Born: May 7, 1966 Primary Instrument: Vocal
Khani Cole's assent into the national and international consciousness began after relocating to Phoenix, Arizona from her native Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1992.
The move, which initiated many personal changes, sparked the inception of her very first release, Piece Of My Soul, on Fahrenheit Records. Piece Of My Soul was an album with great depth harmonically and lyrically and was quite a departure from the production and performance trends heard on NAC (Smooth Jazz) radio at that time. The release caught on nationwide; specifically in markets with a more liberal radio philosophy. Piece Of My Soul featured jazz greats, Brian Bromberg, Joey DeFrancesco and Marco Russo among others, as Khani and her band toured the summer of '97 and were met with an overwhelming positive response.
Khani's follow-up release, Places, Grammy Award winning producer, Michael Broening first outing was a Smooth Jazz Radio gem with the album's first single, a cover of the classic Blood Sweat & Tears' favorite, You've Made Me SoVery Happy, featuring Nelson Rangell climbing to the top 30 on the NAC Radio charts as Khani and the band played 28 US cities including, Art Good's Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival, along with other noted festivals and events throughout the country. Khani made her first trek into Europe playing Germany as Places met with fantastic reception on European radio and with Euro- audience.
Khani's most recent Expansion Records' (Sony/3MV - UK) release, Lifetime - produced by veteran New York based writer-producers, Chris Parks & Vivian Sessoms (Lalah Hathaway, Rob Thomas, Dianne Reeves). Lifetime quickly ascended the European radio charts and picked up where Places left off. Khani states: European audiences can be very discerning and tend to be drawn to a bit more depth, be it harmonic or lyrical.
In 2007, after an unprecedented 10.5 year run at the world renowned Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, Khani realized another dream when she opened her own music venue in Scottsdale, Voce Lounge. Voce's featured some of the finest regional, local and international talent. Khani states: We booked great artists and let them be artists without the restraints often associated with the typical club.
Recent high-lights for Khani have included a performance with the legendary George Benson at the Hollywood Bowl ~ 2010 Playboy Jazz Festival as well as, a three week Spring 2011 tour of Demark and Germany.
Awards:
Best Of Phoenix - Phoenix Magazine Best of The Valley - New Times Best Female Vocalist - AFIM“Khani Cole...the voice of Phoenix !! “ -- George Benson
“I've enjoyed working with Khani, she's one of the most dynamic singers on the scene.” - - Nelson Rangell
“Khani's soulful alto revails uncommon emotion and strength” -- Jazz Time Magazine
“Khani Cole is so consistently solid that it's a little too easy to take her for granted....she's as good on disc as she is in person.” -- Arizona Republic
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