Disney's
The Jungle Book
, into a strikingly sultry and sinister song of seduction and death. Also recorded in this period was a reinterpretation of
Elvis Costello's "
Alison".
Solo career
Following 1993's
Don't Smoke In Bed
, the trio released a CD entirely of songs by Tom Waits, called
Temptation
. This 1995 release also dropped the "Trio" from the label.
Cole next went into a two-album flirtation with pop music, perhaps keeping with the "diva" fad of the late 1990s. These albums,
Dark Dear Heart
(1997) and
Romantically Helpless
(2000) veered further from jazz by introducing pop elements to Cole's sound.
In 2001, she returned to the Christmas jazz roots of her first CD with
Baby It's Cold Outside
, which included "Christmas Time is Here" (from
A Charlie Brown Christmas
), "Santa Baby", and the title track. Swapping cold for hot, she moved to a summer theme in 2003's
Shade
, this time reinterpreting
Cole Porter ("Too Darn Hot"),
Irving Berlin ("Heatwave"), and
The Beach Boys'
Brian Wilson ("God Only Knows").
Cole's latest album,
Holly Cole
(originally entitled
This House Is Haunted
) was released in Canada in March 2007. It was released in the US in January 2008 and was followed by a US tour.
Cole tours frequently, particularly around the holiday season, in Canada. She was also a part of the 1998
Lilith Fair tour, and her song "Onion Girl" was included on that year's live compilation album.
Gallery
Discography
- Christmas Blues
(1989)
- Girl Talk
(1990) Canada: Gold (50,000)
- Blame It On My Youth
(1992) Canada: Gold
- Don't Smoke in Bed
(1993) Canada: Platinum (100,000)
- Temptation
(1995) Canada: Gold
- It Happened One Night
(live, 1996)
- Dark Dear Heart
(1997) Canada: Gold
- Treasure (1989-1993)
(Limited Edition - Hits and Previously Unreleased Tracks, 1998)
- Romantically Helpless
(2000) Canada: Gold
- The Best of Holly Cole
(2000)
- Baby, It's Cold Outside
(2001)
- Shade
(2003)
- Holly Cole Collection Vol.1
(2004)
- Holly Cole
(2007)
Associated Projects
- Count Your Blessings
(an Alert Records Christmas compilation CD, 1994)
- Feast
(instrumental CD by trio members Aaron Davis and David Piltch, 1996)