| Doc Cheatham | |
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 Photo by Ed Newman
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Adolphus Anthony Cheatham |
| Born | June 13, 1905 |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 1997 (aged 91) |
| Genre(s) | Swing Dixieland Big band music |
| Occupation(s) | Bandleader |
| Instrument(s) | Trumpet Vocals |
Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, much better known as Doc Cheatham (13 June 1905–2 June 1997) was a jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United Dixieland or Dixie is a name for the southeastern portion of the USA; see Southern United States, Dixie. A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as While a reliable player in some of the top jazz groups from the 1920s on, Cheatham's career enjoyed an unusual flowering of renewed creativity and acclaim in his later decades; Doc himself agreed with the critical assessment that he was probably the only jazz musician to create his best work after the age of 70. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada
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Early life
Cheatham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He noted there was no jazz music there in his youth; like many in the United States he was introduced to the style by early recordings and touring groups at the end of the 1910s. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The 1910s decade ran from January 1 1910 through December 31 1919 He abandoned his family's plans for him to be a pharmacist (although retaining the medically inspired nickname "Doc") to play music, initially playing soprano and tenor saxophone in addition to trumpet in Nashville's African American Vaudeville theater. Pharmacists are Health professionals who practice the art and science of Pharmacy. A nickname is a Name of an entity or thing that is not its Proper name. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Cheatham later toured in band accompanying blues singers on the Theater Owners Booking Association circuit. Theater Owners Booking Association, or TOBA, was the Vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s and 1930s [1] His early jazz influences included Henry Busse and Johnny Dunn, but when he moved to Chicago in 1924 he heard King Oliver. Henry Busse Sr (born May 19 1894 in Magdeburg Germany died Apr 23 1955 in Memphis Tennessee was a Jazz Trumpeter known for work with Sweet bands Johnny Dunn ( 19 February, 1897 &ndash 20 August, 1937) was an American Traditional jazz Trumpeter and Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Joe "King" Oliver, ( December 19, 1885 &ndash April 10, 1938) was a Jazz Cornet player and Bandleader Oliver's playing was a revelation to Cheatham. Cheatham followed the jazz King around. Oliver gave young Cheatham a mute which Cheatham treasured and performed with for the rest of his career. A mute is a device fitted to a Musical instrument to alter the sound produced by affecting the Timbre, reducing the volume or most commonly both A further revelation came the following year when Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Armstrong would be a lifelong influence on Cheatham.
Working with the name bands
Cheatham played in Albert Wynn's band (and occasionally substituted for Armstrong at the Vendome Theater), and recorded on sax with Ma Rainey before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927, where he worked with the bands of Bobby Lee and Wilber de Paris before moving to New York City the following year. Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10 1951 was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the 4th district of Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey ( April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was one of the earliest known Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bobby Lee (born September 17, 1972) is an American Comedian, notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the live comedy The City of New York After a short stint with Chick Webb he left to tour Europe with Sam Wooding's band. William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb ( February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was a Jazz and Swing music Sam Wooding ( 17 June, 1895 &ndash 1 August, 1985) was an Expatriate American Jazz pianist, Arranger
Cheatam returned to the United States in 1930, and played with Marion Handy and McKinney's Cotton Pickers before landing a job with Cab Calloway. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. McKinney's Cotton Pickers were a United States Jazz band founded in Detroit in 1926 by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten Cabell "Cab" Calloway III ( December 25, 1907 &ndash November 18, 1994) was a famous American Jazz Singer Cheatham was Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932 through 1939. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
He performed with Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, and Claude Hopkins in the 1940s; after World War II he started working regularly with Latin bands in New York City, including the bands of Perez Prado, Marcelino Guerra, Ricardo Ray (on whose catchy, hook-laden album "Jala, Jala Boogaloo, Volume II", he played exquisitely (but uncredited), particularly on the track "Mr. Bennett Lester Carter (born August 8, 1907 in Harlem New York; died July 12, 2003 in Los Angeles California) was Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson ( November 24 1912 &ndash July 31 1986) was a jazz pianist from the United States Fletcher Hamilton Henderson Jr ( December 18, 1897 &ndash December 28, 1952) was an American pianist bandleader Arranger Claude Driskett Hopkins (1903&ndash1984 was an American Jazz stride Pianist and Bandleader. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Latin music, includes the music of all countries in Latin America (and the Caribbean) and comes in many varieties Dámaso Pérez Prado ( December 11, 1916 in Cuba - September 14, 1989 in Mexico) was a Cuban Mexican Marcelino Guerra, also known as "Rapindey" (ca 1914-1996 was a Cuban singer and Songwriter who spent much of his life in the United States Ricardo "Richie" Ray (born February 15, 1945) is a virtuoso Pianist, Singer, music arranger Composer and Religious Trumpet Man"), Machito, and others. Machito ( December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo in Havana, Cuba, was an influential In addition to continuing Latin gigs, he played again with Wilbur de Paris and Sammy Price. Sammy Price ( October 6 1908 - April 14 1992) was an American Jazz and blues Pianist and Bandleader He led his own band on Broadway for five years starting in 1960, after which he toured with Benny Goodman. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Later work
In the 1970s, Doc Cheatham made a vigorous self-assessment to improve his playing, including taping himself and critically listening to the recordings, then endeavoring to eliminate all clichés from his playing. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The discipline paid off, and Doc received ever-improving critical attention.
His singing career began almost by accident in a Paris recording studio on 2 May 1977. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. Ideally the space is specially designed by an acoustician to achieve the desired acoustic properties (sound Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays As a level and microphone check at the start of a recording session with Sammy Price's band, Doc sang and scatted his way through a couple of choruses of "What Can I Say Dear After I Say I'm Sorry". The miking happened to be good from the start and the tape machine was already rolling, and the track was issued on the LP "Doc Cheatham: Good For What Ails You". His singing was well received and Doc continued to sing in addition to play music for the rest of his career.
Doc toured widely in addition to his regular gig leading the band at Sweet Basil's in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in his final decade. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan During one of his frequent trips to New Orleans, Louisiana he met and befriended young trumpet virtuoso Nicholas Payton. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is a Neo-bop jazz Trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1996 the two trumpeters and pianist Butch Thompson recorded a CD for Verve Records, Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton, which won them a Grammy Award. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Butch Thompson (born 1943 is an American Jazz Pianist and Clarinetist best known for his Ragtime and stride performances Verve Records is an American Jazz Record label now owned by the Universal Music Group. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Doc Cheatham continued playing until 2 days before his death, eleven days shy of his 92nd birthday. [1]
Notes
- ^ Chilton, John. Doc Cheatham. in Kernfeld, Barry. ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd Edition, Vol. 1. London: MacMillan, 2002. p. 424.
External links
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