 Cole performed and recorded with Eddie Jefferson, Nancy Wilson, Tom Waits, The Manhattan Transfer, Hank Crawford, Freddie Hubbard, Eric Kloss, Bobby Enriquez, Phil Woods, Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, and Boots Randolph.He recorded over fifty albums, including his albums "Hollywood Madness" (Muse, 1979) and "Richie Cole Plays West Side Story" (Music Masters, 1997), a tribute to Leonard Bernstein.He was appointed to the Board of the National Jazz Service Organization and the Board for the National Endowment for the Arts where he served as chairman for one year.