New York-based vocalist Alexis Cole is known for her urbane jazz style and warm, resonant voice, well suited to traditional standards and swing. Cole first garnered attention in the late '90s and has performed with the likes of Fred Hersch, Bucky Pizzarelli, Don Braden and Matt Wilson, Eric Alexander, the Boston Pops, the Detroit Symphony, and Kool & the Gang. Along with serving in the Army as the singer with West Point's Jazz Knights Big Band, she has taught in locales worldwide, including teaching at an affiliate of the Berklee College of Music in Ecuador, and as a faculty member in the jazz voice program at SUNY Purchase, William Paterson University, and Western Connecticut State. She also founded the online educational community JazzVoice.com, the Virginia Beach Vocal Jazz Summit, and music career site MusicAuditions.com. Cole has released a bevy of highly regarded standards albums, including 2005's Nearer the Sun, 2010's Someday My Prince Will Come, and 2014's A Kiss in the Dark. She also interpreted the music of Paul Simon on 2015's Dazzling Blue and explored big-band sounds, as on 2022's Sky Blossom: Songs from My Tour of Duty and 2024's Jazz Republic: Taiwan, The United States, and the Freedom of Swing. Born in Queens, New York in 1976, Cole grew up in a family with a long history of musical endeavors. Her grandmother on her mother's side, who was a pianist and singer of jazz standards, initially taught Alexis "Pennies from Heaven" and other American popular songs. Her mother, meanwhile, supported Cole's education and business foundations. Her father, also a pianist, singer, and composer, gave her initial piano lessons. When her family moved from New York to Florida, Cole was a member of the all-county, all-state, and high school choirs, and attended the New World School of the Arts, graduating in 1994. She did her first professional engagements as a teenager at a hotel in South Beach. Initially enrolling at the University of Miami in their jazz studies program, Cole returned to the New York area, earning her Bachelor of Music in 1998 at William Paterson University in New Jersey. In 1999, in addition to attending the Jazz India Vocal Institute in Mumbai (where she trained in Indian classical singing), Cole released her independent debut album, Very Early, featuring accompaniment from pianist Harry Pickens. Throughout 2001, she saw the world from aboard a cruise ship with her quartet, later busking in Europe each year into the mid-2010s. In 2004, Cole returned with her sophomore solo album, Nearer the Sun, with pianist Ben Stivers. In 2006, she earned her M.M. from Queens College, and then taught privately at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. She also lived in Ecuador, where she was a professor at the Berklee affiliate University of San Francisco in Quito. She also participated in the Art of Jazz in Toronto, and was the music director of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York City from 2004-2006. In 2007, she delivered her third full-length album, Zingaro, which found her shifting from piano accompaniment and working with bassist Jeff Eckels and guitarist Ron Affif. During that time, she was also resident pianist and vocalist at the Tableaux Lounge in Tokyo's design district, Daikanyama. Three years later, she released her first holiday-themed album, The Greatest Gift. From 2009 to 2015, Cole served in the U.S. Army as a singer with West Point's Jazz Knights Big Band. Along with her military duties, she continued to record, including an album of Disney love songs heard on 2010's Someday My Prince Will Come, as well as paying tribute to the late baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams on 2012's I Carry Your Heart, and channeling a sultry romanticism on 2013's Close Your Eyes. In 2014, Chesky Records released A Kiss in the Dark, which featured Cole alongside guitarist Saul Rubin, saxophonist/clarinetist Dan Block, bassist Pat O'Leary, and drummer Phil Stewart. A collaboration with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli titled A Beautiful Friendship followed in 2015, and a year later she made her Billboard jazz chart debut with Dazzling Blue, a tribute to Paul Simon. After being discharged from the Army, Cole continued teaching, holding the position of Jazz Voice Professor at both the State University of New York at Purchase and at her alma mater, William Paterson University. Returning to New York City in 2019, she performed nightly at Bemelmans Bar, while also touring Vancouver, Tokyo, and around the U.S. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she lived in Seoul and Hawaii, launching the first Virginia Beach Vocal Jazz Summit with Zeiders American Dream Theater in 2021 (the annual event went on to host the likes of Samara Joy, Kurt Elling, Catherine Russell, and Jane Monheit). That same year, she drew upon her military performing experience, releasing the big-band album Sky Blossom: Songs from My Tour of Duty. During a stint in Taiwan in 2022, she worked with the Taipei Jazz Orchestra; their work would later be released on Jazz Republic: Taiwan, The United States, and the Freedom of Swing, conducted by Gene Aitken. Cole continued touring through the U.S. and Europe with pianist Monika Herzig's Joni Mitchell Project, Both Sides of Joni, while also starting MusicAuditions.com, which aims to connect early career artists with music job opportunities. Settling back in the West Village in 2024, she continues to tour around the world. ~ Matt Collar & Michael G. Nastos, Rovi