Inspiring Young Musicians to Take Risks for Success with Steve Cole

Inspiring Young Musicians to Take Risks for Success with Steve ColeIn today's episode, Carl talks to Steve Cole, who is an American contemporary jazz artist who debuted in 1998, notching 8 albums and multiple number one hits. He has been touring and playing on Smooth Jazz Radio since then, with over 5 million streams on Spotify alone. When he was coming of age, he found a great teacher which inspired him to take music seriously and despite having degrees from Northwestern University (B.A. Economics) and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (M.B.A. Marketing & Business Economics), Steve chose to pursue music full-time rather than work in business and finance due to lack of confidence at the time. This ultimately paid off for him!Steve discusses his career success and goals for the future, which include innovating in music by working with different people, writing new songs, and producing with other artists. He also talks about how he is changing his stage act right now by adding a horn section to make himself stand out from other performers. Growing up in Chicago had a huge influence on Steve's musical development, as it provided him with access to mentorship from experienced musicians as well as an education in many diverse styles of music.Tune in to hear Steve talk about the importance of developing young talent through tough love and why he believes that collaboration works best when there is an established relationship between artists. Listen to Steve's stories about his experience with mountain biking and attending sports events, investing in woodworking tools, finishing up work on his new album, getting back out on tour, and focusing on his students' careers.Episode Highlights09:56 - I'm learning some things about how to differentiate how to understand the marketplace. I was also a full-time student and it was a lot easier than being a full-time management consultant. I ended up graduating and not going back into industry at all. I became a full-time musician and I did the grind. It ended up being an alright thing to do.23:02 - We, as artists–some of us–we're very suggestible, and I've worked with people that have really good intentions, but aren't necessarily willing to take those kinds of risks and say, "Let's really think about, 'How can we differentiate?'"30:20 - There are some tunes that it feels like the paint is dry. You listen back over and over and over again, and it's like, "Yeah, I'm happy with that."43:23 - I feel like I've gotten to work with so many musicians that I never thought in a million years that I would get to work with, but I'm going to put it out there and just be like, "Hey, I would like to work with Dua Lipa."ContactFresh Coast Jazz FestivalSteve Cole