|| The Coles ||
Folk-Swing · Jazz Manouche
Dawg Music · Blood Harmony
"Some things are better passed down."
WHO WE ARE
A father and a son. Two guitars. One sound.
George and Valentino Cole write songs and play acoustic guitar with the fire of Django Reinhardt and the harmony of the Everly Brothers. American music. Gypsy soul. Completely original.
Their music lives in the tradition of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, performed with the deep roots and original voice of two people who have been playing together their whole lives. Often joined by violin and bass.
Expect to laugh, clap, and sing along. The Coles bring gypsy fire, blood harmony, and genuine star power to every stage — the kind of night you'll never forget and never stop talking about.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
"George Cole is a major guitar talent who plays everything from gypsy jazz to rhythm & blues. It's been a great experience playing my music with him and he's helped me take Dawg music in many new and wonderful directions. He can sing too!"
— David Grisman
"George Cole was more than a guitar teacher to me. He was a mentor that talked about great music, great songs, good taste, and everything in between. I feel grateful and lucky that he showed me how to express myself with a guitar."
— Billie Joe Armstrong
"Cole's guitar playing is a marvel to see up close, his fingers leaping all over the fret board, his pick churning out the notes with a velocity and verve that would make Django Reinhardt proud."
— Joe Sweeney, The Buffalo News
"George Cole and his band puts you in a sexy European dream. Think Paris… red wine… new love, lost in a kiss on a wet cobblestone street."
— Steve Bowman, Counting Crows / Third Eye Blind
"Think of the evergreen songs of Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin heated to a Django Reinhardt swing — that's the infectious gist of the music of George Cole."
— Lawrence B. Johnson, The Detroit News
Member of the David Grisman Quintet
George Cole has been a member of the David Grisman Quintet since 2013, with two releases on Grisman's celebrated Acoustic Disc label. That musical lineage — rooted in the great acoustic tradition Grisman helped define — runs through everything The Coles do.
DEBUT RECORD
The Coles
George & Valentino Cole · Coming Soon
UPCOMING SHOWS
ON STAGE
Valentino Cole
Guitars/Vocals
Val grew up in the Bay Area acoustic world, a mandolin in his hands — a gift from David Grisman himself. He found the guitar, found his voice, and never looked back. Fast, fearless, and magnetic on stage, Val and his father create a blood harmony that simply cannot be rehearsed. He is not an apprentice. He is a full partner.
George Cole
Guitars/Vocals
BAMMIE Award winner. Member of the David Grisman Quintet. Carnegie Hall. Beacon Theatre. Eighteen sold-out nights at SFJAZZ Center. Opening act for Joe Walsh's Nationwide Anthology Tour. Signed to Atlantic, Geffen, and Interscope Records. Teacher and mentor to Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Green Day for six years.
SELECTED CREDITS
Label — Atlantic · Geffen · Interscope
Ensemble — David Grisman Quintet · Two Albums on Acoustic Disc
Tour — Joe Walsh Nationwide Anthology Tour
Recording — Chris Isaak — Forever Blue
Venues — Carnegie Hall · Beacon Theatre
SFJAZZ Center — 18 Sold-Out Performances
Award — BAMMIE Award Winner
Mentorship — Billie Joe Armstrong & Mike Dirnt — Green Day