Cole, June (Lawrence)
Cole, June (Lawrence)
Cole, June (Lawrence), early jazz bassist, tuba player, singer; b. Springfield, Ohio, 1903; d. N.Y., Oct. 10, 1960. In 1923 he played in the Synco Jazz Band in Springfield and thus became an original member of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers. He left the band in late 1926 to join Fletcher Henderson and was with Henderson until late 1928, then Cole sailed to Europe to join Benton Peyton. He toured Europe with Peyton until late 1929, then joined Sam Wooding. He remained in Europe with Willie Lewis after Wooding disbanded in November 1931. From early 1936 Cole was forced by serious illness to quit playing for almost three years. He returned to performing with Willie Lewis in January 1939 and remained with the band until return to U.S., in Sept. 1941. Cole led his own small group during the 1940s, also played in Willie “The Lion” Smith’s Quartet in 1947, and later ran own record shop on 116th Street in Harlem. However, he continued to gig in N.Y through the 1950s.
—John Chilton, Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter