The Cookie's Gingersnaps appears to have been a subset of the orchestra led by Charles L. Cooke (1891-1958). He was called "Doctor" or "Doc" Cook because in 1926 he earned a PhD at the Chicago College of Music. He dropped the final "e" from his last name early in his career. After working earlier in Detroit, he was active in Chicago as a musical director during the 1920s--an exciting era. Louis Armstrong's pioneering work is also from this city and era. Doc Cook and his 14 Doctors of Syncopation, also known as Cook's Dreamland Orchestra, were one of Chicago's best dance bands, the Great Depression finally putting an end to Cook's success in this field. From 1922 to 1927 he was musical director of around 16 musicians at the Dreamland Ballroom, a dance hall on Chicago's Near West Side (at Paulina and Van Buren streets). The Dreamland Orchestra included cornetist Freddie Keppard, alto saxophonist Jimmie Noone, banjoist Johnny St. Cyr, and drummer Zutty Singleton. Cook's first records (in 1924) were made with the acoustic recording process for Gennett in Richmond, Indiana. Records were afterward made for Columbia and Okeh--a better recording process was used, so these records have a more satisfying sound than the Gennett numbers. As for the Cookie's Gingersnaps, they consisted of Kenneth Anderson, piano; William Dawson, trombone; Freddie Keppard, cornet; Jimmie Noone, clarinet, vocals; Joe Poston, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, vocals, as well as Johnny St. Cyr, banjo. This excellent record was made in 1926.
Category
🎵
Music