TAHLEQUAH — At 79 years old, Freddy Cole, younger brother of Nat King Cole, still has his jazz chops.

Cole, the lead member of The Freddy Cole Quartet, entertained a local audience Saturday night in the newly refurbished Performing Arts Center at Northeastern State University.

Cole and his bandmates held a pre-show question-and-answer session, asking audience members questions as well as answering them.

Cole was born the youngest son in a musical family of four boys and one girl, all of whom are performers.

“And I’m the last one standing,” he said.

He turns 80 this year, and Atlanta, his home since 1972, is planning a huge celebration for him in October. His performance and rapport with the audience was no indication of his age. In fact, several women in attendance described him, and his tone of voice, as “sexy.”

Nor is his lifestyle that of a typical octogenarian. He performs every weekend, often in foreign countries.

“I’m not crippled. I feel good,” Cole said. “I didn’t expect to make it past 35. I’ve been blessed.”

Two Tahlequah High School students, Isaac Burk and Tim Bradshaw, were singled out by Cole.

“Do you boys perform?” Cole asked.

Both sing, one plays piano and the other is learning, and they performed at Branson last year.

“At least you’re working. This economy is hard on musicians,” Cole said.

Chicago was his home when growing up. Freddy started playing piano at age 5 or 6, saying his mother and her side of the family were musical.

“My mom’s older brother was a musician,” said Cole.

As such, musicians often visited his home, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. He would have gone on the road performing at 18, but his mother insisted he complete his musical education. He graduated from Roosevelt Institute in Chicago.

He moved to New York in 1951, and studied at the Juilliard School of Music, with influences like John Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Teddy Wilson. He earned a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, and he’s been touring since. He developed his repertoire of songs while in Manhattan, which is still in use today.

His first recording, “The Joke’s On Me,” was in 1952. His CD, “Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B,” was nominated for a Grammy in 2011, and his latest CD, “Talk To Me,” was a 2012 Grammy nominee for Best Vocal Jazz. He earned 2005 and 2008 nominations for Outstanding Male Jazz Vocalist from Playbill for the 2006 and 2009 Nightlife Awards. He was inducted in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2005 as a Living Legend.

Cole said what he had in common with Nat was they both sang and performed with piano, guitar and stand-up bass. But his own timing for swings is more upbeat and his voice smokier and more raspy.

As for family, Cole said he has two grandchildren in Atlanta and two in New Mexico whom he sees, but doesn’t see as much as he’d like.

“I have a son in Australia; he’s a great musician,” said Cole. “I don’t much like the 5 o’clock mornings to get up and get on an airplane, but the fulfillment is when you get on stage.”

Cole handed the microphone to guitar player Randy Napoleon, who answered a question from the high school students about practicing.

“I still practice,” said Napoleon. “If I don’t practice as much because we’re traveling, I get sloppy. Study has two parts – physically maintaining, like going to the gym and working out, and learning new songs. Mr. Cole knows 10,000 million songs and he’s constantly throwing out new songs. You have to learn how you phrase the melody. Music is like learning to talk: You learn words, then how to put them together in sentences.”

Drummer Curtis Boyd also addressed Burk and Bradshaw, asking how much they practice, since they’re starting out in “the business.”

“I play Billy Joel and Elton John,” said Burk. “But I know I need to practice more.”

Boyd asked if they’d heard of scales.

“It’s the quality of time you practice,” said Boyd. “Do something else at each practice, learn something new. Try to do the things you can’t do to make you better.”

The quartet played a couple of Cole Porter and Gershwin tunes for the pre-show guests before they took a break, and the show started.

“It was great listening to them talk,” said Burk. “It goes to show you how much people in the business take care of each other. He told me to practice things that are difficult,”

Bradshaw said it was a great opportunity to get information from people who know the ropes. His mother, Sandy, agreed.

“It was good for them to hear that they should practice constantly,” she said.

Sara Brown Dunlap found Cole very personable.

“At 80, he can still charm with every word he sings; he’s timeless,” she said. “And he encouraged life-long learning.”

Paula Chaffin played alto sax in high school jazz band, and she dearly loves jazz.

“He exudes sexiness at 80 years old. How does he do that?” Chaffin said. “His eyes twinkle and he pulls you in; all of a sudden, like he’s singing just to you, in a smoky little speakeasy.”

Cole encouraged attendees to purchase his CD.

“Don’t forget, you can take me home with you,” he said, raising his eyebrows and smiling.