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 m ...
trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He is also the Grandfather of musician Theo Croker.
Early life
Doc Cheatham was born in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, 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 instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
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 and Johnny Dunn, but when he moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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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 mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wr ...
. 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 Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...
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. Since ...
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'' alongsi ...
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 ...
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 vocalis ...
. Cheatham was Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932 through 1939. According to a personal discussion with Doc Cheatham, he studied with Max Schlossberg 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,
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 many ...
,
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 music ...
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
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. Trumpet Man"), Machito, and others. The first time Cheatham joined Machito's band, he was fired because he could not cope with clave rhythm. Cheatham eventually got the hang of it though. In addition to continuing Latin gigs, he played again with Wilbur de Paris and Sammy Price. 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 conc ...
.
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; 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. Si ...
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 enou ...
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 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
, he met and befriended young trumpet virtuoso Nicholas Payton. 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 p ...
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 Simon ...
, ''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 (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)
* 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
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
)
* 1995 ''Duets and Solos''
* 1995 ''Swinging Down in New Orleans'' ( Jazzology)
* 1996 ''Live at Sweet Basil'' (Jazzology)
* 1997 ''Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton'' with Nicholas Payton ( Verve)
* 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 Benny Carter
*'' Legends'' (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 a ...
* ''
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.
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, Walter Brown, and B ...