Taking a deep dive into the Great American Songbook, Los Angeles-based vocalist Liz Cole strikes jazz-pop gold with the 2025 release of I Want To Be Happy. Produced by Aarón Serfaty, the ten track album offers a refresher course via a round of key pop classics from the past that track well into the future by way of Ms. Cole’s jazzy versions.

Case in point is the title track, a world-famous song actually written in 1925 for the Broadway production of No No Nanette. Listening further, there are covers of songs by Cole Porter (“You’re Sensational” from 1956), Hoagy Carmichael (“Lazy River”), Fred E. Ahlert (“Mean To Me”) and much more.

Two fairly obscure South American songs add fun to the colorful mix. Of these two tracks one of the songs is Brazilian ("Lobo Bobo"), written by Carlos Lyra & Ronaldo Bôscoli in 1959, and was first released by João Gilberto in 1959. The other “Tú” was written in 1996 by Jorge Drexler, who is from Uruguay.

The album is superbly recorded and the choice of musicians backing Ms. Cole is also quite noteworthy. On guitars, Larry Koonse is featured here on most tracks along with producer Aarón Serfaty who shines on drums while two pianists Otmaro Ruiz and Jacob Mann add sparkle to the mix.

Taking a warm look back at the finest pop decades before the onset of rock music and the heyday of the Beatles, Liz Cole steps out on the world stage with her debut album and the results will make fans of timeless music classics quite happy.

RMR speaks with LIZ COLE

RMR: You spoke about how your parents turned you on to artists and albums. What era of music did you grow up in, how and when did you eventually become interested in jazz and jazz vocals and what other pop artists, singers and composers have influenced you?

LIZ COLE: I grew up in the 1980’s and ‘90s, and I certainly listened to music from that time, but I was always listening to jazz. My dad is a terrific jazz piano player, and my parents have a great record collection. I think a lot of kids rebel against what their parents listen to, but I just combined it with whatever I liked that my friends were listening to. So one minute it was Kenny Dorham, the next it was Nirvana. The first pop artist who comes to mind as an influence is Sting. Steely Dan. Donny Hathaway. Stevie Wonder. The list feels like it could be endless.

RMR: It’s very well done so it’s hard to believe that I Want To Be Happy is actually your first album. What is your background in recording albums and do also write music? I heard you studied trumpet so how did you segue to become a jazz vocalist?

LIZ COLE: Thank you! I had a bit of experience recording in a studio – I did a few things so that I’d have tracks to send to bookers for live gigs. It was good practice, because singing into a mic and headphones is bizarre. But nothing was really ever going to be an album until I started on this project. And “Things to Do (Passing Through)” is the first bit of lyric writing I’ve really ever done. We’ll see if I’ve got more in me…

Trumpet – yes! I played trumpet in school, and I loved it. And the breathing I needed for that really helped me build a foundation for singing. Eventually I just felt like I could express myself better with my own voice. I still pick the horn up from time to time, though.

RMR: How did you get turned on to the song “I Want To Be Happy”? It’s amazing that it’s 100 years old this year. How did you hit on that idea to record it? I read that you basically picked out all the tracks on your new album so you must have a detailed knowledge of songs from bygone eras.

LIZ COLE: Truly, I wish I could remember how I got turned onto that song! I just know I picked “I Want to Be Happy” because it matches the joy I feel when I sing, and the joy I want my audience to feel. And, yes – I did choose every song on this album myself. It was a comically painstaking process because I love a lot of songs, and I was sure I was leaving out all kinds of gems. Songs from bygone eras are my favorite, actually. I can lose entire afternoons to deep dives into a song’s history.

RMR: How did you meet and start working with Aarón Serfaty and who put the lineup of musicians together for the recording? What did Aarón and, in fact all the musicians, bring to your new album. Each of the players sounds right at home on these timeless classics.

LIZ COLE: Full disclosure, Aarón Serfaty is my partner in music and in life, so he was easy to trick into doing this project with me. We had a lot of discussion about personnel, and he had a few strong recommendations, but ultimately the decisions were made by the two of us together. We – Aarón especially – knew who would sound the best together, and on what tune, and I think knowing everyone’s strengths really helped us get some great tracks.

RMR: Were you affected by the recent tragic fires in L.A.? Is there a sense of optimism that things will improve and how do you feel it impacted the music scene in L.A.? Can you also tell us what are some of your plans as we move forward into 2025?

LIZ COLE: Oh, man. The fires were just awful. I’m safe and my home is safe, but so many friends and members of our musical community have not been so lucky. It’s hard to know what to say or do. For a while, I wasn’t sure if I should delay the release of the album, cancel gigs out of respect, but then I saw how happy being out and listening to music was making people. Clubs were packed. I realized that music can be uplifting, but it can also be normalizing. I’m hoping that this year I can get out and sing as much as possible and be part of bringing some sense of stability and happiness to Los Angeles — and beyond if they’ll have me.