Cozy Cole

Cozy Cole's drumming was an essential ingredient in much of the jazz recorded during the 1930s and '40s, and he belongs in the same pantheon with Sidney Catlett, Jo Jones, Chick Webb, Dave Tough, Gene Krupa, Specs Powell, and J.C. Heard. William Randolph "Cozy" Cole was born in East Orange, New Jersey, on October 17, 1909. He moved to New York City with his family in 1926 and soon became fascinated with the work of Duke Ellington's percussionist Sonny Greer. By 1928 he was performing with clarinetist and bandleader Wilbur Sweatman, and his first recordings (including the featu...