Steve Cole - Smoke and Mirrors

With an unusual amount of time on his hands during a year of lockdown, saxophonist/composer Steve Cole found himself pondering the difference between our authentic selves and the illusions we project to others. On his new album, Smoke and Mirrors, Cole offers up an intimately personal reflection of his own true self, free of trickery or sleight of hand. “A lot of people have trouble mustering the courage to present their authentic selves,” Cole says. “Maybe they don’t think that people will like who they really are – and that’s a tragedy. I’m very much a proponent of living your values. What you actually discover behind the smoke and mirrors can be way hipper than you ever thought it could be, so you should just be that person.” While there were certainly challenges to corralling this stellar roster of musicians remotely from home recordings or socially distanced studio settings, quarantine did prove an equalizer in another sense. “Everybody’s stuck at home,” Cole points out with a l