Cole Peterson, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, is recognized as one of the foremost emerging jazz talents in the nation.  He was honored with a 2019 Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) Fellowship, where he studied and played with legends Rufus Reid, Billy Child, and Steve Wilson. He was selected to participate in the 2019 RSMI masterclass with John Patitucci, and again honored with a request to return to Ravinia for the 2019 Annual Trustee’s performance.  Peterson was also selected through international competition to the prestigious Jazz Aspen Snowmass Big Band with Christian McBride (2018). He was the recipient of the 2017 Jack Oatts Jazz Festival Outstanding Soloist award. 

Peterson is now based in New York, where he has played at iconic jazz clubs such as Smalls with the Frank Lacy Septet, and Nublu with the Jackson Potter Quintet, among many others. He graduated with a Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jaleel Shaw and Miguel Zenon. As a performer, Peterson pushes the boundaries of traditional jazz while honoring the history of the music that has come before. Soulful and hard-hitting, Peterson’s unique saxophone voice has been cultivated through study with some of America’s leading saxophone talent, including Dr. Damani Phillips, Ron Blake, Dick Oatts, Dr. Dave Camwell, Adam Larson, Ronald Carter and others.