When it comes to piano-playing jazz crooners, Nat King Cole casts a very long shadow.

So the fact that Freddy Cole, during a six-decade career, has not only emerged from his older brother’s shadow—but also established himself as a jazz giant in his own right—is a testament to his considerable skills as a leader and a performer.

And Cole—who, at 79, is set to perform two shows at the Kerrytown Concert House on Sept. 23—isn’t about to slow down.

In fact, on the heels of a Grammy Award nomination for his “Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B," he’s busier than ever with his quartet, which includes Ann Arbor native Randy Napoleon on guitar.

“It’s hard to keep up with,” Cole said. “After the Grammy nomination, things just started to roll. We’ve been going to Europe and Japan and Brazil, and when you add that to the domestic schedule, it gets to be busy.”

Not that he’s complaining: “It’s what I do and it’s what I’ve always done.”

Freddy Cole was born and raised in Chicago. His father was a musician, and frequent guests to the Cole house were legends like Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. The experience wasn’t lost on Freddy or his brother, Nat, who was 12 years his senior.

I started playing piano at age 5 or 6,” he said. “Music was all around me.”

Another early mentor was the pianist and arranger Billy Eckstine. “I learned so much from just being around him,” Cole said.

“After serving a musical apprenticeship around Chicago’s club scene (and after a hand injury derailed a possible professional football career), Cole headed to New York City, where he attended the Julliard School of Music and earned master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.

He also made his bones touring with leaders like Benny Golson and Johnny Coles.

All the while, like his older brother, Cole was absorbing the Great American Songbook and honing his craft as a singer and bandleader.

And he’s never looked back.

“I know a couple,” he deadpanned about his seemingly bottomless book of standards.

Over the years, performers working in standard material have come and gone. But the songs have always remained, to the point that that audiences around the globe are now as familiar—or more familiar—with the repertoire as audiences here are.

“In Japan, you can’t play a song too old,” he said. “They know all the old stuff more than Americans do.”

But, he said, there’s a reason these songs are called “standards” and he’s not about to change his approach to keep up with the times.

“The only thing we can do is keep on looking straight ahead and people will come around,” he said.

Meanwhile, he called his current quartet, which, in addition to Napoleon, includes drummer Curtis Boyd and bassist Elias Bailey, the best group he’s ever played with.

“Over the years, I’ve played with some great musicians, but these guys are the best,” he said. “We just go out there and play that toe-tappin’ music.”