Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, better known as Doc Cheatham (June 13, 1905 – June 2, 1997), was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He is also the Grandfather of musician

Theo Croker Theodore Lee Croker (July 18, 1985) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and vocalist. He is a Grammy Award nominee, three-time Echo Award nominee, as well as a Theodore Presser Award recipient. Croker has released seven studio al ...

Early life

Doc Cheatham was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, United States, of African, Cherokee and Choctaw heritage. 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. He abandoned his family's plans for him to be a pharmacist (although retaining the medically inspired

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Doc") to play music, initially playing soprano and tenor

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

in addition to trumpet, in Nashville's

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

theater. Cheatham later toured in band accompanying blues singers on the

Theater Owners Booking Association Theatre Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., was the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s. The theaters mostly had white owners, though there were exceptions, including the recently restored Morton Theater in Athens, ...

circuit. His early jazz influences included

Henry Busse Henry Busse Sr. (May 19, 1894 – April 23, 1955) was a German-born jazz trumpeter. A 1948 review in ''Billboard'' magazine said that Busse had "a keen sense of musical commercialism". Early life Born May 19, 1894, in Magdeburg, Germany, t ...

and

Johnny Dunn Johnny Dunn (February 19, 1897 – August 20, 1937) was an American traditional jazz trumpeter and vaudeville performer, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is probably best known for his work during the 1920s with musicians such as Perry ...

, but when he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1924, he heard

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...

. Oliver's playing was a revelation to Cheatham. Cheatham followed him around. Oliver gave young Cheatham a

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

, which Cheatham treasured and performed with for the rest of his career. A further revelation came the following year when

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

returned to Chicago. Armstrong would be a lifelong influence on Cheatham, describing him as "an ordinary-extraordinary man."

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 Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...

before moving to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1927, where he worked with the bands of

Bobby Lee Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on ''MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series ''Splitting Up Together'' alongside ...

and Wilbur de Paris, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

the following year. After a short stint with

Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...

, he left to tour

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with

Sam Wooding Samuel David Wooding (17 June 1895 – 1 August 1985) was an American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader living and performing in Europe and the United States. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, between 1921 and 1 ...

's band. Cheatham returned to the United States in 1930, and played with Marion Handy and

McKinney's Cotton Pickers McKinney's Cotton Pickers were an American jazz band, founded in Detroit, Michigan, United States in 1926, and led by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten players. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney on drums, with the latter bec ...

, before landing a job with

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

. Cheatham was Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932 through 1939. According to a personal discussion with Doc Cheatham, he studied with

Max Schlossberg Max Schlossberg (5 November 1873 – 23 September 1936) was a Jewish- Baltic trumpeter, conductor, composer, and teacher. His legacy is a large number of successful trumpet students and the method book, ''Daily Drills and Technical Studies''. Li ...

for six months in 1931. "I approached the topic, at Sweet Basil's, because his tone was like Schlossberg's; I had heard Schlossberg, my grand uncle, play once, at home, in 1936." orman M. Canter, M.D. He performed with

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

, and

Claude Hopkins Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader. Biography Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his ...

in the 1940s; after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he started working regularly with Latin bands in New York City, including the bands of Perez Prado,

Marcelino Guerra Marcelino Guerra (26 April 1914 – 30 June 1996), nicknamed "Rapindey", was a Cuban singer, songwriter and guitarist. He spent much of his life in the United States and retired in Spain. As a vocalist, his primary role was ''segunda voz'' (ha ...

, Ricardo Ray (on whose catchy, hook-laden album ''Jala, Jala Boogaloo, Volume II'', he played exquisitely (but uncredited), particularly on the track "Mr. Trumpet Man"),

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

, and others. The first time Cheatham joined Machito's band, he was fired because he could not cope with

clave rhythm The clave (; ) is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for meter (music), temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, Cuban music. In Spanish, ''clave'' literally means key, clef, code, or keystone. It is present in a variety of genres such as Abaku ...

. Cheatham eventually got the hang of it though. In addition to continuing Latin gigs, he played again with Wilbur de Paris and

Sammy Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating the ...

. He led his own band on Broadway for five years starting in 1960, after which he toured with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

. In 1959, the U.S. State Department funded a trip for bandleader Herbie Mann to visit Africa, after they heard his version of "African Suite". The grueling 14-week tour took place between December 31, 1959 to April 5, 1960. Band personnel included Herbie Mann, bandleader, flute and sax; Johnny Rae, vibist and arranger; Don Payne; bass Doc Cheatham; trumpet

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

; trombone Patato Valdez; and conguero Jose Mangual, bongos. Destinations listed on the official itinerary included Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Tanganyika, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia.

Later work

In the 1970s, 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. The discipline paid off, and he received ever-improving critical attention. His singing career began almost by accident in a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

on May 2, 1977. As a level and microphone check at the start of a recording session with Sammy Price's band, Cheatham 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 Cheatham continued to sing in addition to play music for the rest of his career. Cheatham toured widely in addition to his regular Sunday gig leading the band at

Sweet Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

in Manhattan's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

in his final decade. During one of his frequent trips to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, he met and befriended young trumpet virtuoso

Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a prolific and provocative writer who comments on a multitude of subjects, inc ...

. In 1996, the two trumpeters and pianist

Butch Thompson Richard Enos "Butch" Thompson (November 28, 1943 – August 14, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and clarinetist best known for his ragtime and stride performances. Music career Thompson was born in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, began ...

recorded a CD for

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

, ''Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton.'' The Recording Academy nominated Cheatham for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo and Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group. In 1998, he received a Grammy posthumously for Best Jazz Solo for "Stardust" on his CD, ''Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton.'' His wife Amanda and daughter Alicia accepted the Grammy on his behalf.

Death

Doc Cheatham continued playing until two days before his death from a stroke, eleven days shy of his 92nd birthday.

Discography

* 1961 '' Shorty & Doc'' with

Shorty Baker Harold "Shorty" Baker (May 26, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, US – November 8, 1966) was an American jazz trumpeter. Baker began on drums, but switched to trumpet during his teens. He started his career on riverboats and played with Don Redman in ...

(Swingville) * 1973 ''Adolphus Doc Cheatham'' (Jezebel) * 1975 ''Hey Doc!'' ( Black & Blue) * 1976 ''Doc and Sammy'' ( Sackville) * 1977 ''Good for What Ails Ya'' (Classic Jazz) * 1979 ''Black Beauty'' (Sackville) * 1979 ''John, Doc and Herb'' (

Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

) * 1982 ''I've Got a Crush on You'' (New York Jazz) * 1982 ''It's a Good Life'' (Parkwood) * 1982 ''Too Marvelous for Words'' (New York Jazz) * 1983 ''The Fabulous Doc Cheatham'' (Parkwood) * 1985 ''At the Bern Jazz Festival'' (Sackville) * 1985 ''Highlights in Jazz'' ( Stash) * 1987 ''Tribute to Billie Holiday'' (Kenneth) * 1988 ''Dear Doc'' (Orange Blue) * 1988 ''Tribute to Louis Armstrong'' (Kenneth) * 1988 ''Doc Cheatham and Sammy Price in New Orleans with Lars Edegran's Jazz Band'' (

GHB ''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. ...

) * 1992 ''Eartha Kitt/Doc Cheatham/Bill Coleman with George Duvivier & Co.'' ( DRG) * 1992 ''Echoes of New Orleans'' (Big Easy) * 1992 ''You're a Sweetheart'' (Sackville) * 1993 ''Live'' ( Natasha Imports) * 1993 ''The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham'' ( Columbia) * 1995 ''Duets and Solos'' * 1995 ''Swinging Down in New Orleans'' (

Jazzology Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year he ...

) * 1996 ''Live at Sweet Basil'' (Jazzology) * 1997 ''Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton'' with

(

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

) * 1997 ''Mood Indigo: A Memorial'' ( Viper's Nest) * 1999 ''At the Vineyard on a Cold Sunday in January'' * 2000 ''Live at the Windsor Jazz Series 1981'' (Jazzology) * 2003 ''Meets the Swiss Dixie Stompers Plus Two'' (Jazzology) * 2011 ''From Dixie to Swing'' (Traditions Alive, 2011) * 2013 ''Live in New York 1985'' with George Kelly (City Hall/Squatty Roo, 1985, 2013) With

*''

Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, co ...

'' (MusicMasters, 1993) With

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

* ''

To Diz with Love ''To Diz with Love'' is a live album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie with an array of guest stars recorded at the Blue Note in 1992 and released on the Telarc label.

'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

, 1992) With

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

* '' Flute, Brass, Vibes and Percussion'' (Verve, 1959) * '' The Common Ground'' (Atlantic, 1960) * ''

Our Mann Flute ''Our Mann Flute'' is an album by American jazz flautist Herbie Mann released on the Atlantic label in 1966.Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson (trumpeter), Bernard A ...

* ''

The Big Apple Bash ''The Big Apple Bash'' is an album by jazz pianist Jay McShann recorded in 1978 and released by the Atlantic Records, Atlantic label.Sammy Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating the ...

*''Fire'' (Black & Blue, 1975)

References

External links

Doc Cheatham on PBS.org/jazz

Doc Cheatham on jazzhouse.org

Doc Cheatham Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheatham, Doc 20th-century African-American male singers American jazz bandleaders American jazz singers American male trumpeters Big band bandleaders Dixieland trumpeters Dixieland singers Grammy Award winners Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Swing singers Swing trumpeters Vaudeville performers 1905 births 1997 deaths 20th-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Tennessee American male jazz musicians Harlem Blues and Jazz Band members McKinney's Cotton Pickers members The Cab Calloway Orchestra members Sackville Records artists 21st-century African-American male singers