Lyrics | Artists | Doc Cheatham

Doc Cheatham

Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, born June 13, 1905, in Nashville, Tennessee, was an American jazz trumpeter who began playing cornet at age 15 before switching to trumpet under Fisk University professor N. C. Davis. Cheatham moved to Chicago in 1924, where Joe King Oliver’s muting technique shaped his sound and Louis Armstrong profoundly influenced his style. Cheatham served as Cab Calloway’s lead trumpeter from 1932 to 1939, later working with Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, and Latin bandleaders such as Machito. In the 1960s, Cheatham led his own ensemble and toured internationally. His...