Biography

NELSON KOLE is a musician of great diversity. Nelson will tell you, “I’ve always found it difficult to describe what I do succinctly. In the course of a month or sometimes even a week I may be conducting for or accompanying a singer, playing keyboard in a session or for a show, composing, writing arrangements or orchestrations, sequencing a track in my studio, performing my one man show, or most importantly making my wife Lorrie happy by taking out the trash. So there’s no easy answer. Suffice it to say I’m a musician who plays keyboards, composes, arranges, orchestrates, conducts and moonlights as a sanitation engineer.”

Nelson’s professional career began on the Las Vegas strip where he accompanied headliners from Frank Sinatra to Dionne Warwick. He soon became musical director/arranger for Don Rickles, Ben Vereen, Ann Jillian, Lorna Luft and Clint Holmes. While in Las Vegas, Nelson’s jazz group Nelson Kole ‘n Kompany became a local favorite.

Moving to Los Angeles brought new and exciting opportunities. Nelson became composer/arranger on Martin Short’s TV series “Prime Time Glick” as well as Nickelodeon’s “Weinerville”. He collaborated with Billy Crystal writing “out take” songs for Crystal’s character, the One-Eyed Monster, in the Disney/Pixar animated feature, “Monsters, Inc.” “Someday”, a song that Nelson entered into American Idol’s first Songwriting competition, was chosen from a field of over 25,000 entries as a top twenty finalist and has since been recorded by Danny Rodriguez the singing policeman of 9/11 fame. Nelson’s work can also be heard on Comedy Central’s “Talk Show With Spike Feresten.” “She’s Dangerous” written & produced by Nelson was featured on NBC’s “Superstars Of Dance”.

Nelson has scored three musicals to date: “Dennis the Musical”, an adaptation of the popular Dennis the Menace comic strip character; “Pirates,” for Princess Cruises featuring an all-original score, a first for the cruise line industry; and “Comfortable Shoes”, based on the life of Clint Holmes, which was nominated for Chicago’s prestigious Jeff Award for “Best New Work”.

As a featured piano soloist, Nelson has performed Leroy Anderson’s Piano Concerto In C with The Pacific Symphony, The Santa Barbra Symphony, The Florida Orchestra and The Brentwood Symphony.

Nelson’s latest solo CD “Say It with Music (And Words)” includes "Someday", "I Love Christmas (Even Though I'm Jewish) and 10 other brand new songs. His one man show features his original songs, piano compositions, and autobiographical anecdotes wrapped around his love for music, the piano, and in particular, jazz. 

Currently, Nelson heads his own production company, Marinade Enterprises, which has produced music for over 3 dozen live shows for clients ranging from Princess Cruises to Dr Pepper to the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Nelson resides in Woodland Hills, California where he continues to do what he does best…play ping pong and make music.