Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

ASIN: B0000047E6

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Despite their immense age difference, Cheatham and Payton find common ground in their shared affection for Louis Armstrong. Cheatham used to sub for Armstrong in Chicago in 1926, while Payton grew up in Armstrong's hometown of New Orleans and resembles the jazz giant physically as well as musically. Many of the Tin Pan Alley standards on this project are associated with Satchmo, and the two trumpeters focus on his buttery tone and precision phrasing rather than his pyrotechnics. Like his old friend, Cheatham is a singer as well as a trumpeter, and his graceful, romantic vocals on numbers such as "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" and "Save It Pretty Mama" show the way for the trumpet solos, which closely resemble the human voice. It bodes well for Payton's future that he adapts so instinctively to the past. --Geoffrey Himes

Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton,Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton,Polygram Records,Dixieland,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Swing
Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Doc Cheatham
  • Brilliant concept....brilliant playing...masterpiece...
  • Doc Cheatham's last treasure
  • It doesn't get much better than this...
  • It don't get no better than this!
 Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
New Orleans JazzNew Orleans Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
New Orleans & Dixieland JazzNew Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
DixielandDixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Gumbo Nouveau
  2. Dear Louis
  3. The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham
  4. Swinging Down in New Orleans
  5. Payton's Place

ASIN: B0000047E6
Release Date: 1997-04-15

Tracks:

  1. How Deep is the Ocean?
  2. Jeepers Creepers
  3. Stardust
  4. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
  5. Dinah
  6. Save It Pretty Mama
  7. Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?
  8. Jada
  9. I Cover the Waterfront
  10. Maybe
  11. Black and Blue (aka What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?)
  12. Out of Nowhere
  13. She's Funny That Way
  14. The World is Waiting For the Sunrise

Amazon.com

Despite their immense age difference, Cheatham and Payton find common ground in their shared affection for Louis Armstrong. Cheatham used to sub for Armstrong in Chicago in 1926, while Payton grew up in Armstrong's hometown of New Orleans and resembles the jazz giant physically as well as musically. Many of the Tin Pan Alley standards on this project are associated with Satchmo, and the two trumpeters focus on his buttery tone and precision phrasing rather than his pyrotechnics. Like his old friend, Cheatham is a singer as well as a trumpeter, and his graceful, romantic vocals on numbers such as "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" and "Save It Pretty Mama" show the way for the trumpet solos, which closely resemble the human voice. It bodes well for Payton's future that he adapts so instinctively to the past. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Doc Cheatham.......2007-05-12

The Last Stand of Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham
by Brian Gilmore

Friday night. June 1, 1997. A frail old black man sat at a table in the dark just off the side of the stage at the legendary Blues Alley jazz club in the heart of Georgetown in Washington D.C. Right in the midst of smoke, laughter and the chatter of the crowd that sat in anticipation of another important night of "jass". Amongst the sipping of cold beer, whiskey, red wine, easy dining on chicken tenders, french fries, salmon, gumbo, catfish, he, this majestic old man, unassuming and dapper in an old dark blue suit, sat beside the tiny stage inside this tiny club and smiled. Poet Cornelius Eady, a lover of jazz himself, would have called the old man that night an "old bag of bones." It would have been appropriate though this man was full of life.
He was ready too as he had been ready for decades. His trumpet was in the case at his feet and everyone who came up to him spoke politely and quietly. It was yet another jam session on the long lonesome trail of the jazz trumpeter. The ruler. The most dominant and the most important instrumentalist in the history of jazz.
Minutes later as the old man sat still smiling just below the stage, New Orleans' based trumpeter, Nicholas Payton and his band blew into a elevating set of energetic jazz numbers from Payton's two knockÓout albums. Payton's 1997 CD, "Nouveau Gumbo" is a modern takeÓoff on music from New Orleans and will be talked about for years to come. This was where Payton would pull his tunes from this night. Payton, yet another fine trumpet player from the "Big Easy" in the tradition of those legendary cornet players, King Buddy Bolden, Freddie Keppard, Buddy Petit, Joe "King" Oliver, Lee Collins, Louis Armstrong and Henry "Red" Allen has not disappointed jazz lovers. He didn't disappoint the crowd at Blues Alley that sat and listened to the power and discipline of this "young lion" and his band working on all cylinders that night in June 1997.
But like me, though the crowd came to hear Payton, the forecast of jazz; on this special night we came to devour the passion of jazz's yesteryears. All of it which sat at the edge of the stage inside the body of that old man who just smiled in his dark blue suit and his old bag of bones. With his trumpet case resting at his feet, Doc Cheatham, or should I say, Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, was ready to play.
I first laid eyes on Doc Cheatham when I watched a documentary on jazz
years ago called "The Story of Jazz". During that program, Doc was captured sitting on a couch looking regal and elegant like an old relative passing down short tales of times long since past. I thought of my grandfather telling stories to me when I was a kid on his sun porch. Each time Doc spoke, his soft creaky voice brought up jazz's epic beauty. The richness, the placidness, the essential part of the American experience that became the world's first "world music" according to the late avant garde trumpeter Lester Bowie.
Doc had all the answers in that film, all the best anecdotes, and knew everyone who was anyone in jazz throughout its history. He was a trumpet player and a singer and from that day forth I knew I wanted to hear him, see him, find out why he was so important and why everyone always brought up his name.
So in the late Spring 1997, I traveled to the legendary JazzFest in New Orleans, Louisiana to absorb the festival of festivals in the city that seems to be always in the midst of some ritual. I knew that Doc Cheatham and Nicolas Payton were set to play a set during the festival and I made a point to try to catch their show. There were so many celebrated and emerging jazz players in New Orleans that week (McCoy Tyner, James Moody, Herbie Hancock, Fred Foss, Terrence Blanchard, etc.), I got the schedule mixed up so I missed Doc. I was heartbroken.
But then a month later I saw that Cheatham and Payton were coming to Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. for one of those Blues Alley weekends full of solos and cold beer and catfish. I knew I was going to be there. No mixÓups this time. I would know his sound.
Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham was born in 1905 in Nashville, Tennessee and was one of the last remaining links to jazz's initial explosion into the world out of New Orleans up the Mississippi River to Chicago. Doc was right there learning how to blow as King Oliver first took over the world with his cornet only to give it away to a young ambitious cornet genius named Louis Armstrong who he invited to play in his band in the Windy City. This is where Doc takes you. One story has Doc sitting in for Louis Armstrong one night in Chi-town. That must have been a chore. Well, Doc surely isn't Louis Armstrong (who is for God sakes), but he is, well, Doc; if he did sit in, I know he probably did the music well.
So nearly 92 years after he climbed into this world in Nashville, after countless gigs, one night stands, bad cafes, unfriendly crowds, recording sessions, rides on buses and trains to strange packed sweaty lounges all over the world, swing bands, latin troupes, his own quartet, trumpeterÓsinger Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham climbed onto the last earthly stage he would ever grace in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., in a little smoky jazz joint in an alley, sit in the last
chair he would ever sit in, and enjoyed the last weekend stand of his earthly visit with a young upÓandÓcoming band of musicians who would soon be mesmerized by what the old man could do with his voice and his heart.
For 25 minutes, he led the Nicholas Payton Band and the crowd at Blues Alley that night through a poignant set of essential classic jazz tunes. Doc both sang and soloed and not for a minute did it all seem as if he was 91 and holding on like a prizefighter who had stayed too long in the ring. Doc was up to the task. A soloist at 91, imagine, and a fine one at that. Sitting in a chair and never wavering as his notes blessed the smoke of Blues Alley and seemed to take us all back and remind us why jazz was so beautiful and "black and blue".
Doc was superb right through yet another timeless version of "Struttin' Some Barbeque",
then Crescent City clarinet legend, Jimmy Noone's "Sweet Lorraine" followed by the beautiful and breathtaking, "Do You Believe In Love At Sight" from his album with Payton that had the crowd at Blues Alley gasping for air at how pure Doc played trumpet and sang. How could this old man who could not even walk onto the stage without a cane and some assistance play like this? Sing like this. Never miss a beat. Never out of tune.
Doc mixed the short set with references to his long and illustrious career in the center of jazz too. He talked about lost love, some of his jazz comrades from the early years, and the joys of continuing to play into his 90's. Doc, strong and sweet, from the beginning through the swing era, up to yet another re- birth as a brilliant soloist in his 90's, right until now where Doc's tone was clever and strong. Doc chose his notes carefully that night as always and made sure the notes stayed fresh with each breath.
Midway through the set as it he was reciting history, Doc pulled out a slightly dented mute given to him by King Oliver. That is - Joe "King" Oliver. Joe Oliver's mute from New Orleans in the club. Doc played it like it was 1922 and King Joe was right at that moment whispering in Doc's ear telling him how to use it. One felt like they were truly learning what jazz was once and for all. Feel the moment. Do what you can sense in your soul right now. Create. Just like Bolden playing in some parade in New Orleans. Diz turning his horn up. Duke mixing the clarinet, trombone and trumpet a different way to create "Mood Indigo". That's what Doc was doing. Making a space again for King Oliver and the Creole Orchestra. Capture the moment, the feeling.
Appropriately, Doc closed with a Eubie Blake tune as the young Nicholas Payton just stared at his mentor and smiled. Doc didn't say the name of the tune, he just said it was a tune by Eubie Blake. Blake, an extraordinary ragtime pianist from Baltimore, and of course, a key link in the jazz pantheon once jazz comes north to New York, was seemingly doing the whispering now. Taking over for King Oliver. Yet another lesson for us from Doc Cheatham: Don't forget about Eubie Blake.
That Monday, after that weekend stand at Blues Alley, June 3, 1997, Doc had a stroke in his hotel room. He passed from this place at a hospital in the city of Washington D.C. His weekend stand at Blues Alley was his last. In my city, Doc Cheatham decided enough was enough. He was gone on to see the great trumpeter Gabriel now just before the beginning of end of his 92nd year on earth. I read about it in the local papers. That Friday, Doc had taken me back to the 1920's and jazz's beginnings and that Monday, Doc had gone on. He left jazz in good hands to young star trumpeters like Payton and Roy Hargrove and other New Orleans up and coming superstars like Leroy Jones. His music is now forever etched in my mind. His appreciation of the simplicity of jazz, yet his way of seizing the moment, of creating what you feel out of what's before you. Take in your heart all that you are and can offer and give it to the people in your own way. That's what Doc Cheatham did that night at Blues Alley during his last stand. All the way to the last note he ever played. Just one long song.






5 out of 5 stars Brilliant concept....brilliant playing...masterpiece..........2006-07-28

Not your "typical" Grammy winner,this one's the result of a brilliant idea to pair a great 91 year-old trumpet player with a great 23 year-old trumpet player-and it works-beautifully.Even,for anyone who believes that the old-style jazz doesn't cut it,anymore-I think will find this an exceptional masterpiece by then 23 year-old Nicholas Payton and Doc Cheatham-a year before he died.

5 out of 5 stars Doc Cheatham's last treasure.......2001-09-01

When this album was recorded,Doc Cheatham was 91 years old, and Nicholas Payton was 23.Every Doc Cheatham recording is a marvel,but there is a special treasury in this one : the fact that two trumpet players,of very different times, play so well together.Of course,Doc's playing is absolutely amazing for a man of his age, but time had no power on him,and the older he was, the better he played.Listen to Doc's outstanding playing at the beginning of "jeepers creepers", for example;or listen to any of the tunes,Doc's joy of beeing alive and playing is here,everywhere,on every tune.Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham is one of the greatest jazz trumpet players, and for me, the second one after Louis.Everything he plays is a treasure.I had the opportunity and the chance to be here when he recorded his "Dear Doc" album on Orange Blue label;and I'll always remember this sweet gentleman.Doc was a marvelous human beeing,a great man,and I hope he will be recognized as one of jazz'sd most talented trumpet players.Doc's playing is just like Billie Holiday's singing: it takes you like an octopus, and that's for life.

5 out of 5 stars It doesn't get much better than this..........2000-11-13

First of all, this is not a live album. It was recorded at Ultrasonic Studios in New Orleans, on September 9-11, 1996, and has a polish that only a studio recording can deliver.

I first heard cuts from this album while driving on a back road in Virginia, listening to Hot Jazz Saturday Night, shortly after Doc Cheatham died. I was astonished at how good the tracks are. In my humble opinion, this is Doc Cheatham's best album. It may very well be Nicholas Payton's, too. What is even more astounding is that Doc Cheatham was 91 years old when he recorded this CD, yet there is a sweetness to his tone and a precision to his playing that few players of any age can ever hope to match.

5 out of 5 stars It don't get no better than this!.......1999-05-14

Best of the old, best of the new! A great combination of a veteran (and astonishing) old-line trumpter combined with the power and strength of one of the great modern trumpters. Tender, whimsical, thoroughly enjoyable.
Swinging Down in New Orleans
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Doc Cheatham,88 years young man
 Swinging Down in New Orleans
Doc Cheatham
Manufacturer: Jazzology
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
New Orleans & Dixieland JazzNew Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
DixielandDixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
  2. The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham

ASIN: B000000QDW
Release Date: 1995-12-01

Tracks:

  1. Swinging Down In New Orleans
  2. When I Grow Too Old To Dream
  3. I Want A Little Girl
  4. You're Lucky To Me
  5. Never Swat A Fly
  6. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
  7. Memories Of You
  8. Avalon
  9. Love Will Find A Way
  10. What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
  11. Mandy
  12. I Would Do Anything For You
  13. My Ideal
  14. World On A String
  15. Swing That Music
  16. Original Jelly Roll Blues
  17. Strutting With Some Barbecue

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Doc Cheatham,88 years young man.......2000-11-25

At the time of this recording,Doc was 88.Born in 1905,he remained active until his death,June 2,1997,eleven days before his 92 birthday.If Doc was one of Harlem's greatest trumpet players since the 20's,he didn't start his solo career before being 70.Then,during the 22 last years of his life,he made many records under his own name and toured everywhere in the world.THis cd is a perfect introduction to Doc's music.Produced by New Orleans' great label,Jazzology,Doc plays with talented pianist Butch Thompson.But rather than giving you my appreciations,listen to the musicians of the session: "Doc Cheatham,his way of playing is the kind of playing I aspire to"(Brian O'Connell),"you feel a reverence to be playing with Doc because he goes back so far and has such a wealth of experience"(Bill Huntington),"Doc plays with the authority of the entire jazz tradition.It's all there from the first note to the last"(Butch Thompson),and "if Doc had a gig in Alaska and it was a month long,I would meet him there and play for free"(Ernie Elly).THis is the kind of music you will play everyday.Meet Mr Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham.
Live at Sweet Basil
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Live at Sweet Basil
    Doc Cheatham
    Manufacturer: Jazzology
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
    Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
    Traditional Jazz GeneralTraditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
    New Orleans & Dixieland JazzNew Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
    DixielandDixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
    ASIN: B000000QF0
    Release Date: 1999-12-25

    Tracks:

    1. Clarinet Marmalade
    2. Three Little Words
    3. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good
    4. My Buddy
    5. Pennies From Heaven
    6. Should I
    7. Wabash Blues
    8. Sweethearts On Parade
    9. I Want To Be Happy
    10. Ain't Misbehavin
    11. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
    12. Them There Eyes
    13. All Of Me
    14. Struttin With Sone Barbecue
    Jazz in Paris: Sammy Price & Doc Cheatham Play George Gershwin
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Jazz in Paris: Sammy Price & Doc Cheatham Play George Gershwin
      Sammy Price , and Doc Cheatham
      Manufacturer: Umvd Import
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
      Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
      Stride PianoStride Piano | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
      Boogie-WoogieBoogie-Woogie | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
      Similar Items:
      1. The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham

      ASIN: B000068WSZ
      Release Date: 2007-04-25

      Tracks:

      1. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
      2. Can't Help Lovin' That Man
      3. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now
      4. Rosetta
      5. Someone to Watch Over Me
      6. Baby Won't You Please Come Home?
      7. Blues in My Heart
      8. St. Louis Blues
      9. Tata's Blues
      10. Tea for Two
      11. Cinema's Boogie
      12. Willow Weep for Me
      13. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
      14. Valetta
      15. On the Sunny Side of the Street
      16. Adieu
      17. Oh, Lady Be Good - Doc Cheatham, Sammy Price
      18. Man I Love
      19. I Got Rhythm - Doc Cheatham, Sammy Price
      20. Summertime - Doc Cheatham, Sammy Price
      21. Somebody Loves Me
      22. Embraceable You - Doc Cheatham, Sammy Price
      23. 'S Wonderful
      24. Rhapsody in Blue - Doc Cheatham, Sammy Price
      Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong
        David Murray , Doc Cheatham , and Loren Schoenberg
        Manufacturer: Stash Records
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
        ASIN: B000006KPC
        Release Date: 1993-09-01

        Tracks:

        1. Cucaracha
        2. Chinatown, My Chinatown
        3. Mamanita
        4. Mental Strain at Dawn
        5. Black and Blue
        6. Dream Sequence
        7. When Jack Ruby Met Joe Glaser
        8. Copyin' Louis
        9. Yodel Blues
        10. Dinah
        Jazz at the Cafe Society, N.Y. in the 40's
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          		Jazz at the Cafe Society, N.Y. in the 40's

          Manufacturer: Commodore
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD
          ASIN: B000CKEFRM
          The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Doc Cheatham: Trumpet Genius
          • Meet one of the most extraordinary trumpet players !!!
          • CLASSIC RENDITION OF ROUND MIDNIGHT
          		 The Eighty-Seven Years of Doc Cheatham
          Doc Cheatham
          Manufacturer: Sony
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
          Swing GeneralSwing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
          New Orleans & Dixieland JazzNew Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
          DixielandDixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music
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          2. Swinging Down in New Orleans
          3. Jazz in Paris: Sammy Price & Doc Cheatham Play George Gershwin
          4. Dear Louis
          5. Sweet Emma

          ASIN: B0000028W2
          Release Date: 1993-06-22

          Tracks:

          1. That's My Home
          2. Okay, Baby
          3. Love You Madly
          4. Blues In My heart
          5. Sleep
          6. New Orleans
          7. Muskrat Ramble
          8. Was It A Dream?
          9. Wolverine Blues
          10. 'Round Midnight
          11. Miss Brown To You
          12. Have You Met Miss Jones?
          13. My Buddy
          14. I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Doc Cheatham: Trumpet Genius.......2007-05-12

          The Last Stand of Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham
          by Brian Gilmore

          Friday night. June 1, 1997. A frail old black man sat at a table in the dark just off the side of the stage at the legendary Blues Alley jazz club in the heart of Georgetown in Washington D.C. Right in the midst of smoke, laughter and the chatter of the crowd that sat in anticipation of another important night of "jass". Amongst the sipping of cold beer, whiskey, red wine, easy dining on chicken tenders, french fries, salmon, gumbo, catfish, he, this majestic old man, unassuming and dapper in an old dark blue suit, sat beside the tiny stage inside this tiny club and smiled. Poet Cornelius Eady, a lover of jazz himself, would have called the old man that night an "old bag of bones." It would have been appropriate though this man was full of life.
          He was ready too as he had been ready for decades. His trumpet was in the case at his feet and everyone who came up to him spoke politely and quietly. It was yet another jam session on the long lonesome trail of the jazz trumpeter. The ruler. The most dominant and the most important instrumentalist in the history of jazz.
          Minutes later as the old man sat still smiling just below the stage, New Orleans' based trumpeter, Nicholas Payton and his band blew into a elevating set of energetic jazz numbers from Payton's two knockÓout albums. Payton's 1997 CD, "Nouveau Gumbo" is a modern takeÓoff on music from New Orleans and will be talked about for years to come. This was where Payton would pull his tunes from this night. Payton, yet another fine trumpet player from the "Big Easy" in the tradition of those legendary cornet players, King Buddy Bolden, Freddie Keppard, Buddy Petit, Joe "King" Oliver, Lee Collins, Louis Armstrong and Henry "Red" Allen has not disappointed jazz lovers. He didn't disappoint the crowd at Blues Alley that sat and listened to the power and discipline of this "young lion" and his band working on all cylinders that night in June 1997.
          But like me, though the crowd came to hear Payton, the forecast of jazz; on this special night we came to devour the passion of jazz's yesteryears. All of it which sat at the edge of the stage inside the body of that old man who just smiled in his dark blue suit and his old bag of bones. With his trumpet case resting at his feet, Doc Cheatham, or should I say, Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, was ready to play.
          I first laid eyes on Doc Cheatham when I watched a documentary on jazz
          years ago called "The Story of Jazz". During that program, Doc was captured sitting on a couch looking regal and elegant like an old relative passing down short tales of times long since past. I thought of my grandfather telling stories to me when I was a kid on his sun porch. Each time Doc spoke, his soft creaky voice brought up jazz's epic beauty. The richness, the placidness, the essential part of the American experience that became the world's first "world music" according to the late avant garde trumpeter Lester Bowie.
          Doc had all the answers in that film, all the best anecdotes, and knew everyone who was anyone in jazz throughout its history. He was a trumpet player and a singer and from that day forth I knew I wanted to hear him, see him, find out why he was so important and why everyone always brought up his name.
          So in the late Spring 1997, I traveled to the legendary JazzFest in New Orleans, Louisiana to absorb the festival of festivals in the city that seems to be always in the midst of some ritual. I knew that Doc Cheatham and Nicolas Payton were set to play a set during the festival and I made a point to try to catch their show. There were so many celebrated and emerging jazz players in New Orleans that week (McCoy Tyner, James Moody, Herbie Hancock, Fred Foss, Terrence Blanchard, etc.), I got the schedule mixed up so I missed Doc. I was heartbroken.
          But then a month later I saw that Cheatham and Payton were coming to Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. for one of those Blues Alley weekends full of solos and cold beer and catfish. I knew I was going to be there. No mixÓups this time. I would know his sound.
          Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham was born in 1905 in Nashville, Tennessee and was one of the last remaining links to jazz's initial explosion into the world out of New Orleans up the Mississippi River to Chicago. Doc was right there learning how to blow as King Oliver first took over the world with his cornet only to give it away to a young ambitious cornet genius named Louis Armstrong who he invited to play in his band in the Windy City. This is where Doc takes you. One story has Doc sitting in for Louis Armstrong one night in Chi-town. That must have been a chore. Well, Doc surely isn't Louis Armstrong (who is for God sakes), but he is, well, Doc; if he did sit in, I know he probably did the music well.
          So nearly 92 years after he climbed into this world in Nashville, after countless gigs, one night stands, bad cafes, unfriendly crowds, recording sessions, rides on buses and trains to strange packed sweaty lounges all over the world, swing bands, latin troupes, his own quartet, trumpeterÓsinger Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham climbed onto the last earthly stage he would ever grace in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., in a little smoky jazz joint in an alley, sit in the last
          chair he would ever sit in, and enjoyed the last weekend stand of his earthly visit with a young upÓandÓcoming band of musicians who would soon be mesmerized by what the old man could do with his voice and his heart.
          For 25 minutes, he led the Nicholas Payton Band and the crowd at Blues Alley that night through a poignant set of essential classic jazz tunes. Doc both sang and soloed and not for a minute did it all seem as if he was 91 and holding on like a prizefighter who had stayed too long in the ring. Doc was up to the task. A soloist at 91, imagine, and a fine one at that. Sitting in a chair and never wavering as his notes blessed the smoke of Blues Alley and seemed to take us all back and remind us why jazz was so beautiful and "black and blue".
          Doc was superb right through yet another timeless version of "Struttin' Some Barbeque",
          then Crescent City clarinet legend, Jimmy Noone's "Sweet Lorraine" followed by the beautiful and breathtaking, "Do You Believe In Love At Sight" from his album with Payton that had the crowd at Blues Alley gasping for air at how pure Doc played trumpet and sang. How could this old man who could not even walk onto the stage without a cane and some assistance play like this? Sing like this. Never miss a beat. Never out of tune.
          Doc mixed the short set with references to his long and illustrious career in the center of jazz too. He talked about lost love, some of his jazz comrades from the early years, and the joys of continuing to play into his 90's. Doc, strong and sweet, from the beginning through the swing era, up to yet another re- birth as a brilliant soloist in his 90's, right until now where Doc's tone was clever and strong. Doc chose his notes carefully that night as always and made sure the notes stayed fresh with each breath.
          Midway through the set as it he was reciting history, Doc pulled out a slightly dented mute given to him by King Oliver. That is - Joe "King" Oliver. Joe Oliver's mute from New Orleans in the club. Doc played it like it was 1922 and King Joe was right at that moment whispering in Doc's ear telling him how to use it. One felt like they were truly learning what jazz was once and for all. Feel the moment. Do what you can sense in your soul right now. Create. Just like Bolden playing in some parade in New Orleans. Diz turning his horn up. Duke mixing the clarinet, trombone and trumpet a different way to create "Mood Indigo". That's what Doc was doing. Making a space again for King Oliver and the Creole Orchestra. Capture the moment, the feeling.
          Appropriately, Doc closed with a Eubie Blake tune as the young Nicholas Payton just stared at his mentor and smiled. Doc didn't say the name of the tune, he just said it was a tune by Eubie Blake. Blake, an extraordinary ragtime pianist from Baltimore, and of course, a key link in the jazz pantheon once jazz comes north to New York, was seemingly doing the whispering now. Taking over for King Oliver. Yet another lesson for us from Doc Cheatham: Don't forget about Eubie Blake.
          That Monday, after that weekend stand at Blues Alley, June 3, 1997, Doc had a stroke in his hotel room. He passed from this place at a hospital in the city of Washington D.C. His weekend stand at Blues Alley was his last. In my city, Doc Cheatham decided enough was enough. He was gone on to see the great trumpeter Gabriel now just before the beginning of end of his 92nd year on earth. I read about it in the local papers. That Friday, Doc had taken me back to the 1920's and jazz's beginnings and that Monday, Doc had gone on. He left jazz in good hands to young star trumpeters like Payton and Roy Hargrove and other New Orleans up and coming superstars like Leroy Jones. His music is now forever etched in my mind. His appreciation of the simplicity of jazz, yet his way of seizing the moment, of creating what you feel out of what's before you. Take in your heart all that you are and can offer and give it to the people in your own way. That's what Doc Cheatham did that night at Blues Alley during his last stand. All the way to the last note he ever played. Just one long song.






          5 out of 5 stars Meet one of the most extraordinary trumpet players !!!.......2004-04-16

          Yes,Doc Cheatham is my man.Just like Lester or Louis.Everything this guy could blow is a real treasure. And as the years were passing by,Doc's playing was more magnificent.It seems incredible for a trumpet player,but his playing has never been more beautiful than when he was over 90 years old !!!
          The years never affected his style and freshness;and this record,made when Adolphus Cheatham (born June 13,1905 in Nashville,Tenn ) was 87,is a real marvel.Dear Doc died five years later,and he remained active in music until his death.I'll remember him, first, as one one the most important and essential trumpet players in the history of jazz (he comes just after Armstrong,on the second place,with Roy Eldridge,Shorty Baker,Buck Clayton,Bill Coleman,and is followed by many and many others,Dizzy,Ladnier,Cootie Williams,Clark Terry,Clifford Brown,etc), and second, as a fantastic human beeing.I had the opportunity of meeting him once in Paris,France,during the late eighties;and I've been amazed by the incredible youth of this man,and by his incredible charm.Doc never thought he was a star;he never had dreams of fame and celebrity,he didn't care.He just spent 75 years of his life blowing beauty out of his trumpet.
          Doc's influences include of course Louis Armstrong (but EVERY jazz trumpet player was influenced by Satch,from Bill Coleman to Lester Bowie),but also Joe Smith (1905-1937),Bill Coleman (1904-1981) and even maybe Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931).His phrasing has a kind of freshness and sensibility that have rarely been equalled by any other trumpet player ("I'll guess I'll get the papers and go home").His improbable singing is just the same.
          Many (in fact,not so many,but Doc never recorded a lot under his own name) many records by Doc are available on CD,and this one isn't better than "swinging in New Orleans",or "at the Vineyard",or his duet with Nicholas Payton (near 70 years younger than Doc when it was recorded!!!);magnificently backed by pianist Chuck Folds,bassist Bucky Calabrese and the great drummer,Jackie Williams,dear Doc blows very beautiful versions of Duke's "love you madly",Monk's "'round midnight",and standards like "New Orleans","have you met miss Jones";he also plays very rare tunes like "that's my home","sleep","my buddy" or "okay baby";and all of these tunes are gems.Of course,there are some records by Doc which have never been reissued on CD,like his absolutely magnificent "tribute to Billie Holiday",recorded with swedish musicians in 1987 for Kenneth Records.But CDs will offer you many hours of the very great music of this guy ("I double dare you" on the "Windsor concert).Doc wasn't just a very good trumpet player;he simply was one of greatest stylist on this instrument.And you can't miss him if you're a jazz lover.

          5 out of 5 stars CLASSIC RENDITION OF ROUND MIDNIGHT.......2001-08-27

          MANY FINE MUSICIANS HAVE RECORDED ROUND MIDNIGHT, BUT DOC CHEATHAM'S VERSION IS BY FAR THE BEST. FORGET HIS ADVANCED AGE, IT ONLY ADDS TO THE FEELING AND DEPTH OF THIS CLASSIC RECORDING. I CONSTANTLY REPLAY THIS TUNE AND DISCOVER NUANCES THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD BEFORE. THIS TUNE ALONE IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE CD, IT IS AN ABSOLUTE TREASURE.
          Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            		Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong
            David Murray , and Doc Cheatham
            Manufacturer: Random Chance
            ProductGroup: Music
            Binding: Audio CD

            GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
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            ASIN: B000GRTQAW
            Release Date: 2006-09-19

            Tracks:

            1. La Cucaracha
            2. Chinatown, My Chinatown
            3. Mamacita
            4. Mental Strain At Dawn
            5. Black And Blue
            6. Dream Sequence
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            Duets & Solos
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              		Duets & Solos
              Doc Cheatham
              Manufacturer: Sackville Records
              ProductGroup: Music
              Binding: Audio CD

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              ASIN: B00000174T
              Release Date: 1995-07-05

              Tracks:

              1. Travelin' All Alone
              2. Some of These Days
              3. Aunt Hagar's Blues
              4. Love Will Find a Way
              5. After You've Gone
              6. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
              7. Someday You'll Be Sorry
              8. Old Fashioned Love
              9. Sweet Substitute
              10. I'm Coming Virginia
              11. Squeeze Me
              12. Memories of You/As Time Goes By/Misty
              13. Memphis Blues
              14. I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling
              15. Snowy Morning Blues
              16. Louisiana

              Tracks:

              1. Honeysuckle Rose
              2. Doc and Sam's Blues
              3. Hundred Years from Today
              4. Summertime
              5. Tishomingo Blues
              6. Don't Blame Me
              7. Sheik of Araby
              8. Toronto at Midnight
              9. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
              10. My Lonesome Heart
              11. You Can Depend on Me
              12. Am I Blue
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              In the Tradition
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                		In the Tradition

                Manufacturer: Jazzology
                ProductGroup: Music
                Binding: Audio CD

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                ASIN: B0000DERBZ
                Release Date: 2002-01-04

                Tracks:

                1. Ghost of a Chance
                2. Summertime
                3. On the Sunny Side of the Street
                4. Sweet Lorraine
                5. Honeysuckle Rose
                6. Creole Love Call
                7. Broadway
                8. Summertime
                9. Ghost of a Chance
                10. Sweet Georgia Brown

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                1. Don't Take Your Time
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                3. Fnkysax
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                8. Hey Sailor!
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